NZ Herald
  • Home
  • Latest news
  • Video
  • New Zealand
  • Sport
  • World
  • Business
  • Entertainment
  • Podcasts
  • Quizzes
  • Opinion
  • Lifestyle
  • Travel
  • Viva
  • Weather forecasts

Subscriptions

  • Herald Premium
  • Viva Premium
  • The Listener
  • BusinessDesk

Sections

  • Latest news
  • New Zealand
    • All New Zealand
    • Crime
    • Politics
    • Education
    • Open Justice
    • Scam Update
    • The Great NZ Road Trip
  • On The Up
  • World
    • All World
    • Australia
    • Asia
    • UK
    • United States
    • Middle East
    • Europe
    • Pacific
  • Business
    • All Business
    • MarketsSharesCurrencyCommoditiesStock TakesCrypto
    • Markets with Madison
    • Media Insider
    • Business analysis
    • Personal financeKiwiSaverInterest ratesTaxInvestment
    • EconomyInflationGDPOfficial cash rateEmployment
    • Small business
    • Business reportsMood of the BoardroomProject AucklandSustainable business and financeCapital markets reportAgribusiness reportInfrastructure reportDynamic business
    • Deloitte Top 200 Awards
    • CompaniesAged CareAgribusinessAirlinesBanking and financeConstructionEnergyFreight and logisticsHealthcareManufacturingMedia and MarketingRetailTelecommunicationsTourism
  • Opinion
    • All Opinion
    • Analysis
    • Editorials
    • Business analysis
    • Premium opinion
    • Letters to the editor
  • Sport
    • All Sport
    • OlympicsParalympics
    • RugbySuper RugbyNPCAll BlacksBlack FernsRugby sevensSchool rugby
    • CricketBlack CapsWhite Ferns
    • Racing
    • NetballSilver Ferns
    • LeagueWarriorsNRL
    • FootballWellington PhoenixAuckland FCAll WhitesFootball FernsEnglish Premier League
    • GolfNZ Open
    • MotorsportFormula 1
    • Boxing
    • UFC
    • BasketballNBABreakersTall BlacksTall Ferns
    • Tennis
    • Cycling
    • Athletics
    • SailingAmerica's CupSailGP
    • Rowing
  • Lifestyle
    • All Lifestyle
    • Viva - Food, fashion & beauty
    • Society Insider
    • Royals
    • Sex & relationships
    • Food & drinkRecipesRecipe collectionsRestaurant reviewsRestaurant bookings
    • Health & wellbeing
    • Fashion & beauty
    • Pets & animals
    • The Selection - Shop the trendsShop fashionShop beautyShop entertainmentShop giftsShop home & living
    • Milford's Investing Place
  • Entertainment
    • All Entertainment
    • TV
    • MoviesMovie reviews
    • MusicMusic reviews
    • BooksBook reviews
    • Culture
    • ReviewsBook reviewsMovie reviewsMusic reviewsRestaurant reviews
  • Travel
    • All Travel
    • News
    • New ZealandNorthlandAucklandWellingtonCanterburyOtago / QueenstownNelson-TasmanBest NZ beaches
    • International travelAustraliaPacific IslandsEuropeUKUSAAfricaAsia
    • Rail holidays
    • Cruise holidays
    • Ski holidays
    • Luxury travel
    • Adventure travel
  • Kāhu Māori news
  • Environment
    • All Environment
    • Our Green Future
  • Talanoa Pacific news
  • Property
    • All Property
    • Property Insider
    • Interest rates tracker
    • Residential property listings
    • Commercial property listings
  • Health
  • Technology
    • All Technology
    • AI
    • Social media
  • Rural
    • All Rural
    • Dairy farming
    • Sheep & beef farming
    • Horticulture
    • Animal health
    • Rural business
    • Rural life
    • Rural technology
    • Opinion
    • Audio & podcasts
  • Weather forecasts
    • All Weather forecasts
    • Kaitaia
    • Whangārei
    • Dargaville
    • Auckland
    • Thames
    • Tauranga
    • Hamilton
    • Whakatāne
    • Rotorua
    • Tokoroa
    • Te Kuiti
    • Taumaranui
    • Taupō
    • Gisborne
    • New Plymouth
    • Napier
    • Hastings
    • Dannevirke
    • Whanganui
    • Palmerston North
    • Levin
    • Paraparaumu
    • Masterton
    • Wellington
    • Motueka
    • Nelson
    • Blenheim
    • Westport
    • Reefton
    • Kaikōura
    • Greymouth
    • Hokitika
    • Christchurch
    • Ashburton
    • Timaru
    • Wānaka
    • Oamaru
    • Queenstown
    • Dunedin
    • Gore
    • Invercargill
  • Meet the journalists
  • Promotions & competitions
  • OneRoof property listings
  • Driven car news

