In this research we are going define the dysfunctional family, how it affect the survivors and its general impact on the societal security. The findings will be used to justify or deny the hypothesis that Aileen Wuornos, the first American Female serial killer should have never been executed, having grown up in a dysfunctional family.
Introduction
A dysfunctional family is a family that is subjected to unnatural or unhealthy family standards. This family in most cases is characterized by poverty, abuse, alcoholism, aggression, sexual abuse, violence top secrecy and self denial. The most affected members of this family are the children. The children carry out these experiences to adulthood. Commonly, the children develop low esteem, self denial, fear, hate and have difficulties expressing their feelings. A dysfunctional family does not meet the basic needs, of either one or more of its family member. Jamiolkowski defines the basic need as love and belongingness, security and safety, survival, self esteem and growth and development of independent living skills. According to Abraham Maslow, These basic needs must be met in order for an individual to contribute and operate in the society ( Jamiolkowski, Raymond, 1998). The dysfunctional Family does not disintegrate but most often stick together. Their problem binds them together.
Analyzing the basic need of a family
Security and safety in the family: The family should be a save haven to run to after a harsh day, But this is not so all the case. In dysfunctional family for instance, individuals are subjected to acts of violence. It can be the husband beating the wife or a teenager fighting with the parent’s etcetera. Other threats to the family can be verbal abuse directly or indirectly to any family member/members. The young family members can be subjected to sexual abuse or incest characterized by threats (Biggers Jeff, 2000). There are laws that protect such family members from physical and sexual abuse in all states of America. Victims though, fear that if they seek help, they would disintegrate their family or blamed for the act, hence the silence and secrecy.
Survival: The family unit which is headed by the parents should be able to provide for their children’s survival needs. These needs are food water, shelter, clothing and health care. When a family does not provide these needs to their children it is basically breaking the law and ranked as dysfunctional. In dysfunctional families however, this needs are not provided. The parents in most cases, turn a blind eye to these or some of these needs hence jeopardizing their family.
Growth and development: A family member is supposed to grow, when all their basic needs are met. This growth can be in form of changes in adolescents. At this point, they develop self expression, caring and listening to one another, concern for development of other family members, caring for self etcetera. In dysfunctional family though, is exactly the opposite, children do not express themselves (Olson et al, 1989). Parents may be overprotective, controlling and nagging hence affecting the children’s personalities and development. When the family is being victimized by a member or members, self expression is killed. The victims tend to suppress their feelings, or hooked up in getting concerned of others than self hence emotional difficulties.
Skills for independent living: Parent support children develop qualities that prepare them for their adult live. This is achieved by giving them freedom to make their own mistakes. Through independent decision making, self budget planning, doing their laundry, cooking, and planning, Children develop self independency. Overprotective parents, may want do everything for their children including decision making. Perfectionist parents want perfect children and therefore subject these children to pressure (Bedrosian R, 1994).The perfectionists are the major causes of low self esteem, because of the negative expressions they give to their children, when they don’t deliver, to their expectations. At the adult stage these children find it difficult, to make decision of their own. They need their parent’s approval even on decision making in adult life. During stressful circumstances survivors of dysfunction family are prone to depression, nervous breakdown, or even suicide.
Self esteem: Every individual needs self esteem to perform or achieve any goal in life. An individual with self esteem feels worth, responsible and capable. Most prominent and successful individuals today made it majorly because; they felt they had the capability and ability to succeed. However self esteem can be altered in dysfunctional families. This happens when a child is constantly subjected to a family member’s insults, or verbal abuse. The rejection and segregation the children are subjected to example, prohibited to play with their friends, or their friends restricted visit them at home, makes the child feel different, rejected and alone hence low self esteem.
Love and belonging: Unconditional love should be freely given by the parents to a child. The immediate family is the first love encounter to a child. However due to the nature of the dysfunction family the omissions of the parent affect the children more than the commissions. These children may interpret them as being unloved and unwanted. In the adults live, the survivor will have difficulties to sustain intimate relations and may develop a love phobia. The survivors may tend to treat everybody suspicious, not trusting and therefore prefer to be alone. This habit may instigate substance abuse.
Consequences of dysfunctional families: The survivors are most often faced with the post traumatic stress disorder (PTSD).Most survivors carry their abusive and painful experience for decades. They often are subjected to flashbacks of memories especially when they are faced with difficulties or stressful circumstances (Fraser Natalie 1998).For some these flash backs are so severe, that they can not stop them. These flash backs often causes horror and terror on their victim’s .survivors experience hallucinations which in most cases are confused with schizophrenia. The disorder mostly confused with borderline personality behavior, causes patients can be pressured to change their behavior. PTSD Can be controlled by correctly diagnosing the disorder and give correct intervention.
It is noted that the victims or survivors of dysfunctional family, many not live a fulfilling live (The Child welfare information gateway (2008).ones from extreme family may themselves turn to be abusers of others, or turn to drug and substance abuse to escape the pain of reality. If there is no early intervention, the survivors may turn to criminal (prostitution, robbery assault theft murder) and constantly rubbing shoulders with the law and security issues. They also develop severe psychological disorders and women tend to fall pregnant with unwanted babies. Majority of the survivors are school dropouts therefore illiterate hence have less chances to escape or change their fate.
How the consequences dysfunctional family impacted the life of Aileen Wuornos
Aileen’s wuornos bibliography
Aileen childhood life was more painful than most of us can bear. She was born in February 2, 1956 in Rochester Michigan, to teenage parents. Her father was schizophrenic, a jail bird who was mostly convicted for child molestation. They never really grew up to know each other. The father later hanged himself in prison. When Aileen was 4 years old her mother abandoned her. Her maternal grandparents adopted Aileen and her brother Keith. At her teenage, Aileen had sex in school so as get food, cigarettes and drugs. Aileen was constantly abused sexually by her grandfather who was an alcoholic. She also had an incest relationship with her brother Keith. At 14, Aileen bore a child out of rape, probably from the grandfather or brother. The same year she dropped out of school. Worse still, Aileen, grandmother dies of liver cancer. At 15 Aileen was thrown out of the house by her grandfather. She became parentless, guardian less; homeless-just an empty shell. Aileen lived in the woods nearby and started supporting herself as a prostitute (Schimid, David, 2005). The meager income Aileen got from prostitution in her adult life, could not sustain her with her girlfriend Tyria Moore. She resolved to steal from her clients. Between 1989- 1990 Aileen killed 7 of her clients alleging it was self defense and they tried to rape her. She earned herself the title of “the first American female serial killer” and entered the “her mistake”.
Analysis of Aileen wuornos
The question is was Aileen morally, mentally physically, emotionally and spiritual fit? Aileen was subjected to Extreme family dysfunction. As a child, Aileen basic rights were neglected and violated. She never received the basic needs that we discussed above. First she never received the need of love and belonging (Whitfield, Charles L, 1987). This is because her mother abandoned her, her grandfather sexually abusing her, and her brother sleeping with her. Secondly Aileen never received basic needs like food shelter, clean water clothing and health care. This prompted her to engage in early prostitution to attain this needs. Growth: Aileen never got the chance to develop emotionally or psychologically. She could not express her feelings. This character is revealed by her silence of the abuse she was subjected to. She never sought help or even confided in any one. (Kansas state university, 1997). Growth normally happens when all the basic needs have been met, in Aileen’s case this did not happen. Her immaturity can be reflected by the decisions she made as an adult. The decision for her to resolve to kill at an alarming rate was an immature and not well thought of. Dropping out of school also denied her the opportunity to grow and develop intellectually. She missed this vital part of childhood experience.
Self esteem: Aileen’s self esteem was immensely low. Being a victim of negligence, rape, abuse, incest, destitution, illiteracy, unwanted pregnancy, forced to give her child for Adoption prostitution and much more could definitely have no person left in her. All her humanity was stripped off her by her tragedy. Her fate made her inhuman.
Did Aileen develop skills for independent leaving? No, Aileen had no role model to teach her nor prepare her for future. Aileen had no clear line of where here childhood ended or where her adulthood began. This is evident in the career path she chose, her perception of life especially in regard to men. In her eyes men were deceivers, heartless, cruel and perhaps the earth was better without them, hence her serial killings.
Lastly did Aileen receive security and safety from the family? No she was born in the family of child molesters and rapists. Both her father and grandfather, her mother abandoned her, her brother and grand father had incest with her, she was left to be pregnant at 14 at the peak of her childhood.
Conclusion
Could Aileen wourner have been subjected to this unfair system? The answer is yes. If Aileen received early intervention, then her serial killings would not have occurred and her victims could have probably been alive today. Was the lethal justifiable in Aileen’s case? No, she did not deserve it but rather counseling and help. The criminal justice system failed to execute its mandate, by helping Aileen who was trapped in her own world of misery and mental instability come out. In so doing they could have set precedence with humanistic face in handling survivors. This may have influence the legislation and reinforcement of better family protection laws that would better protect the survivors as well as the society at large. Secondly the nation’s security of crimes by offenders would have been addressed. Serial killings which are normally carried out by mentally unstable individuals would be reduced. I support the hypothesis that Aileen was not fit for lethal.
REFERENCES

