Psychopathy in Children

The unfriendly behaviors include being dishonest, manipulative, and being careless in taking risks. It is sometimes considered as a personality disorder and may also be taken as a mental illness which cannot be treated in the adults but can be cured if it is identified earlier in the lives of children. It is therefore important that this condition should be traced earlier enough in children and adolescents so that steps necessary steps should be taken in its early periods towards preventing it from affecting a person’s life. The specific cause of psychopathy is unknown but it is considered to be brought about by a combination of factors including genetics, interpersonal, and environmental circumstances (Murray et al. A person whose either one or both parents or a family member suffer from psychopathy also has higher chances of having it and this is a result of influence generated by genetics.

This, therefore, informs that it is possible that changes could also occur in the diagnosis of psychopathy in children and adolescents in their early years of this stage but would then stabilize in the later years of adolescence, that is, in the years 16 to 21 since they shall have stabilized their character traits. It is important to think about personality in childhood and adolescence as a sophisticated phenomenon comprising different psychological activities distinguished into stages which may include an adaptation of traits, beliefs and customs, and cognition. The story stage about personality concerns the step relating to the definition and identity experience. Such stories start in the late years of adolescence and are relating to the establishment of ethical identity towards making moral options in the various groups available in the society.

Theories concerning children attachment are proving sufficient to help in knowing the relationship between the environment that provides care to children and adolescence and the difficult personalities that emerge in children and result into abnormality in their personality (Terrie, 2018). Adolescents may be motivated to get involved in the activities being carried out by adults but they have knowledge efficiency towards guiding them in choosing the best course of action. The neural networks of adolescents have a response to sex hormones which also play a role in regulating emotions. On the other hand, adolescence shows maturity and stability in their personality if they are to be compared to children. Diagnosis of psychopathy in children and adolescence is also experiencing the problem of the interactions occurring between the genes and the environment which shows how the environment providing care to children and adolescents is influencing the appearance of genetic psychopathy and how the children and adolescents are vulnerable to it (Adshead et al.

For instance, research in the male gender has established evidence providing interactions existing between genetics exposure and a hostile environment. Previous studies also established that children with psychopathy also have the potential of transmitting it to their parents or to any other person who is closer to them. Psychopathy caused by genetic factors indicates that the genes and the environment where the child or the adolescent comes from are largely contributed by the parents. A child affected by psychopathy implies that either of the parents or both is also having it and has transmitted it to the child through the genes or the environment the parent has provided to the child while growing. Psychopathy is an extreme expression of normal characteristics whose severity varies on individuals. These traits appear to become valid and stable from childhood through adolescence and eventually throughout a person’s lifetime.

Secondly, diagnosis may make a person get labeled as having a disorder which in turn results into refusal from pursuing certain professions that the victim might be passionate in (Adshead et al. This would, in turn, generate stigma and stress thereby contributing to further complications in a person’s life. Thirdly, there is no reflection of past psychological problems in the diagnosis hence may not provide complete medical recommendations that should be taken by a person. Finally, it is meaningless to provide psychopathy diagnosis if it is clear that there would be no treatment or health-related services that would be provided to the patient. Psychopathy is a complicated condition and it may be difficult to administer correct medication towards treating it, therefore, its diagnosis may not be helpful if the treatment would not provide health benefits to the victim.

Finally, the degree to which the condition can be treated and the availability of evidence about the behavior changes upon successful of treatment administration has not been agreed upon. However, the setting for providing care to patients with psychopathy may include; special hospitals, secured units regionally, and intensive care units for people with psychopathy. Its treatment could take the form of pharmacology or physical treatment. Nonetheless, as mentioned previously, the condition cannot be treated hence these methods are a means of control to minimize the negative effects the disorder may generate. Treatment through pharmacology concerns with providing neuroleptics. org/core/journals/advances-in-psychiatric-treatment/article/personality-disorder-in- adolescence/1537DDBAC3B1B8F700AC4F9317EB3468/core-reader Borghuis, J. Denissen, J. J. Oberski, D. Sijtsma, K. Comparing the stability of psychopathy scores in adolescents versus adults: How often is “fledgling psychopathy” misdiagnosed?.

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