Lee Harvey Oswald 1

Written Assignment : Lee Harvey Oswald

Student Name : Audrée Mathieu-Laroche

Presented to : Cathy Lountzis for PSYCH-350-213-LA

Part I : Criminal History

Lee Harvey Oswald was born on the 18th of October 1939 in New Orleans, Louisiana. He

started being a truant during 7th grade and finally quit school after a month of 10th grade. While he was

in the Marine, he was court-martialed for shooting himself in the shoulder and later on for fighting with

a sergent who he thought responsible for the punishment he got for the shooting matter. He was

punished again later on for shooting his rifle in the jungle while they were in the Philippines. In March

1963, he purchased a rifle and a revolver under the name of “A. Hidell”. On April 10th 1963, Oswald

attempted to murder the U.S. retired Major General, Edwin Walker. Fortunately, Walker was only

slightly injured. It was proven later on that the bullet used for the attempt murder of Edwin Walker was

the same as the ones used to kill the President John F. Kennedy. Lee Harvey Oswald murdered J.D

Tippit, a police patrolman who tried to arrest him, and John F. Kennedy on November 22nd 1963.

(Wikipedia,2015; Bio., n.d.)

Lee Harvey Oswald will never have a trial and will never face real accusations for his crimes.

Less than forty eight hours after his arrest, Oswald was shot and killed by Jack Ruby who said he did

this out of rage after the assassination of Kennedy. (Bio.,n.d.)

Part II: Etiology

Etiological Factor #1: Father Deprivation

Father deprivation consists of a child living without his father whether it is because he is dead

or because he has no contact with him. It is a more reliable predictor for criminal activity than poverty
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and the environment. (Bartol & Bartol, 2015)

Lee Harvey Oswald's father, Robert Edward Lee Oswald, died two months before his birth. He

lived all his youth only with his mother as a parent. (Wikipedia, 2015)

Study #1

Does single parenthood increase the probability of teenage promiscuity, substance use,

and crime?

This study discussed the relationship between family structure and delinquency in a teenager.

The data was collected through surveys and interviews made with 2000 teenagers of at least fifteen

years old about the history of their family and the presence of their fathers in the past. Findings indicate

that only five more years spent with the biological father has a big impact. It decreases the probability

of a youth of smoking by 5.3 percent, the probability of drinking alcohol by 1.2 percent and the

probability of engaging in sexual activities at a young age by 3.4 percent. All these acts are considered

as delinquent for young teenagers under the age of 15. This relation, like father deprivation, can not yet

be well explained. More research on the subject must be done toexplain the source of this relation.

(Antecol & Bedard, 2005)

Etiological Factor #2: Peer rejection

An early peer rejection is an important predictor for an antisocial behaviour. The key period is

elementary school, more precisely between 1st and 2nd grade. If the child is victim of peer rejection

during these years, he is more prone to having an antisocial behaviour by grade 4. Since they do not

have opportunities to practice their social skills, children who are peer rejected become antisocial and

lack of interpersonal skills. Children with ADHD have been shown as more prone to being socially

excluded or peer rejected.(Bartol & Bartol, 2015)

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Lee Harvey Oswald attended many different schools from 1st to 6th grade. This is a predictor for

peer rejection since he did not have the time to make friends and was always the “new kid”. By the age

of 17, he attended 12 different schools. (Wikipedia, 2015) When he arrived at a new school in 10th

grade, in Bronx, the other kids were making fun of him because of his “western” look and his accent.

Because of this, he became a truant and stayed home watching movies and reading instead of attending

school. (McAdams, n.d.)

Study #2

The Role of Peer Rejection in the Link between Reactive Aggression and Academic Performance

This study examined the relationship between peer rejection and an aggressive behaviour and

academic performance. It also looked at if peer rejection could be the reason of a link between

aggressive behaviour and bad academic performance. The data was collected through the mean of

study questions asked to 147 school-aged (from 5 to 13 years old) children who attended a community-

based after school program. Findings indicated that peer rejectionis associated to bad outcomes such as

reactive aggression and poor academic performance. According to the authors, more practice of their

social skills would help the children victim of peer rejection to cope with their internal aggressiveness.

(Paula et.al. , 2013)

Etiological Factor #3: Social Learning Theory

Social Learning Theory states that aggressive behaviour is learned through the observation of

others. If the behaviour is rewarded, it is more likely to be repeated. Also, a strong link can be made

between media violence and aggression. Watching media violence increases the aggressive behaviour

in a child. There is also a strong link between violent pornography and violence. An individual who is

exposed to violent pornography will be more prone to being desensitized to the victim. Also, it can lead
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to the acceptance of the rape myth which says that “no means yes” and that the woman getting raped

“did something to deserve it”. (Bartol & Bartol, 2015)

Lee Harvey Oswald enrolled in the Marine at the age of seventeen. He would then witness

violent acts and be able to carry a firearm. He went to war in the Philippines, Taiwan, and Japan.

When someone is at war, he can witness a lot of violent acts all around him. This leads, as Social

Learning Theory states, to an aggressive and violent behaviour. Oswald had an aggressive behaviour.

He once struck his mother and threatened his brother's wife with his pocket knife simply because they

had an argument. Also, his mother had placed him in a Youth House when he was fourteen years old

and was surrounded by other youth who had killed people or done other very important criminal acts.

