As a forensic psychologist, I have examined over four thousand adults and children, including many violent juveniles. I have examined killer kids both before and after their crimes, and have spent a great deal of time trying to fathom why kids kill, and what can be done to prevent such tragedies in the future. But before we can address prevention programs for violent youth, we must first understand the root causes of violence in young people. There are a multitude of biological and sociological explanations offered for why kids go over the edge and kill.
Some experts think so.
Some researchers as early as the nineteenth century believed that criminals were born, not made, and attempted to identify criminals based on their facial features, skull bumps, or other physical characteristics. In the 1960's, there was a controversy over whether criminals have special chromosome patterns. Currently, many experts are looking at an expanding body of research that indicates the foundations for aggression may be set not by genetics but by influences during gestation. Studies have shown that an expectant mother's stress level, nutritional habits, use of drugs and alcohol, and exposure to environmental toxins, may hardwire the fetal brain into a state of hypervigilance or aggression. These studies suggest that a mother's poor health habits, emotional state, or exposure to harmful substances can affect the fetus by impairing the neurological mechanisms that regulate temperament and self-control.