JAG Armchair Psych Profile Family Dynamics

JBean

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What do we know about his psychological makeup?
 
The San Diego U-T published a background article on JAG today.

Here's the link:

http://www.signonsandiego.com/news/2010/mar/06/deeply-troubled-picture-emerges-of-suspects-life/

Here's an excerpt:


The article is fairly well balanced, establishing the facts of a troubled life without trying to evoke sympathy.


“It seemed like his medications changed a lot, and we didn’t know if that was because of his mother or because he was seeing someone new” for treatment, said the neighbor and family friend, who also said Catherine Gardner worked as a mental-health administrator.

(Thanks for the interesting and informative article. I didn't realize he had older two sisters either.)
 
The San Diego U-T published a background article on JAG today.

Here's the link:
http://www.signonsandiego.com/news/2010/mar/06/deeply-troubled-picture-emerges-of-suspects-life/

Whoa! It says, ""He could be moody and aggressive when he didn’t take his medication.""

What medication? For what? Where's the doctor? IMO, a high school boy, athletic, with girl friends, yet taking medication to control mood and aggressiveness is not exactly normal.

OK it says further: ""His parents’ separation caused him extreme anxiety, eventually leading to hospitalization and psychiatric treatment, court records say.""

With a divorce rate close to 50%, a lot of children go through life without one parent. Why is JAG different?

Lots of puzzle pieces missing.
 
The relative on John and Ken said that he does not recall any single traumatic event in his life.
 
Whoa! It says, ""He could be moody and aggressive when he didn’t take his medication.""

What medication? For what? Where's the doctor? IMO, a high school boy, athletic, with girl friends, yet taking medication to control mood and aggressiveness is not exactly normal.

OK it says further: ""His parents’ separation caused him extreme anxiety, eventually leading to hospitalization and psychiatric treatment, court records say.""

With a divorce rate close to 50%, a lot of children go through life without one parent. Why is JAG different?

Lots of puzzle pieces missing.

"Dr. Divy Kikani, a psychiatrist who treated Gardner for bipolar disorder, wrote that his patient was "extremely remorseful" for inappropriate sexual relations with two girls, ages 13 and 14. He said Gardner was "highly motivated" to get help.

Kikani didn't respond to phone messages Wednesday."


Source: Why Gardner Eluded Suspicion | NBC San Diego

http://www.nbcsandiego.com/news/local-beat/John-Gardner-Charmed-Some-.html
 
Whoa! It says, ""He could be moody and aggressive when he didn’t take his medication.""

What medication? For what? Where's the doctor? IMO, a high school boy, athletic, with girl friends, yet taking medication to control mood and aggressiveness is not exactly normal.

OK it says further: ""His parents’ separation caused him extreme anxiety, eventually leading to hospitalization and psychiatric treatment, court records say.""

With a divorce rate close to 50%, a lot of children go through life without one parent. Why is JAG different?

Lots of puzzle pieces missing.


Bi-polar often emerges after a traumatic event....he was an outcast to many at his high school during his important transformative years between being parent centered and peer centered. While he may have had girl friends, he does not seem to have been well accepted socially in high school. That trend may have continued on into his adult life.

On initial examination of this case, it would appear Mr. Gardner was deeply effected by his parents divorce, and the likely loss of contact and support from his father. His father's death may have further loosened whatever ties to reality that Mr. Gardner had.
 
"Dr. Divy Kikani, a psychiatrist who treated Gardner for bipolar disorder, wrote that his patient was "extremely remorseful" for inappropriate sexual relations with two girls, ages 13 and 14. He said Gardner was "highly motivated" to get help.
Kikani didn't respond to phone messages Wednesday."


Source: Why Gardner Eluded Suspicion | NBC San Diego

http://www.nbcsandiego.com/news/local-beat/John-Gardner-Charmed-Some-.html

WTH? When was this treatment? High school? After HS?

This guy is certainly not your average pedestrian.
 
