Wetting the bed is commonly seen as a childhood sign of serial killers, but is this true? Can you tell if a person may be a serial killer because they wet the bed late into life? We are here to answer your questions surrounding this topic.
Late bedwetting is not a sign of serial killers, though psychologists for quite a while have believed it is. This comes from the MacDonald Triad which is used to try to predict who may become a serial killer. However, bedwetting has been shown not to be an accurate sign.
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Why Do Serial Killers Wet The Bed?
When it comes to serial killers and their psychological makeup, psychologists and criminologists constantly search for ways to predict if someone may become a serial killer. Some of these ways have proven somewhat accurate, while others have proven entirely useless. Late bedwetting is one of the factors, while not 100% accurate, does seem to often appear amongst serial killers.
The primary reason why late bedwetting is considered an early sign of serial killers is that it is linked to emotional abuse and neglect. According to the Child Psychology Service, late bedwetting, also known as enuresis, can occur in children who suffered from abuse and neglect during their younger years. This prevents children from developing a healthy psychological mindset necessary to function in society, which is seen in serial killers.
The abuse or neglect can take on many forms, with the most common being:
- Being left in soiled diapers as a toddler.
- Being afraid to leave their bedroom to use the bathroom.
- Were repeatedly punished for having accidents.
- Were not given the care and love needed to master using the bathroom.
- A parent shamed them for their late bedwetting.
Is Late Bed-Wetting Actually An Early Sign of A Serial Killer?
You possibly know someone who is a late bed-wetter and want to know whether or not you need to worry about them becoming a serial killer. The good news is that while late bedwetting may be a common trait amongst serial killers, it is by no means an accurate childhood sign of serial killers. Many people suffer from late bedwetting because of mental health problems and medical conditions.
Thanks to the MacDonald Triad, the myth that late bedwetting is a sign of a serial killer has been spread throughout much of common media. Psychology Today goes into depth on why the MacDonald Triad cannot truly predict if someone will become a serial killer or not. Dr. Kent Kiehl, in his book, The Psychopath Whisperer, also states:
“Yes, many people who commit homicide as adults had these symptoms as children, but the vast majority of children who have these symptoms do not go on to commit homicide as adults.”
Dr. Kent Kiehl, The Psychopath Whisperer
So just because your neighbor’s kid is a late bed-wetter, there is only a 0.00008% chance that child will grow up to become a serial killer. They likely need more time to grow out of the habit or may have an underlying medical condition. While it can be fun to believe in the myth of late bedwetting, there is simply no hard truth to the myth and no true research done to support it.
Where Does the Myth of Serial Killers Wetting The Bed Come From?
In 1963, the psychologist J.M. MacDonald wrote a paper titled “The Threat To Kill.” In it, he outlined three behaviors he had observed being common amongst many of his patients, particularly the sadistic and aggressive ones. These behaviors were: late bedwetting (enuresis), fire-starting, and animal abuse. As stated in Psychology Today:
“When other researchers tried to replicate it with much larger groups and better controls, no one’s results came close.“
Psychology Today
So even though testing showed this to be an inaccurate form of prediction, many people still believe this to be an early childhood sign of serial killers. J.M. MacDonald himself did not believe his clinical observations to be predictive and merely saw them as intriguing observations.
After MacDonald put forth his observations on the MacDonald triad, other researchers decided to perform tests based on those observations, including the FBI Behavioral Analysis Team. Even though their results were flawed, they pushed the MacDonald Triad as a fairly accurate form of predicting early serial killers. Thanks to these early flawed studies, modern media now believes in late bedwetting being a sign of serial killers, even with little data to back it up.
Does This Mean The MacDonald Triad Has No Real Predictive Power?
While you may not be able to predict the next serial killer based on their bedwetting habits, the other two pieces of the MacDonald Triad do have merit. Amongst nearly all serial killers, fire starting and animal abuse are two of the biggest common factors in their childhoods. Now you may see this and go, “See, my neighbor’s child will be a serial killer because they love to play with fire!”
It is important to note that even though these can be a good indicator of a serial killer early on, you must consider everything else in the child’s life. Many children, especially adolescent boys, enjoy playing with fire but never grow into serial killers or even violent criminals in general.
The Washington City Paper states in an article:
“What’s more, from the case studies it’s apparent the violent criminals had so many other bad things going on (abusive parents, personality disorders, mental problems) that it’s difficult to see why you’d attach any great significance to bed-wetting, or to the triad generally.”
Are Serial Killers Also Bed-Wetters?
So while fire-starting and animal abuse may appear in many serial killers’ childhoods, you should not jump to conclusions about anyone you may know. Many factors go into making someone into a serial killer, and three simple factors are not enough to predict future serial killers.