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?

There’s a boy lives across the street from me who is three years older than my eldest. Thrived on fighting with everyone when younger. Strangled my DS on two occasions for no reason when they were younger and now barely leaves the house and is so pale from it when you see him. I think there has always been something in him.

There's a boy in my son's year who is deeply troubled and I always think that he might be the kind of person who would carry out a massacre and everyone would say that they knew there was something odd about him... He's not naughty, but hugely morose, defiant, withdrawn and a deep thinker.

I did 10 years as a magistrate in youth court. I saw dozens of children, mainly boys, who had weak parenting, who were led astray by peers, who were ADHD risk takers, ASD with triggers, who were shut down, who'd been abused themself, etc, etc

I saw what I thought was one psychopath, a boy of 14 with what I can only describe as no soul when you looked into his eyes. I have never forgotten him, he sent shivers up my spine.

Venables' behaviour was not understandable at all

Thompson's might have been

Adults squash insects underfoot, it's not abnormal behaviour in tge way we're talking about. Im not advocating doing it, but surprisingly common in school playgrounds.

For those who work in this field: Is conduct disorder the childhood equivalent of a diagnosis of psychopathy? I don’t mean that it would transfer to adulthood but as a diagnosis but is it psychopath markers in a child that cause the diagnosis of conduct disorder?

This is what we are told by CAMHS yes.

And police officers

It's epigenetics so even if you have the gene for it, it needs to be turned on by the environment.

I really do believe that all babies are born innocent.

Paris Bennett was diagnosed at 13.

A shame it was already too late.

F

Some kids with conduct disorders have callous unemotional traits and they are at risk for psychopathy. Other kids with conduct disorders are highly emotional and disregulated but remorseful if they do something bad. They are not so much at risk.

Agree - nature loads the gun, environment triggers it

Thank you. What kind of interventions would help a child with conduct disorder to develop positive attributes? (I work with children diagnosed with this)

Apparently there’s no such thing as a child psychopath so in that case yes I have met a few who will get the title upon reaching adulthood.

In all my years I have only known (and know now) one child that I am concerned about. From a good, loving family but now he's nine his mother has to lock her bedroom door for fear of him stabbing her in her sleep. He's smashed up their entire house but school have 'no concerns' because at school he is very very clever and very manipulative. Other children follow him like a cult leader.

His father (his parents are divorced) is very similar. Good looking, charismatic but will not hesitate to trample over other people on his way to what he wants.

As a teacher I worked with a child once who I think was psychopathic.. he was only 11 when I worked with him and not "evil" or mean at all , just lacking in empathy entirely and very strange and absolutely obsessed with gore and bodies and crimes like rape... Like there was a wired look in his eyes.
I saw a documentary about the biggest serial killer in Australia who was interviewed as a child after setting a barn on fire (they didn't realize at the time he d set the fire they were interviewing him as a witness).. but that little boy had the same wide eyes gaze in his eyes..

I felt sorry for the kid I worked with as he was clearly born with wiring amiss

Great NYT article on this very subject actually: https://www.nytimes.com/2012/05/13/magazine/can-you-call-a-9-year-old-a-psychopath.html

No.

there are plenty of children (under 18) that kill people.

in general very young children are not charged with murder or similar because they tend not to have the understanding that death is permanent and irreversible.

plenty of children go through a phase of being interested in death and dying as they get to understand that it is not “falling asleep” and/or heaven is not like London.

children are very easy to psychologically manipulate and if they are placed in a situation where violence is encouraged by people in authority most will be violent. See for example the many many child soldiers in Africa.

while nobody is born a blank slate it is very very easy to mould a child into someone who is happy with very high levels of violence and who is prepared to inflict that on others.

in the uk this is not generally done intentionally but children can be born into very violent environments and they take this as normal. This sort of thing is why schools and hospitals are constantly on the lookout for child abuse and violence within the family generally as the research suggests that even in children predisposed to psychopathy a loving and stable non-violent family environment tends to lead to a more pro social outcome

I’ve not read all the comments but I reckon it’s probably like schizophrenia. Some people will be predisposed to being at risk of it, but it sort has a trigger or circumstances to fully develop. There will be some people predisposed who never develop full psychopathy if you see what I mean

Neither child that in that case went on to be a diagnosed psychopath so that argument doesn't work

There's no suggestion that either of the boys involved in his case were psychopaths. And his mother did not call him Jamie.

Are you taking the piss?

In 3 decades of teaching I’ve only met one who truly scared me. I think they’ll hurt someone badly one day

I think there is a massive misunderstanding that psychopath are all violent. They arent. Most work in poltics, as stock market analysts and lawyers. They dont care about things like normal people so can disociate and make hard choices. Most murderers arent psychopath, and the majority of them just live normal lives. Its easier for people to see murders as evil mental health monsters. But most murders just random shotings as just people who got involved in crime and know no better