Editing Jeffrey Dahmer (section)

==Pathology and Mental Health==
Prior to his 1992 trial, Dahmer underwent multiple psychiatric examinations and although the experts' conclusions were not always in agreement - one thing was clear: Dahmer was afflicted with complicated, [https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Comorbidity comorbid] psychopathologies. Dahmer displayed a tendency to experience recurrent depressive affect, worthlessness, low self-esteem, suicidal ideation and a strong fear of abandonment. Three psychologists who evaluated Dahmer after his 1988 arrest for molestation described him as being uncooperative, angry, resistant to change, evasive, manipulative, emotionally unstable, and lacking insight; each of these traits is commonly associated with a borderline personality disorder. Despite the experts' disagreements upon whether Dahmer was sane or insane, they all essentially agreed that Dahmer suffered from a [https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Major_depressive_disorder major depressive disorder], [https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Generalized_anxiety_disorder generalized anxiety disorder], [https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Substance_use_disorder substance use disorder], [https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Paraphilia sexual paraphilias], and [https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Borderline_personality_disorder borderline personality disorder].

==='''Borderline personality disorder'''===

Dahmer was repeatedly diagnosed with a borderline personality disorder, which is defined by the [https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Diagnostic_and_Statistical_Manual_of_Mental_Disorders DSM-IV-TR] as "A pervasive pattern of instability of interpersonal relationships, self-image, and affects, and marked impulsivity that begins by early adulthood and is present in a variety of contexts." Following his 1991 arrest, Dahmer completed the [https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Minnesota_Multiphasic_Personality_Inventory Minnesota Multiphasic Personality Inventory] (MMPI); the results of which indicated that he was sane, was conscious of the difference between right and wrong, capable of dissimulation, and generally maladjusted. The MMPI revealed Dahmer as alienated from both others and from himself, as strongly depressive and hopelessly oriented toward the world and other humans, and filled with specific paranoid fears of others' hostility. Dahmer's MMPI scores suggest that these characteristics conclusively demonstrated that he was a deeply troubled man who was unable to control his impulses.

Although in the years immediately following his birth he was doted upon by his parents, by the time he was approximately 4 years old, his mother had little time for her son. Moreover, his father was seldom at home as he studied for his Ph.D. in chemistry. As a result, Dahmer received little affection or nurturing throughout his childhood from either parent and he is known to have had difficulty making or maintaining friendships. Moreover, by the time Dahmer was 8 years old, his family had moved home on 6 separate occasions. When his brother, David, was born in 1966, much of his parents' attention was focused upon the needs of their younger child, possibly increasing his sense of neglect.

Reportedly, Dahmer struggled to accept his homosexuality. He did not divulge to his father and stepmother that he was homosexual until after his 1988 arrest for molestation. Although he later recalled the frank manner in which he informed his parents as to his sexual orientation, his probation officers did note repeated inferences of Dahmer's conflicts regarding his sexuality: the first recorded instance in which Dahmer indicated to his probation officer that he had fully accepted his homosexuality was in January 1991.

In reference to his 1989 plea for [https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Clemency clemency] regarding his conviction for molestation, Dahmer had stated: "What I've done has cut both ways. It hurts the victim, and it hurts me... I don't know what I was thinking when I did it. I know I was under the influence." Perceiving oneself as the victim of one's own crimes and externalizing blame onto others or onto substance abuse are typical borderline defenses. Dahmer told his probation officer that his life lacked purpose; a sign of the chronic emptiness experienced by someone with BPD. Moreover, Dahmer had a strong reason to both hate and fear abandonment. During his parents' bitter divorce in 1978, they fought over custody of Dahmer's younger brother. Having just turned 18 at the time of the finalization of his parents' divorce, Dahmer was considered an adult and thus did not require legal custody. Left alone in the house with neither food nor money and only sporadic contact with his father (who resided in a nearby motel), Dahmer committed his first murder— an experience which he later described as one which "tainted" his life.

Although Dahmer was insistent he had had no hatred or animosity towards any of his victims, some doctors theorized he projected his self-hatred as to his sexual orientation onto his adult victims through his actions — a classic borderline personality disorder defense.

