You’re the Psychologist… Ask yourself… What do you believe to be the causes of Andrea Yates’ murder of her own children??

Andrea Yates On June 20, 2001, after her husband had left for work, Andrea Yates, a Houston mother, drowned her five children in the family bathtub. She told police she drowned them from burning in hell. A jury rejected her insanity defense, and she was sentenced to serve life at a psychiatric prison. In a second trial (the first was appealed), the jury acquitted her, and she was sent to a hospital, not prison.

Research indicates that brain chemistry plays a role in psychological disorder. Yates was diagnosed as suffering from postpartum depression with psychosis, and she had been taken off her antipsychotic medication about a month before the children’s deaths. Andrea’s husband, Russell, claimed he had been pleading with doctors to again prescribe Haldol, used in treating people who hear voices or have delusional thoughts. Mood disorders run in families and Andrea’s was no exception. A sister and 2 brothers were also on antidepressants.

Do we find the cause in her private mental functioning? Andrea experienced low self-esteem. At the time she killed her children, she believed she was possessed and that the sign of Satan (666) was marked on her scalp. She told the police that her children “weren’t developing correctly” and that drowning them was the only way to save them.

Andrea was ruled by her irrational (and unconscious) desire to be free from the burden of so many children and the life of a submissive housewife. These desires resulted in her drastic actions.

Doctors had strongly recommended no more children when they saw how seriously ill (mentally) Andrea was becoming with each child. Yet, her husband ignored their warnings and impregnated her a fifth time. Is it possible that Andrea saw her previously loving care only resulting in the punishment of more children and more responsibility, and therefore, she changed her actions towards the children to achieve a different result?

The individualism of American society plays a critical role in its accelerating rate of depression. Her extended family was not around to help when she needed them so desperately. Her husband was not socially supportive. He claimed he had never changed a diaper. How could he leave her alone with the five children when she could barely care for herself? Why did her doctor take her off her antipsychotic medication?

The EVIDENCE Mood disorders run in families, and Andrea’s was no exception. A sister and two brother were also on antidepressants. A lack of the neurotransmitter serotonin is correlated with depression. Andrea had previously been diagnosed with post-partum depression with psychosis, and had been taken off her antipsychotic medication (people who are psychotic are described as having breaks from reality) about a month before her children’s deaths. Her husband even claimed to have begged doctors to put her back on Haldol, a medicine used to treat people who hear voices or have delusional thoughts.

The EVIDENCE Yates’ family history is full of mental disorders such as bipolar disorder and major depressive disorder. Although Andrea had a fairly normal adolescent life, her exposure to family members with mental illness in her early childhood could have impacted her significantly.

The EVIDENCE Since Western culture is so individualistic, the Yates’ extended families weren’t around to help. She learned that it was her responsibility to take care of her family by herself, and if she couldn’t handle it, she needed to figure out what to do by herself. She also may have learned earlier in her life that the best way to deal with problems is to just make them go away. If it worked for her in the past, why wouldn’t it work in the future?

The EVIDENCE Andrea Yates also had a defect in her private mental functioning—the way she thought about and perceived her life. She has low self-esteem. At the time she killed her children, she believed that she was possessed and that the sign of Satan (666) was marked on her scalp. She told the police that her children “weren’t developing correctly” and that drowning them was the only way to save them.

The EVIDENCE Andrea Yates’ needs for love and acceptance were not met in her husband. Sources say that he wasn’t socially or emotionally supportive. He claimed to have never even changed a diaper. He left her home alone with 5 children when he was clearly aware that she couldn’t even take care of herself. After their fourth child, the doctors had strongly urged against further children, but he clearly didn’t listen and impregnated her with a fifth.

The EVIDENCE Finally, the religious environment that the Yates family was in was very extreme. They attended the church of a sharp-tongued, volatile preacher, who spoke with fervor about the wickedness of Eve and of all women, and insisted that if a mother did not bring up her children in the ways of Jesus, she and her children were bound for Hell. Andrea Yates was captivated and convinced, and she would later reference some of the preacher’s statements when she testified in court.

You’re the Psychologist… Ask yourself… What do you believe to be the causes of Andrea Yates’ murder of her own children?? Directions: Sit with the groups you’ve been numbered into. Using your notes, BECOME A PSYCHOLOGIST of your assigned perspective. On your paper, write how your perspective would attribute Yates’ behavior. You MUST useevidence from the reading and / or video.

You’re the Psychologist… Ask yourself… What do you believe to be the causes of Andrea Yates’ murder of her own children?? FOR EXAMPLE: “As a psychologist of the ___________ perspective, I believe that Andrea Yates’ behavior can be attributed to ________________________. This is evidenced by __________________________________.”