(Bio., n.d.; McAdams, n.d.)

Study #3

Early Exposure to TV Violence Predicts Aggression in Adulthood

This study examined the relationship between exposure to media violence at a young age and

aggressive behaviour as an adult. An original study had been done with 557 children from across the

world aged six to ten years old with questions on their TV habits and how much media violence they

witnessed. This study used 329 participants from the previous study, but who were then aged of 20 to

25 years old. They asked questions to the participants about their habits of watching violence on

television and on their aggressive behaviour. They also looked at all their criminal record and violation

records. The results revealed that an early exposure to TV violence has a strong relationship with an

aggressive behaviour in adulthood, both for males and females. According to the authors, this

relationship only happens later on. Meaning that a child being exposed to TV violence will not show a

more aggressive behaviour as a child. It will take up until the child is an adult to showsigns of

aggression. (Huesmann et.al., 2015)

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Etiological Factor #4: School Failure

School failure can either be failing classes or not attending school. It is linked with delinquency.

Antisocial behaviour doubles in young boys who fail a grade in elementary school. Also, poor reading

skills predicts a later arrest. School failure can be linked to crime since it leads to peer rejection, which

we already stated as being a risk factor, to truancy, which is also a risk factor since it leads to having

more time to do criminal acts. When a young person is not at school, it often find ways to pass time by

doing criminal acts. (Bartol & Bartol)

Lee Harvey Oswald was a truant by 7th grade. He attended twelve different schools in total and

finally quit school at the beginning of his 10th grade. (Wikipedia, 2015)

Etiological Factor #5: APD (Antisocial Personality Disorder)

Antisocial Personality Disorder occurs when there is a history of continuous behaviour in which

the rights of others are violated. It is more likely to happen in men, 3%, than women, 1%. For someone

to be diagnosed with APD, he has to show all symptoms explained in the DSM-5. First of all, the

person has to show at least three of the following symptoms: failure to conform to social norms;

performing acts that are grounds for arrest, deceitfulness for profit or pleasure, impulsivity, irritability

and aggressiveness indicated mostly by fights, disregard for safety of self and others, consistent

irresponsibility indicated by failure to honour obligations, lack of remorse. If the person does show

signs of three of these symptoms, we after need to make sure that he is over eighteen years old, that

there is evidence of a Conduct Disorder before the age of fifteen, and that these symptoms are not due

to a manic episode or to schizophrenia. It has been proven that in corretional facilities, 30-50% of the

population has APD. It is important to understand that not all antisocial person becomes a criminal and

not all criminals are antisocial. Antisocial Personality Disorder links with crime because of its

symptoms such as impulsivity, irritability and lack of remorse. Indeed, people with APD often turn to
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substance abuse like alcohol which is itself a strong predictor for crime. (Bartol & Bartol, 2015)

Lee Harvey Oswald can be diagnosed with APD. Fisrt of all, he presents three of the symptoms

described in the previous part. He fails to conform to social norm when he commits crimes such as

attempting to murder Edwin Walker and killing J.D Tippit and John F. Kennedy. Also, he is irritable

and aggressive and it can be showed by fights he used to start with his mother and his brother's wife.

He once struck his mother and threatened his brother's wife with his pocket knife. Finally, he is

impulsive which can be proven by the way he just went to attempt murder on Edwin Walker. This was

a very impulsive act since it was not planned before. (Spartacus Educational, 2014) Also, he was more

than eighteen years old and these symptoms can not be due to a manic episode or to shcizophrenia

since he does not show any signs of these disorders. Finally, Oswald can clearly be diagnosed with a

conduct disorder before the age of fifteen years old. His psychiatrist, Dr. Hartogs, said he has a

“personality pattern disturbance with passive-aggressive tendencies. (McAdams, n.d.)

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Works Cited

Antecol, H., & Bedard, K. (2007). Does single parenthood increase the probability of teenage

promiscuity, substance use, and crime? Journal of Population Economics, 20(1), 55.

Bartol, C.R., & Bartol A.M. (2015). Criminal development. In C. Lountzis (Ed.), Pearson Criminal

Justice Canada: Pearson.

Breslow, J.M. (November 2013). 8 Things You May Not Know About Lee Harvey Oswald. Retrieved

from http://www.pbs.org/wgbh/pages/frontline/biographies/oswald/8-things-you-may-not

know- about-lee-harvey-oswald/

Huesmann, L. R., Moise-Titus, J., Podolski, C., & Eron, L. D. (2003). Longitudinal relations between

children’s exposure to TV violence and their aggressive and violent behavior in young

adulthood: 1977-1992. Developmental Psychology, 39, 201-221.

Lee Harvey Oswald. (n.d.). Retrieved from http://mcadams.posc.mu.edu/oswald.htm

Lee Harvey Oswald. (2015). The Biography.com website. Retrieved from

http://www.biography.com/people/lee-harvey-oswald-9430309

Lee Harvey Oswald. (n.d.). Retrieved from http://spartacus-educational.com/JFKoswald.htm

Lee Harvey Oswald. (2015). Retrieved from http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Lee_Harvey_Oswald

Paula, J. F., Hendrickson, M., Sonia, L. R., abrielli, J., & Evans, S. (2013). The role of peer rejection in

the link between reactive aggression and academic performance. Child & Youth Care Forum,

42(3), 193-205.