Childhood Psychopathy: Symptoms, Causes And Advice For Parents
Childhood psychopathy is one of the phenomena that generates the most interest from the world of psychology. The presence of boys and girls who do not empathize with others and who can carry out cruel or manipulative acts without experiencing any remorse raises the alarm bells of fathers, mothers and educators.
In this article we will see what is known about childhood psychopathy and the way in which this condition is expressed through the actions of these children.
Although there is no fully agreed upon definition, psychopathy is considered to be a type of disorder characterized by a lack of empathy and feelings of guilt as well as the tendency towards disinhibition.
In the clinical setting it is called antisocial personality disorder, a name that already indicates the type of problems that this condition produces: conflicts in personal relationships or attacks against others, whether through physical violence or not.
Childhood psychopathy, specifically, is the condition associated with psychopathic traits that occurs during childhood That is, it is not a differentiated mental disorder, although naturally this condition is expressed differently in children and adults.
Furthermore, it has been observed that it is common for psychopathy to appear during the first years of life, and that its presence at this stage of life serves to predict the chances of that person exhibiting antisocial traits when reaching adulthood.
First of all, it is necessary to take into account that There is no instrument for measuring and diagnosing psychopathy that allows us to know with certainty what is happening in the mind of a boy or girl and whether they express that disorder or not.
In any case, what is done is to conduct interviews with fathers, mothers or guardians, as well as the children, and from the crossing of a series of data a conclusion is reached. Furthermore, this always It has to be carried out by psychiatrists or clinical psychologists depending on the legislation of each country.
In any case, as a guide, we can recognize several typical symptoms of childhood psychopathy and that, if they occur in a clear and sustained way over time, can reveal information about the likelihood that a boy or girl will present this disorder.
1. Constant challenging of norms
We are not talking about breaking norms associated with good education, but rather with those that They have to do with the most basic forms of coexistence For example, systematically throwing food on the floor, attacking other children or even adults, etc.
2. Explosions of violence
In general, the childhood stage is characterized by disinhibition. However, this is absolute in children with psychopathic traits. Therefore it is possible that sometimesand be violent with people or animals which brings us to the next point.
3. Animal abuse
Many of these little ones take advantage of moments when there are no adults around to hurt or even kill animals, for the simple pleasure of “playing” with them, as if they were removable toys. However, it is also possible that they do it simply for the pleasure of causing suffering.
In childhood psychopathy Punishments and scolding have little effect, since even if it is understood that others recognize certain activities as bad and undesirable, that does not matter. In any case, the relevant thing is to create strategies to avoid these types of situations in the future.
Causes
The exact cause of psychopathy is unknown, although it is believed that there is an important genetic component However, it is most likely that in most cases the disorder has more than one cause, and that the genotype is just something that predisposes. For example, it has been seen that certain lesions in the frontal lobe of the brain can generate these symptoms, and something similar occurs with the continued experience of very stressful or traumatic experiences.
Tips for fathers and mothers
It must be clear that in any case psychopathy, whether in children, adolescents or adults, is not a diagnostic category with well-defined limits, but rather there are different degrees of it. That is why many psychologists prefer to talk about psychopathy traits and not “psychopathic people.”
That is why, even if a mental health team indicates that a minor presents significant psychopathic traits, that does not mean that he will be like a psychopath from the movies, or a murderer. Statistically, even people who fall within this diffuse classification tend more towards normality than towards the most extreme characteristics.
Furthermore, as little is known about psychopathy, it is possible that it is a false positive and that the minor’s behavior evolves towards normality naturally, without interventions. After all some minors can express their discomfort and emotional problems behaving very similar to psychopaths, for a time.
That said, we must also know that unfortunately today there is no treatment that offers guarantees of its effectiveness in intervention on childhood psychopathy, which does not mean that there will never be one. This means that we must distrust those who offer “cures” and other miraculous therapies; Although it is not impossible that psychotherapy will improve, it is unlikely that it will happen, or that it will happen because of it.
