Child psychopathy: symptoms, causes and advice for parents

Children with strong antisocial personality traits can have many problems.

Child psychopathy is one of the most interesting phenomena in the world of psychology. in the world of psychology. The presence of children who do not empathize with others and who can perform cruel or manipulative acts without experiencing any remorse sets off alarm bells for parents and educators.

In this article we will see what is known about child psychopathy and the way in which this condition is expressed through the actions of these little ones.

Child psychopathy: definition

Although there does not exist a totally consensual definition, it is considered that the psychopathy is a type of disorder characterized by a lack of empathy and guilt.and by the tendency towards disinhibition.

In the clinical setting it is called antisocial personality disorder, a name that already indicates the type of problems produced by this condition: conflicts in personal relationships or attacks against others, whether through physical violence or not.

Childhood psychopathy, in particular, is the condition associated with psychopathic traits that occurs during the childhood stage. That is, it is not a distinct mental disorder, although naturally this condition is expressed differently in children and adults.

In addition, it has been observed that psychopathy frequently appears 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 upon reaching adulthood.

Symptoms of child psychopathy

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 going on in a child's mind that allows us to know with certainty what is going on in the mind of a child and whether he or she expresses this disorder or not.

In any case, what is done is to conduct interviews with fathers, mothers or guardians, as well as with the little ones, and from the crossing of a series of data a conclusion is reached. In addition, this always has to be must always be carried out by psychiatrists or clinical psychologists, depending on the legislation of each country.depending on the legislation of each country.

In any case, as a guideline, we can recognize several typical symptoms of child psychopathy which, if they occur in a clear and sustained manner over time, can reveal information about the likelihood of a child presenting this disorder.

1. Constant defiance of rules

We are not talking about breaking norms associated with good education, but those that have to do with the most basic forms of coexistence. 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 infantile stage is characterized by disinhibition. However, this is absolute in children with psychopathic traits. For this reason it is possible that sometimes sThey may therefore sometimes violently lash out at people or animals, which brings us to the next point.which brings us to the next point.

3. Mistreatment of animals

Many of these children take advantage of moments when adults are not around to hurt or even kill animals. hurt or even kill animalsfor the simple pleasure of "playing" with them, as if they were detachable toys. However, it is also possible that they do it simply for the pleasure of making suffer.

4. Absence of remorse

In child psychopathy punishments and scoldings have little effect.Even if it is understood that others recognize certain activities as bad and undesirable, it does not matter. In any case, what is relevant is to create strategies to avoid such situations in the future.

Causes

The exact cause of psychopathy is unknown, although it is believed that there is an important genetic component. 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 a predisposing factor. For example, it has been seen that certain lesions in the frontal lobe of the brain can generate these symptoms, and something similar happens with the continuous experience of very stressful or traumatic experiences.

Advice for parents

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 psychopathy. That is why many psychologists many psychologists prefer to speak of psychopathic traits, rather than "psychopathic persons".and not "psychopathic persons".

That is why, even if a mental health team notes that a child has significant psychopathic traits, it does not mean that he or she is going to be like a psychopath in the movies, or a murderer. Statistically, even people who fall into this fuzzy classification tend more toward normality than toward the more extreme traits.

Moreover, since little is known about psychopathy, it is possible that this is a false positive and that the child's behavior is evolving toward normalcy naturally, without intervention. Ultimately some minors may express their discomfort and emotional problems by behaving very much like psychopaths for a time. and emotional problems by behaving in a very similar way to psychopaths, for a while.

Having said that, we should also know that unfortunately there is no treatment today that offers any guarantee of effectiveness in the intervention of child psychopathy, which does not mean that there never will be. This means that we should be wary of those who offer "cures" and other miraculous therapies; although it is not impossible to get better through psychotherapy, it is unlikely that it will happen, or that it will happen because of it.