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Is your child prone to developing psychopathy?
Last reviewed: 01.07.2025

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Almost all children behave aggressively from time to time. But in some cases, such behavior can be a harbinger of real psychopathy. According to experts, parents should think about it if the child does not feel compassion, has sadistic tendencies (for example, towards animals), does not understand what he is guilty of, does not feel fear.
Stefan Scott, a professor at the British Institute of Psychiatry, is confident that psychopathy can be diagnosed at the age of just three. He has compiled a list that parents can use to determine how serious their case is, The Daily Mail notes.
So, a child may have a mental disorder if he or she constantly insults, hurts, and fights with others. He or she may also steal or break other people's things, or break rules (run away from home, or not go to bed at the right time).
When someone tries to shame him, he does not feel guilty, and does not take into account the feelings of other people. The child does not care about his successes, as a rule, he is outwardly unemotional, but shows emotions to manipulate others.
A sick child blames others for his misdeeds and does not want to take responsibility. At the same time, he is not afraid of anything, so threats of punishment do not work on him. But he is easily interested in a possible reward (personal interest will always outweigh someone else's).