Can Child Psychopathy Be Treated? Expert Debunks Myths After 9-Year-Old's Shocking 23 Animal Attack (9/20)

According to her, hugs and cuddles mean little to a child psychopath, and they are also less capable of discerning the emotions of others.

Finally, we asked Marsh about the ethical implications of diagnosing children with psychopathy early in life due to the stigma that the term carries. According to her, families are often more concerned about getting a correct diagnosis and treatment rather than stigma.

“What families want is clinicians to be straight with them,” she said. “They know that an aggressive child who steals from people, destroys property, etc., is always going to be stigmatized because those behaviors are (correctly) stigmatized. The label is not the issue.”

Marsh said that she has known of cases where some of her peers have deliberately given incorrect diagnoses, fearing that the truth may damage the child due to stigma. “If you diagnose a child with psychopathic traits as autistic or depressed, they will get funneled into therapies that won’t help them,” she said.