Puzzles & Quizzes

  • Puzzles
    • All Puzzles
    • Sudoku
    • Code Cracker
    • Crosswords
    • Cryptic crossword
    • Wordsearch
  • Quizzes
    • All Quizzes
    • Morning quiz
    • Afternoon quiz
    • Sports quiz

Regions

  • Northland
    • All Northland
    • Far North
    • Kaitaia
    • Kerikeri
    • Kaikohe
    • Bay of Islands
    • Whangarei
    • Dargaville
    • Kaipara
    • Mangawhai
  • Auckland
  • Waikato
    • All Waikato
    • Hamilton
    • Coromandel & Hauraki
    • Matamata & Piako
    • Cambridge
    • Te Awamutu
    • Tokoroa & South Waikato
    • Taupō & Tūrangi
  • Bay of Plenty
    • All Bay of Plenty
    • Katikati
    • Tauranga
    • Mount Maunganui
    • Pāpāmoa
    • Te Puke
    • Whakatāne
  • Rotorua
  • Hawke's Bay
    • All Hawke's Bay
    • Napier
    • Hastings
    • Havelock North
    • Central Hawke's Bay
    • Wairoa
  • Taranaki
    • All Taranaki
    • Stratford
    • New Plymouth
    • Hāwera
  • Manawatū - Whanganui
    • All Manawatū - Whanganui
    • Whanganui
    • Palmerston North
    • Manawatū
    • Tararua
    • Horowhenua
  • Wellington
    • All Wellington
    • Kapiti
    • Wairarapa
    • Upper Hutt
    • Lower Hutt
  • Nelson & Tasman
    • All Nelson & Tasman
    • Motueka
    • Nelson
    • Tasman
  • Marlborough
  • West Coast
  • Canterbury
    • All Canterbury
    • Kaikōura
    • Christchurch
    • Ashburton
    • Timaru
  • Otago
    • All Otago
    • Oamaru
    • Dunedin
    • Balclutha
    • Alexandra
    • Queenstown
    • Wanaka
  • Southland
    • All Southland
    • Invercargill
    • Gore
    • Stewart Island
  • Gisborne

Media

  • Video
    • All Video
    • NZ news video
    • Business news video
    • Politics news video
    • Sport video
    • World news video
    • Lifestyle video
    • Entertainment video
    • Travel video
    • Markets with Madison
    • Kea Kids news
  • Podcasts
    • All Podcasts
    • The Front Page
    • On the Tiles
    • Ask me Anything
    • The Little Things
    • Cooking the Books
  • Cartoons
  • Photo galleries
  • Today's Paper - E-editions
  • Photo sales
  • Classifieds

NZME Network

  • Advertise with NZME
  • OneRoof
  • Driven Car Guide
  • BusinessDesk
  • Newstalk ZB
  • What the Actual
  • Sunlive
  • ZM
  • The Hits
  • Coast
  • Radio Hauraki
  • The Alternative Commentary Collective
  • Gold
  • Flava
  • iHeart Radio
  • Hokonui
  • Radio Wanaka
  • iHeartCountry New Zealand
  • Restaurant Hub
  • NZME Events

SubscribeSign In
Advertisement
Advertise with NZME.
Home / World

How to recognise if your child has psychopathic or sociopathic traits

By Olivia Lambert at news.com.au
news.com.au·
29 May, 2017 05:24 AM5 mins to read

Subscribe to listen

Access to Herald Premium articles require a Premium subscription. Subscribe now to listen.
Already a subscriber?  Sign in here

Listening to articles is free for open-access content—explore other articles or learn more about text-to-speech.
‌
Save

    Share this article

Robert Thompson and Jon Venables, aged 11 and 10 at the time, were found guilty in 1993 of killing 2-year-old James Bulger. Photo / Getty

Robert Thompson and Jon Venables, aged 11 and 10 at the time, were found guilty in 1993 of killing 2-year-old James Bulger. Photo / Getty

"I want to kill all of you."

