Psychology
In the article of Kahn, she described the common behavior of juveniles who are considered as psychopaths as those children who are callous-unemotional (Kahn, “Can You Call a 9-Year-Old a Psychopath?”). These are the minors, who at their young ages, have shown lack of empathy and remorse for their actions. These symptoms are considered at the determining factors that a child may become a psychopath when he or she becomes an adult (Kahn, “Can You Call a 9-Year-Old a Psychopath?”).
This conclusion is based on the psychological exams conducted using the following tools such as the Child Psychopathy Scale and Antisocial Process Screening Device to determine the Callous-Unemotional behaviour among children (Kahn, “Can You Call a 9-Year-Old a Psychopath?”). This shall identify the cold and predatory behaviour that is intimately related to psychopath and sociopath based on adult psychopathy.
One illustration is Jeffrey Bailey who exhibited two standard deviations beyond the normal level of callous-unemotional behavior. He is a 9-year-old boy from Florisa, who pushed a toddler in a motel swimming pool and watched him sink to the bottom of the pool. What was strange in the behavior of Bailey was when he got a chair to watch as the toddler struggled for his life. During the investigation, the police asked Bailey why he pushed the toddler to the pool and he simply replied that he was curious to see the toddler drown. Despite the fact that he was aware that he might be imprisoned, he showed satisfaction to be the center of attention. Psychologists have stated that psychopathy may be associated with autism, which is a neurological condition that a young child may possess at the age of five (5). Some of the common behaviors are impulsiveness, difficulty to control the child, aggressiveness and violent attitude (Kahn, “Can You Call a 9-Year-Old a Psychopath?”).
Juvenile Female Psychopath
In the case of juvenile female psychopaths, Zuger described psychopathy to be associated with manipulativeness, egoism, aggression, charm, deceitfulness, and lack of empathy for others (Zuger, “Shades of Psychopathy and Ambition Run Amok”). For young juveniles females, psychopathy is characterized by having a deficient affective experience, aggressiveness, ego-centeredness, lack of remorse and shame, and the inability to feel empathy for the suffering of other people. At this early stage in the life of young girls, the sense that social rules is not applicable to them, and participation in a various forms of deviant behaviors including physical assault, alcohol or abuse, and family irresponsibility is evident in them.
Aside from these characteristics of psychopath children, particularly the girls, there are other variables to consider such as poor parenting and depression (Zuger, “Shades of Psychopathy and Ambition Run Amok”). Some of the measures of violent behavior include anxiety, sensation seeking, anxiety, and narcissism. Studies revealed that these are the common behaviors that are significantly associated with Callous-Unemotional traits. Narcissism and impulsive youth may have been influenced by having narcissistic and impulsive parents. Some experts believe that parents who are also sensation seekers, depressed, and/or anxious can influence their children to become like them as they grow up. It is also vital to consider non-biological factors such as parenting skills to determine the outcome of delinquent girls (Zuger, “Shades of Psychopathy and Ambition Run Amok”). Psychopathy must also be measured by its relationship with violence, theft and drug abuse, which are the common crimes committed by delinquent girls.
Works Cited:
Kahn, Jennifer. “Can You Call a 9-Year-Old a Psychopath?” New York
Times.com. Web. Retrieved on 2 March 2014, from
http://www.nytimes.com/2012/05/13/magazine/can-you-call-a-9-year-old-a-psychopath.html?pagewanted=all&_r=0.
Zuger, Abigail. “Shades of Psychopathy and Ambition Run Amok”. New York
Times.com. Web. Retrieved on 2 March 2014, from
http://www.nytimes.com/2012/06/26/health/views/shades-of-psychopathy-and-nobel-ambitions-run-amok.html.
