The Psychology of Murder Concealment Acts

Abstract

The escalating trend of murder victim concealment worldwide appears worrying, and literature does not reveal any specific study focusing on victim concealment amongst convicted male Malaysian murderers. Therefore, this study was aimed at investigating the psychological traits that may underlie the act of murder concealment in Malaysia via mixed method approaches. Male murderers (n = 71) from 11 prisons were selected via purposive sampling technique. In the quantitative analysis, a cross-sectional study design using the validated questionnaire was used. The questionnaire contained murder concealment variables and four Malay validated psychometric instruments measuring: personality traits, self-control, aggression, and cognitive distortion. The independent sample t-tests revealed the significantly higher level of anger in murderers who did not commit concealment acts (8.55 ± 2.85, p < 0.05) when compared with those who did so (6.40 ± 2.64). Meanwhile, the Kruskal–Wallis H test revealed that anger and the personality trait of aggressiveness-hostility significantly varied across the different groups of murder concealment acts (p < 0.05). The qualitative data obtained via the in-depth interviews revealed two important themes for the murderers to commit murder concealment acts: (1) fear of discovery and punishment and (2) blaming others. These findings discussed from the perspectives of the murderers within the context of criminology and psychology may provide the first ever insight into the murder concealment acts in Malaysia that can benefit the relevant authorities for crime prevention and investigation efforts.

Homesickness and Socio-Cultural Adaptation towards Perceived Stress among International Students of a Public University in Sabah: An Exploration Study for Social Sustainability

“…If a student cannot adapt well to the local language and culture, he will have a bigger chance of suffering from homesickness. The result of Homesickness and Socio-Cultural Adaptation is related as well, since year one and year three and above students have a high total mean of Homesickness, while they have a low total mean of Socio-Cultural Adaptation [32].…”

“…From different perspectives, these cultural contrasts carry many challenges. It would always show that when individuals are exposed to a new culture confusion and anxiety occur due to culture and environmental contrast [29][30][31][32][33]. The confusion and anxiety from the new culture and environment may be why year one students are the worst adaptable group.…”

Smartphone Addiction and Sleep Quality on Academic Performance of University Students: An Exploratory Research

“…Good physical health and reduced stress, related to good sleep quality, may increase the motivation to study and improve academic performance [44,45].…”

Prevalence, causes and impacts of human trafficking in Asian countries: A scoping review

“…20 Studies in Malaysia show that it is important to identify the nature of crimes in order to formulate preventive efforts. [21][22][23][24][25][26][27][28] The goal of this review is to mainstream the activities of human trafficking in Asia alongside the violation of national and international human rights. Additionally, this review attempts to tap deeper into the nature of crime and to highlight the incidents of human trafficking in Asia and recommend suggestions to policymakers and practitioners to prioritize the concerned issue based on the findings of this review.…”