The forensics team that examined Dahmer's apartment and possessions following his arrest and who conducted the autopsies upon the remains of his victims he had opted to preserve or otherwise store as opposed to destroy or discard, concluded that the murders were rooted in an unconscious hatred of his victims and were the result of Dahmer's "ambivalent homosexuality." All agreed that he suffered from a borderline personality disorder.

==='''Substance use disorder and Alcoholism'''===

Dahmer had a long history of substance abuse and dependence. By his early teens, Dahmer was considered a loner who was known to drink heavily and was prone to act the fool in order to attract attention. This alcohol abuse increased throughout his years at Revere High School and occurred during the time his parents' marriage had begun to deteriorate. The separation was also difficult for Dahmer as he witnessed fierce arguments between his parents over who would achieve custody of his younger brother, David. Although he was by then in his mid-teens, his parents did not vocalize concerns over his own living arrangements.

Dahmer's heavy drinking continued throughout his sole term at Ohio State University: his three roommates later harked to being unnerved at his unremitting intake of hard liquor, which often resulted in his being too inebriated to attend classes. On the occasions Dahmer was able to attend classes or lectures, the alcohol abuse would continue and occasionally resulted in his passing out on his way back to his [https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Dormitory dormitory].

After dropping out of the University of Ohio in the fall of 1978, Dahmer enlisted in the army. Here, his alcohol abuse was again noted: two fellow soldiers noted he concealed alcohol upon the barracks inside a briefcase which opened into a portable bar that included a martini kit. While stationed in Germany, Dahmer's alcohol abuse escalated from initial evening and weekend [https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Binge_drinking binge drinking] to almost constant alcohol abuse. Inevitably, his performance as a medic deteriorated as a result of this behavior;<sup class="reference" id="cite_ref-220">[https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Jeffrey_dahmer#cite_note-220 [220]]</sup> Dahmer was repeatedly reprimanded for disobeying orders; failing to report for duty; and reporting to work late, intoxicated or in improper uniform. In February 1981, the army placed Dahmer in a [https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Drug_rehabilitation drug rehabilitation program], but within a short period a counselor recommended he be declared a "failure." On March 24, 1981, Dahmer was honorably discharged from the army due to alcohol and drug misuse.

Dahmer's subsequent violent behavioral pattern in which he had to drink himself almost into a stupor in order to commit murder was not borne from instrumental aggression but from a desperate attempt to prevent abandonment.

In addition to alcohol, Dahmer was also a heavy user of [https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Marijuana marijuana] and [https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Amphetamine amphetamines]. He was also an occasional user of both [https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Cocaine cocaine] and [https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Benzodiazepine benzodiazepine]—a minor tranquilizer Dahmer is also known to have used to sedate his victims. (Dahmer had a preference for either [https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Triazolam triazolam] (Halcion) or [https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Temazepam temazepam] (Restoril).

==='''Paraphilias'''===

Dahmer readily admitted to having engaged in a number of paraphilic behaviors, including necrophilia, [https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Exhibitionism exhibitionism], [https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Hebephilia hebephilia], [https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Sexual_fetishism fetishism], [https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Agalmatophilia pygmalionism], and [https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Lust_murder erotophonophilia]. He is also known to have several [https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Partialism partialisms], including anthropophagy (also known as [https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Cannibalism cannibalism]). One particular focus of Dahmer's partialism was the victim's chest area. By his own admission, what caught his attention to Steven Hicks hitchhiking in 1978 was the fact the youth was bare-chested; he also conceded it was possible that his viewing the exposed chest of Steven Tuomi in 1987 while in a drunken stupor may have led him to unsuccessfully attempt to tear Tuomi's heart from his chest. Moreover, almost all the murders Dahmer committed from 1990 onwards involved a ritual of posing the victims' bodies in suggestive positions—many pictures taken prior to dismemberment depict the victims' bodies with the chest thrust outwards.

Dahmer also derived sexual pleasure from the viscera of his victims; he would often masturbate and ejaculate into the body cavity and at other times, literally used the internal organs as a masturbatory aid. According to the testimony of several experts who testified at Dahmer's trial, he was not a sexual sadist. Dr. Park Dietz — testifying on behalf of the prosecution — stated: "He [Dahmer] did not torture and took steps to prevent suffering."