The confirmation of the research hypothesis shows a close interconnection between one's own experienced trauma and the perception of perpetrators of serious crime. Girls with experience of violence probably have higher sensitivity to narratives that suggest that even perpetrators (e.g., Jeffrey Dahmer or the Menéndez brothers) were victims of dysfunctional environments and abuse in the past. These adolescents more easily identify with psychological mechanisms that led to radicalization or aggression. (Brychta, 2026).

On the other hand, excessive consumption of the true crime genre, where 81.3 % of girls seek additional information about killers, carries a huge risk when combined with romanticized content on social networks. If a serial killer is perceived through a prism of attractiveness (which nearly 80 % of girls encountered on the networks), dangerous emotional confusion and legitimization of pathological patterns in partner relationships (the phenomenon of hybristophilia) can occur. Here social work faces an ethical and educational boundary – it is necessary to develop adolescents' ability to empathize and understand the causes of social deviance, but it is also essential to clearly delineate and condemn antisocial behavior and the perpetrator's guilt. (Brychta, 2026).

Conclusion and Recommendations for Practice

The psychosocial perception of mass and serial killers by adolescent girls is a phenomenon that reveals much deeper structural problems in the lives of adolescents. Fascination with extreme violence is not just a superficial pop‑culture trend, but often an indicator of unresolved trauma, social isolation, and the need to understand mechanisms of power and oppression. (Brychta, 2026).

From the perspective of social work and pedagogical practice in youth centers, this study yields several key recommendations (Brychta, 2026):

  1. ***Systematization of school counseling offices: ** It is essential to enforce legislative measures that anchor and financially secure the positions of social workers and psychologists directly in schools and youth centers. The current model, where the office often consists only of a guidance counselor and a prevention methodologist, is insufficient for addressing complex trauma.

  2. ***Development of media literacy: ** Youth centers should implement preventive programs focused on critical reflection of media content. Adolescents must be able to deconstruct sensationalist and manipulative narratives of streaming platforms and social networks.

  3. ***Proactive identification of risky behavior and trauma: ** Findings of a high level of traumatization require the creation of a maximally safe and confidential environment. Social workers must actively offer crisis intervention and individual support to individuals who exhibit signs of victimization.

The application of these procedures (for example, in the form of a binding ministerial decree on preventive measures) can fundamentally help adolescents process their own frustrations and traumas in a healthy way, not through identification with pathological and criminal figures.

*** Mgr. Jan Brychta, Ed.D.* Youth Center, Hotelová School Poděbrady, subsidized organization*

Bibliographic References List

BRYCHTA, J. 2026. Psychosocial perception of mass and serial killers by adolescent girls in the environment of a youth center. [Diploma thesis]. Danubius University. Sládkovičovo.

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DIBENNARDO, R. A. 2018. Ideal Victims and Monstrous Offenders: How the News Media Represent Sexual Predators. In Socius [online]. 2018 [cit. 2025-09-21]. ISSN 2378-0231. Available from: https://journals.sagepub.com/doi/full/10.1177/2378023118802512.

DRBOHLAV, A. 2015. Psychology of mass killers: stories of a dark soul and a sick society. Prague: Grada, 2015. 312 p. ISBN 978-80-247-5599-1.

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