That was the terrifying threat uttered by 6-year-old Samantha*, leaving her parents shocked and in a state of unimaginable fear.

After being caught trying to strangle her sister in the back seat of the family's car, Samantha - adopted in to the family - was sat down for a stern talking to. Her mother explained to her that she could've killed her sister.

"I know," Samantha said blankly. Then she told them that was her plan. She wanted to kill them all.

Samantha had grown up with a desire to inflict pain on others, according to reporters who spoke to the family as part of a story featured in The Atlantic this week.

Advertisement
Advertise with NZME.
Advertisement
Advertise with NZME.
A scene from 'We need to talk about Kevin'. Photo / Oscilloscope Pictures
A scene from 'We need to talk about Kevin'. Photo / Oscilloscope Pictures

She practised killing by using her toys and drew disturbing pictures depicting murder weapons, including a plastic bag for suffocating and chemicals for poisoning.

She urinated on a child at daycare even though she was toilet trained and would break open her sister's piggy bank and tear up her money.

She would also smile when her siblings cried and push and pinch them. She didn't outgrow the behaviour.

Advertisement
Advertise with NZME.

Now 11, Samantha spends her time in a treatment facility south of Austin, Texas, trying to control her violent behaviour. She's been diagnosed with what experts call "conduct disorder with callous or unemotional traits".

"She had all the characteristics of a budding psychopath," The Atlantic reports.

There are a number of chilling stories of children who have acted on dangerous impulses.

One of the most horrific cases of child killers involved 2-year-old James Bulger, who was savagely murdered by two boys aged just 11 and 10.

Discover more

World

When kids turn into cold-blooded killers

11 Feb 09:12 AM
World

What happened to little Kevin?

27 May 10:41 PM

James was in a British shopping centre when two boys, Robert Thompson and Jon Venables, grabbed the trusting 2-year-old and led him away.

They sadistically tortured and beat James to death and rested his broken body on train tracks.

The boys were found guilty of abduction and murder in 1993 and were jailed. Venables was released in 2001 after serving eight years. Thompson was protected by draconian rules and it is believed he has a new identity.

An undated photo of 2-year-old James Bulger, tortured and killed by Jon Venables and Robert Thompson in Bootle, England, in 1993. Photo / Getty
An undated photo of 2-year-old James Bulger, tortured and killed by Jon Venables and Robert Thompson in Bootle, England, in 1993. Photo / Getty

THE MAKINGS OF A PSYCHOPATH

Senior clinical psychologist and director at the R.E.A.D Clinic, Heather Irvine, told news.com.au the first year of a child's life plays a significant role in determining how they develop.

"Psychopaths don't suddenly come out of nowhere, you need to look at their early history and what's gone on with that child from when they've been born," she said.

According to Irvine, most children who have psychopathic traits have experienced some sort of abuse, likely in the first six months of their life.

Advertisement
Advertise with NZME.

"In terms of how a brain develops, if they've been abused, the emotional system starts to shut down as the rest of the brain is developing. The brain ends up being incredibly impacted because of experiences with abuse, neglect or lack of empathy."

Irvine said if a child had grown up in a nurturing environment but then began suffering from abuse after they turned 5, it would be much harder for that child to develop sociopathic or psychopathic traits because the brain had already developed a sense of empathy.

"In the first six months of your life if you cried and nobody came, you needed to be fed and nobody fed you, you were alone and nobody helped you, your brain is saying your feelings don't matter, you don't matter. The rest of the brain structures start forming around that concept and neurons develop around that concept," she said.

A surveillance camera shows the abduction of 2-year-old James Bulger. Photo / Getty
A surveillance camera shows the abduction of 2-year-old James Bulger. Photo / Getty

TRAITS 'VERY UNCOMMON'

Irvine said callous and unemotional traits in children was very uncommon, with it affecting only one per cent of the population.

"The point is that everything's on a scale, it's not really a case of really good kids and really bad kids," she said.

"The more severe the abuse, the more likely a child is to have severe psychopathic or sociopathic behaviours."

Advertisement
Advertise with NZME.

Irvine said there were specific behavioural issues children with psychopathic traits had.

