Have you ever met a child psychopath?

[TheJuryIsOut]

There's some debate about whether psychopaths are born like that or made as a consequence of their environment/upbringing. If they are born that way (which I believe they are) have you ever met one? What were the signs?

I say this because there is a child in my wider family who I think may be a psychopath, there has been signs from when he was very very young and as he moves through his teenage years things have only got worse. I can't get on board with it being an environment thing as no one else in the family behaves the way he does, it's quite terrifying to think that no matter what you do your child could still go on to do horrific things and not feel a jot of guilt.

What do you think? Are they born or made?

If anyone is a Law and Order SVU fan this storyline will be familiar. Obviously I know it's just fiction but it's a very good portrayal.

Exaxtly this- and a lot of people who go on to murder when they are adults display sadistic behaviour as children towards younger weaker children and animals. Also in America shootings in schools are ofter carried out by children.

This is a very interesting post, thanks

What other approach is there for 10 year old kids?

Robert Thompson had a terrible home life. There was sexual abuse in the home. In his police interviews, he got really distressed about things like the mess that ‘come’ made.

I don’t think trying to understand why someone has murdered a child is ‘soft’. Do you think psychology and the study of human behaviour is ‘soft’?

Ds' childminder had cared for children for 34 years and in that time, she said, there was only one child she genuinely feared what they would do in the future.
Her description was "completely unpredictable, very bright, charming or violent at the flick of a switch, could not be left alone with other children, enjoyed inflicting pain"

The child was in her care for 5 months and she said was the only child she had ever chosen to end the contract. 🙁

I surprisingly haven’t met any but retrospectively, I can see how some adults I knew behaved nastily as kids. You meet people who knew them growing up and they paint a picture. One guy - his mum invited me along to a family therapy session so that I could learn not to hang out with him anymore.

A friend of mine works in forensic CAMHS and she has 15 guys like the Southport killer on her caseload at any one time. I’ll ask her what they diagnose them as because they are under 18. She can’t predict which one will kill.

I work in the nurture base of a secondary school (Scotland).
I work regularly with two boys who are well on their way.

Yes I agree you can see tendencies in them. I know one - my niece. Even as a young child very manipulative, lies and no empathy when others were upset or hurting. An adult now and it’s very clear. Her mum ( my sister) always tells people she’s BP but it’s obvious she’s a psychopath. I do believe at a young age g age you can tell even as they are developing into adults. It’s fully to assume only when they turn 18 can you diagnose them.

Yes. I'm a teacher who worked for nearly a decade in psychiatry before retraining.

if you are worried about some of these behaviours you should contact national police ACT Early Support Line at tel:0800 011 3764 0800 011 3764 in confidence. This is for children at risk of being radicalised but also children who may be hyper focused on causing harm to others.

Most psychopaths are in fact like this. It’s extremely rare for them to murder or intentionally hurt someone. The majority live normal lives. A lot of people with psychopathic traits are in top management positions, also surgeons, lawyers, policing, military, sales etc. Basically jobs where you have to stay extremely calm under pressure OR manipulate people.

A child cannot be disagnosed a psychopath but they can have psychopathic traits. If you meet one with several of the traits, it stays with you.

Reconstructing child psychopathy - Dr Jessica Edwards - ACAMH

ITA! That sums it up quite well. A variety of factors go into whether the child grows up to be a success in business or politics versus a Ted Bundy/Charles Manson.

Antisocial Personality vs Psychopathy: Understanding Key Differences

Where do you come across so many children who behave awfully? Yes, children are selfish - but in my experience the vast majority of children definitely have a sense of decency and right and wrong. Your post makes me wonder how you can have such a different experience.

@GreenChameleon
When I first moved to my present home nearly 6 years ago I was warned about the local children by a long term resident.
I didn't believe her. But unfortunately she wasn't exaggerating.
They have made my life hell at times. I'm an older woman who lives alone and socially isolated so seen as fair game. I try not to let my experience cloud my opinion of ALL children but it's hard not to be wary.

How does your theory about psychopaths being made not born account for the large numbers of psychopaths from good homes with stable upbringings, who go on to lead 'successful' lives as businessmen etc. ?

People just want to believe that they are ‘made’ by society, so they can indulge in the fantasy that they can be eradicated by changing society. If everyone had a good upbringing, then rape/murder/violence wouldn’t exist (god i wish i was this naive)

The situation you describe with your sister is like a scientific experiment - the impact of nurture.

In don’t think a lot of what you describe would qualify as a psychopath though

So do you think you’re a psychopath?

A boy who was best friends with one of my male best friends I knew at age 16. He went on to murder someone when he was 20

I disagree, Id say that sounds like textbook psychopathy. The only psychopath I know was a surgeon, actually a really good one. He was pretty good company as long as you didn't expect anything from him and I wouldn't have wanted a personal relationship with him. He couldn't really sustain relationships of any kind, you amused him for a while then he'd get bored and move on.

Every time there's an 'I'm a psychopath - AMA!' thread on here, the poster always just sounds like someone who says 'I'm mad, me!' and bangs on about how much they hate small talk. Heavy adult goth vibes.

So the conclusion to draw, based on your experience, is that psychopaths are unlikely to experience mental illness. (Note that psychopathy is a neurodivergence or personality disorder, not a mental illness).
Because the sample data for you is all people with mental illness.