( Jamiolkowski,Raymond.(1998).Coping in a Dysfunctional Family. Coping series. The Rosen Publishing Group, New York.
(Kansas state university 1997).Dysfunctional families: Recognizing them and Overcoming Their Effect. Help Your Self .Retrieved on 5th October 2011, from http://www.k-state.edu/counseling/topics/relationships/dysfunc.html
Fraser Natalie (1998).The Consequences Of Social And Family Dysfunction:
A Perspective From New Zealand. American Academy Of Experts In Traumatized Stress. Retrieved on 5th October 2011 FROM http://www.aaets.org/article60.htm
Child welfare information gateway,(2008.Definition of child Abuse and neglect. Administration For Children And Families Retrieved on 5th October 2011, from http://www.childwelfare.gov/can/defining/federal.cfm
Olson et al,(1989). Circumplex model: systemic assessment and treatment of families
Volume 4, Issue 1 of Journal of psychotherapy & the family series. Routledge, London
Bedrosian R,(1994).Treating Family Of Origin Problems: A Cognitive Approach. Guilford Press,new York.

Biggers Jeff.(2000). Chemical Dependency and the Dysfunctional Family
The Drug Abuse Prevention Library. The Rosen Publishing Group, New York

Whitfield, Charles L,(1987).Healing The Child Within: Discovery And Recovery For Adult Children Of Dysfunctional Families Recovery Classics Series.HCI.Florida USA.
Schimid,David (2005). Natural Born Celebrities: Serial Killers In American Culture
The Heritage Of Sociology Series. University of Chicago Press, USA