Is your child a psychopath? Study measures psychopathic traits in kids

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10 per cent of children aged 3-6 show traits linked to psychopathy
Australian-led study measured responses to facial expressions and images
The study would allow earlier treatment for those at risk of psychopathy
United Kingdom study identified similar traits at even younger age

By Leith Huffadine For Daily Mail Australia

Published: 22:34 EST, 10 September 2015 | Updated: 07:36 EST, 11 September 2015

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A study led by Australian researchers claims that psychopathic traits can be identified in children as young as three.

It comes after British researchers stated it was possible to predict if babies as young as five weeks would develop traits leading to adult psychopathy.

The University of New South Wales-led study measured how youngsters reacted to different facial expressions and neutral or distressing images.

The Australian-led study found children as young as three years old could display traits related to psychopathy (Stock photo)

It showed how some young children could display callous and unemotional traits that were linked to psychopathy, according to the study.

The British research found that displaying those traits was possible to predict even earlier, at age five weeks.

In the Australian-led study, which included more than 200 children aged three-six, it was found 10 per cent showed traits such as lacking remorse or empathy for others.

Lead author of the study and UNSW senior lecturer Eva Kimonis said the diagnostic tool developed to identify the traits during the study would allow children at risk of psychopathy to get treatment earlier.

'Until now we didn't really have a way to identify those traits in very young children.'

Dr Kimonis said diagnostic tools used in the Australian study would help children at risk of psychopathy get earlier treatment

The study assessed children using tests adapted for their ages, as well as interviews with parents and teachers.

Their ability to recognise changing and static facial expressions, as well as their reactions to distressing and neutral images, such as a crying child or a book, were measured in the tests.

Recent research in the United Kingdom held results which appear to be similar to the Australian-led study.

Researchers from several universities involved in that study claimed it was possible to predict if babies would develop unemotional traits -possible precursors to adult psychopathy.

Scientists showed in that study it was possible to predict at five weeks old if they would develop 'callous-unemotional' (CU) traits by checking if they preferred to look at a human face or an inanimate object such as a ball.

Children with CU traits are defined as showing impaired emotion recognition, reduced responsiveness to others’ distress and a lack of guilt or empathy.

For the study, researchers from King’s College London, the University of Manchester and the University of Liverpool recorded the responses of a random sample of 213 mothers and babies, drawn from a population-based sample of 1,233 first-time mothers.

Identifying traits leading to risk of psychopathy in would lead to getting earlier treatment (Stock photo)

A study from the United Kingdom found it was possible to predict traits which could lead to adult psychopathy in babies aged only five weeks (Stock photo)

Infants’ preferential face tracking at five weeks and maternal sensitivity at 29 weeks were used as predictors of CU traits at two-and-a-half years.

It was found that babies with a preference for a human face rather than a ball was associated with lower CU traits.

Lead author of the paper, Dr Rachael Bedford of the Institute of Psychiatry, King’s College, London, said; ‘We do not yet know about the stability of these behaviours i.e, whether high callous unemotional traits measured in toddlerhood remain high into adolescence and beyond, nor do we know how strongly early callous unemotional traits predict later behaviours.’

Dr Kimonis said the Australian study, which had been published in the Journal of Abnormal Child Psychology, would have important implications in the treatment through parenting styles and developing the child's emotional skills of children at risk of criminal behaviour in later life.

The Parent-Child Research Clinic at UNSW runs free programs for eligible families, which develop childrens' emotional skills and supporting their parents rather than prescribing medication.