"Generally tends to involve damaged property, damage to others or damage to self," she said.

"You see kids starting to harm animals, punch holes in walls, urinate over furniture or smear poo over toilets. They will inflict significant harm on another human being, usually smaller than them.

"They are trying to understand connections, usually through harm rather than care."

Kevin Hjalmarsson was killed as a toddler in Sweden in 1998, allegedly by two brothers, aged 5 and 7.
Kevin Hjalmarsson was killed as a toddler in Sweden in 1998, allegedly by two brothers, aged 5 and 7.

DO PSYCHOPATHIC CHILDREN BECOME KILLERS?

Irvine told news.com.au a child's brain could start developing callous and unemotional traits from birth. While many psychologists work to help children control their violent tendencies, some can grow up to make poor life choices. Others grow up to be killers.

"You always have hope a child won't grow up to be a killer, but without significant intervention we would predict poor outcomes," Irvine said.

Advertisement
Advertise with NZME.

"They find it hard to succeed in school or make friends and are more likely to engage in a whole range of anti-social behaviours to gain attention or find some kind of place in this world.

"They're therefore likely to engage in substance abuse and spiral downhill unless there's significant intervention."

Irvine said if there were any concerns a child wanted to inflict harm on another person, on animals, or damage property, they needed to see a GP, paediatrician or psychologist for early intervention.

"A child will hit, poke or punch but that doesn't indicate a sociopath. It's really important parents understand persistent behaviours that show a complete disregard for other people's feelings," she said.

Irvine said continuously inflicting pain on others, disregarding property, and being unable to repair relationships were also causes for concern.

Irvine said parents needed show their children repetitive love and care to rewire the brain.

Advertisement
Advertise with NZME.

"Parents need to be prepared to do the hard work. Children don't need therapists and hours of therapy, they need a loving home," she said.

* Not her real name

Save

    Share this article

Latest from World

Cricket

IPL suspended amid India-Pakistan tensions

09 May 09:49 AM
World

Watch: AI video of road rage victim used in court, killer gets max sentence

09 May 07:23 AM
World

'Very negative': Son of alleged mushroom poisoner shares claims about parents in court

09 May 06:50 AM

One tiny baby’s fight to survive

sponsored
Advertisement
Advertise with NZME.

Latest from World

IPL suspended amid India-Pakistan tensions

IPL suspended amid India-Pakistan tensions

09 May 09:49 AM

New schedule details will follow after assessing the situation.

Watch: AI video of road rage victim used in court, killer gets max sentence

Watch: AI video of road rage victim used in court, killer gets max sentence

09 May 07:23 AM
'Very negative': Son of alleged mushroom poisoner shares claims about parents in court

'Very negative': Son of alleged mushroom poisoner shares claims about parents in court

09 May 06:50 AM
Australian police arrest dozens over LGBTQ dating app-linked assaults

Australian police arrest dozens over LGBTQ dating app-linked assaults

09 May 04:02 AM
Connected workers are safer workers 
sponsored

Connected workers are safer workers 

NZ Herald
  • About NZ Herald
  • Meet the journalists
  • Newsletters
  • Classifieds
  • Help & support
  • Contact us
  • House rules
  • Privacy Policy
  • Terms of use
  • Competition terms & conditions
  • Our use of AI
Subscriber Services
  • NZ Herald e-editions
  • Daily puzzles & quizzes
  • Manage your digital subscription
  • Manage your print subscription
  • Subscribe to the NZ Herald newspaper
  • Subscribe to Herald Premium
  • Gift a subscription
  • Subscriber FAQs
  • Subscription terms & conditions
  • Promotions and subscriber benefits
NZME Network
  • The New Zealand Herald
  • The Northland Age
  • The Northern Advocate
  • Waikato Herald
  • Bay of Plenty Times
  • Rotorua Daily Post
  • Hawke's Bay Today
  • Whanganui Chronicle
  • Viva
  • NZ Listener
  • What the Actual
  • Newstalk ZB
  • BusinessDesk
  • OneRoof
  • Driven CarGuide
  • iHeart Radio
  • Restaurant Hub
NZME
  • About NZME
  • NZME careers
  • Advertise with NZME
  • Digital self-service advertising
  • Book your classified ad
  • Photo sales
  • NZME Events
  • © Copyright 2025 NZME Publishing Limited
TOP