Narcissism and Risk for Violence: A Forensic Psychology Case Study of Jodi Arias

Nickel 2023 - Narcissism and Risk for Violence

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On June 4, 2008, Jodi Ann Arias brutally murdered her intermittent boyfriend, Travis Victor Alexander, in his Mesa, Arizona home. Alexander sustained twenty-seven stab wounds, a slit throat, and a single gunshot wound to the head – a brutal murder that Arias was convicted for on May 8, 2013, and subsequently sentenced to life in prison without the possibility of parole for on October 21, 2015. Throughout their relationship, Alexander’s murder, and Arias’ trial, Arias behaved in a concerning fashion, in which she illustrated traits commonly associated with psychological concepts of narcissism and risk for violence, including jealousy, low self-esteem, and hostility. In examining Arias’ behavior and the related murder of Alexander through a forensic psychological lens, it can be argued that Arias demonstrated behaviors characteristic of narcissism and an inherent risk for violence. Current scholarly research on narcissism and risk for violence is reviewed, in which Arias and her murder of Alexander are utilized as an empirically relevant forensic psychology case study.