At age 10 I do believe it is hard on a boy to have no father, seems like father did want to see him, gifts returned?????
At 10 is when boys start doing more and more with fathers, fishing, sports etc.
It looks like JG was emotional and started to go over the deep end and kept on going.........
then mother married a guy that got JG through high school, divorced him and married again????
and mother is an admin of mental health.............OH MY!
 
At age 10 I do believe it is hard on a boy to have no father, seems like father did want to see him, gifts returned?????
At 10 is when boys start doing more and more with fathers, fishing, sports etc.
It looks like JG was emotional and started to go over the deep end and kept on going.........
then mother married a guy that got JG through high school, divorced him and married again????
and mother is an admin of mental health.............OH MY!

I don't want to disagree with you, but with a divorce rate close to 50%, a lot of children go through life without one parent - and they don't grow to be killers.

I too find the mother being in the mental health field ironic.
 
WTH? When was this treatment? High school? After HS?

This guy is certainly not your average pedestrian.

You'd be surprised how many kids are on antidepressants, Ritalin, or some other of that stuff. Some of them can create absolute rage and some really screwy thinking from the psych meds alone.
 
I'm also wondering how tall is his Gardner's mom? Has he transferred issues with his mother onto them??
 
Whoa! It says, ""He could be moody and aggressive when he didn’t take his medication.""

What medication? For what? Where's the doctor? IMO, a high school boy, athletic, with girl friends, yet taking medication to control mood and aggressiveness is not exactly normal.
The article I read (I think it's the one you linked) stated that he was taking lithium at one point during high school, but stopped because of the side effects (specifically Irritable Bowel Syndrome).

Lithium is a 'dicey' med, and it's hard to control it well; one of the biggest problems with it is keeping it at a maintenance dose, as it has a correlation with the amount of salt one eats...too much salt, lithium level decreases; too little, lithium level increases.

Furthermore, lithium levels must be checked often, which means Dr visits, lab work, and tweaking the dose if necessarily.

Bi-polar is definitely treated with lithium, and untreated bi-polar, at it's extreme, can lead to psychosis and breakdowns. He was hospitalized (the article says) at one point; if so, he was in a significant episode, and posed a danger to self/others (the primary reason for involuntary hospitalization, especially in a teen).

BP I or II can be treated with other medication, but with all psychotropic meds, it takes some trial and error to find the right med, the right cocktail, to stabilize a person; and this trial and error can take a lot of time to discover, including switching from one drug to another, and allowing time for the meds to build up to a therapeutic level. BP is also one of the most difficult axis one dx's to treat, from what I've seen, as the non-compliance to medical treatment is higher than in the other two axis one dx (depression and schizophrenia).

Best-
Herding Cats
 
WTH? When was this treatment? High school? After HS?

This guy is certainly not your average pedestrian.

IMHO, this is a problem, because California is a mandated reporting state, and a crime like this should've been reported. The psychiatrist violated the law when he did not report it, it seems to me...unless it was the assault for which Gardner was being incarcerated.

Best-
Herding Cats
 
I'm not sure if this belongs here, or anywhere, so please move or delete as appropriate. John Albert Gardner's mother and a male living in the home are active members of a local running/drinking/social club associated with the Hash House Harriers. This group gives nicknames to their members that are generally highly sexualized. There are numerous pictures on the website of members in various stages of undress and of provocative behavior.

They held a run on Dec 27 in the Rancho Bernardo Community Park and the route goes mere feet from where Chelsea was found. It may also be on the route where the jogger was attacked on the same day.

While JAG doesn't appear to have been part of the group, he is seen on the website at a gathering with members in November.

It's my opinion that exposure to the sexualization of runners could have affected JAG and influenced his choice of victim.
 
We might want to overlay some of JAG's development over Erickson's "Stages of Development.

