Every serial killer, rapist, murderer, and thief was once a little six year old in
kindergarten graduation gowns, anxiously looking forward to the first grade where there are long days and short recesses. So what separated these social deviants who chose lives of crime over normalcy and morality from their more “normal” counterparts? Where did the lives of these people go wrong to such a great extent that they felt compelled to harm countless others, not limited to their direct victims? Is there anything that can be done to prevent future deviance and harm causing behavior?
There are a wide variety of factors that cause social deviance; it is such a complex subject because there are many factors that shape the human experience, including the people we interact with, our families, and our natural biological disposition, which is influenced by the DNA we get from our parents. Many people question whether behavior is a result of the individual’s nature, or if it results from how they were raised. Others say that what they are exposed to, or their environment, makes up a large portion of how someone behaves. However, the answer is quite simple; no single factor comprises the human experience, rather, we are all shaped by each one of these factors every day, although as we become older, the influence of some factors becomes less strong.
Of course, the natural disposition of someone has a lot to do with his or her biological make up. Deviance can be caused by abnormal levels of some chemicals in the brain, leading to an imbalance that causes mental and behavioral disorders. For obvious reasons, such as impairment of judgment, people with severe chemical imbalances in the brain are more likely to commit a crime, simply because they cannot differentiate between right and wrong.
Deviance can be attributed to environmental factors as well. If the child was raised in an abusive household, the child learns abusive tendencies, and if these tendencies continue into the teen and adult years, deviance is almost certain to result. Additionally, a child raised by drug addicts or alcoholics learn the same patterns as their parents, and are likely to follow the footsteps because addiction is not only learned from the parent, but also inherited from the parent genetically.
His or her peers may have rejected a social deviant. In this case, you would assume that the deviance would stop after high school
graduation, but this is not usually how it turns out. The scars people get from bullying, intolerance, and rejection can last a lifetime or take decades to heal. However, with proper therapy and—in some cases—medication, one can become a fully functioning, contributing individual.
In all cases, a combination of these factors contribute to the making of a social deviant. Deviance does not always have to cause harm to others, but in the cases in which it does, it is important to seek help for the individual and anyone else in harm’s way.
