Childhood psychopathy: how to identify it

Childhood psychopathy is a disorder worth talking about, since entails a high degree of destruction, a great burden of aggressiveness and a harmful component for society. These characteristics must be addressed early to avoid their devastating consequences.

We believe that it is important to study the adult manifestations of psychopathy but also how they are reached and how they develop. And we live in a society in which there are increasingly higher rates of violence. Besides, The age at which violent crimes begin to be committed is decreasing.

What are the causes of childhood psychopathy?

The causes of psychopathy are still unknown. At the moment we are talking about explanatory hypotheses or partial theories. These theories only explain part but are not integrative.

There are biological theories that allude to role of hormones such as testosterone or abnormalities in brain structures. On the other hand, learning theories point out the importance of the consequences that a childhood full of abuse can have.

Social theories are added to these theories. These point to a social change that has allowed ethical and moral principles to relax. This fact would explain the reason why the psychopathic inclination is encouraged.

The theories that are most relevant currently are the interactive ones. These theories indicate that It is biological and genetic factors that account for the anomalies suffered by psychopaths. regarding his inability to feel empathy or certain emotions.

But in childhood psychopathy we must also pay attention to educational factors. Social factors and parental actions influence the form of behavior. The minor’s environment can influence such that he ends up becoming a subject who lives on the edge of legality or a serial killer.

Essential characteristics of the psychopathic personality

The essential characteristics of the psychopathic personality were described by Hare (2003). They are the following:

Superficial and simple mind. Psychopaths do nothing but pretend and act. They are great seducers in initial interpersonal contact.Egocentric and presumptuous personality. They are very narcissistic people. They only think about their own well-being and the satisfaction of their needs. They do not follow social norms but only follow their own norms and impulses. The selfishness that any child may present as typical of her age disappears or adjusts to the rules as the child learns or matures.

However, the child who is developing a psychopathic personality will manifest persistent egocentrism. Furthermore, he or she has inflexible demands on others. She stands as an intimidating leader to her group of peers. This will become accentuated as she grows, obeying only the urge to gratify her own interests.

Lack of remorse or guilt. They do not care about the harm they cause to others. They are capable of great destructiveness and incapable of regretting or feeling bad about it. The lack of remorse is related to a notorious ability to rationalize one’s behavior. They avoid accepting responsibility for their actions.Lack of empathy. All of the above characteristics are related to a lack of empathy. They have no ability or interest in understanding the emotions of others. They demonstrate a general lack of empathy, which makes it difficult or incapable for them to have authentic emotional ties.Manipulative and lying people. Psychopaths are stubborn. Even when they are discovered in a lie, they do not stop, they continue rearranging their history, creating a complex web of lies and contradictions.

In this sense, Psychopaths start lying from a young age. Their first victims are usually their parents, siblings or colleagues. In a specific situation they may learn to control their anger but in the sustained situation of coexistence they are unable to maintain such control. This makes it possible for parents to detect their strange personality.

Treatment of childhood psychopathy

Since it is a personality disorder, treatment possibilities are limited. In the most complicated cases the possibilities of treatment will be nil, while in other less serious cases we could achieve a certain “reasonable coexistence”.

In general, one should not have too high expectations. We are not going to ensure that the young person becomes a person of integrity, loyalty, or that he obtains any of the qualities opposite to psychopathy.. We will only be able to control it moderately (Garrido Genovés, 2003).

Two aspects of great importance will be both the environment that surrounds the young person and the moment in which their parents or caregivers become aware of the disorder they suffer from.. Detection and the subsequent implementation of means and treatments from the age of eight or nine significantly increases the hopes of success.

Recommended reading: The psychopath: a chameleon in today’s society. By Vicente Garrido Genovés. Algar Publishing House.

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