Wikipedia seems pretty good on this subject: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Erikson's_stages_of_psychosocial_development

Here's an overview:

http://honolulu.hawaii.edu/intranet/committees/FacDevCom/guidebk/teachtip/erikson.htm

Psychoanalyst Erik Erikson describes the physical, emotional and psychological stages of development and relates specific issues, or developmental work or tasks, to each stage. For example, if an infant's physical and emotional needs are met sufficiently, the infant completes his/her task -- developing the ability to trust others. However, a person who is stymied in an attempt at task mastery may go on to the next state but carries with him or her the remnants of the unfinished task. For instance, if a toddler is not allowed to learn by doing, the toddler develops a sense of doubt in his or her abilities, which may complicate later attempts at independence. Similarly, a preschooler who is made to feel that the activities he or she initiates are bad may develop a sense of guilt that inhibits the person later in life.

Infant
Trust vs Mistrust
Needs maximum comfort with minimal uncertainty
to trust himself/herself, others, and the environment

Toddler
Autonomy vs Shame and Doubt
Works to master physical environment while maintaining
self-esteem

Preschooler
Initiative vs Guilt
Begins to initiate, not imitate, activities; develops
conscience and sexual identity

School-Age Child
Industry vs Inferiority
Tries to develop a sense of self-worth by refining skills

Adolescent
Identity vs Role Confusion
Tries integrating many roles (child, sibling, student, athlete,
worker) into a self-image under role model and peer pressure

Young Adult
Intimacy vs Isolation
Learns to make personal commitment to another as
spouse, parent or partner

Middle-Age Adult
Generativity vs Stagnation
Seeks satisfaction through productivity in career, family, and
civic interests

Older Adult
Integrity vs Despair
Reviews life accomplishments, deals with loss
and preparation for death
 
I'm not sure if this belongs here, or anywhere, so please move or delete as appropriate. John Albert Gardner's mother and a male living in the home are active members of a local running/drinking/social club associated with the Hash House Harriers. This group gives nicknames to their members that are generally highly sexualized. There are numerous pictures on the website of members in various stages of undress and of provocative behavior.

They held a run on Dec 27 in the Rancho Bernardo Community Park and the route goes mere feet from where Chelsea was found. It may also be on the route where the jogger was attacked on the same day.

While JAG doesn't appear to have been part of the group, he is seen on the website at a gathering with members in November.

It's my opinion that exposure to the sexualization of runners could have affected JAG and influenced his choice of victim.


I think this definitely belongs here. I brings up the question of what level and sorts of sexuality were in JAG's home, and what influences it had on him. What kinds of sexual things was JAG lead to believe were normal? Was S & M and role played rape and murder a part of his parents activities?
 
JAG's relative that was on the radio show stated that he was disturbed and violent at least at age 8--two years before his parents were divorced. Some people are just born bad, he appears to be one of them.
 
I don't want to disagree with you, but with a divorce rate close to 50%, a lot of children go through life without one parent - and they don't grow to be killers.

I too find the mother being in the mental health field ironic.

I also was a single mom with 2 children. I had a husband walk out to 'find himself' when my children both needed him so bad. Yes my son was 12 at the time.
I just see where JAG couldn't cope and he needed help back at age 10.
She being in the fild should of scene something wasn't right..............
may be she is not right in the head either????
who knows???
 
I'm not sure if this belongs here, or anywhere, so please move or delete as appropriate. John Albert Gardner's mother and a male living in the home are active members of a local running/drinking/social club associated with the Hash House Harriers. This group gives nicknames to their members that are generally highly sexualized. There are numerous pictures on the website of members in various stages of undress and of provocative behavior.
They held a run on Dec 27 in the Rancho Bernardo Community Park and the route goes mere feet from where Chelsea was found. It may also be on the route where the jogger was attacked on the same day.

While JAG doesn't appear to have been part of the group, he is seen on the website at a gathering with members in November.

It's my opinion that exposure to the sexualization of runners could have affected JAG and influenced his choice of victim.
BBM
ok, I think we are learning more about the way he was raised and the sexual overtones.
So his mom is a sexy runner.........petite?? good shape??? pretty??? young looking???
This could be what he goes after in his mind...........JMO
 

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