Are we all Emotional Beings?
Disruption of this bonding may produce a child that is incapable of feeling sympathy, affection or remorse. Pediatricians and psychiatrists refer to these children as "detached" and according to Newton (1992) seem to view them as victims of humanity. They have noted measurable damage to these children in three areas. Firstly, children deprived of critical bonding form relationships on the basis of personal need and not of emotional attachment. Secondly these children are often retarded in development of conceptual thinking and language skills even if they are placed in favorable home condition following two years of age. Finally, as these children enter adolescence studies reveal that they display more aggressive and violent behavior than their counterparts. In the worst scenario, detachment produces individuals afflicted with antisocial personality disorder (APD).
In the case of a sociopath this state of detachment further develops into what we cal the criminal mind. The basic profile of a sociopath has been patterned in the 1960's and a person totally matching this label
* is asocial
* is driven by uncontrolled desires
* is highly impulsive
* is aggressive
* feels little, if any guilt
* has a warped capacity for love
Is the womb a safe place after all?
Serial-killer development can begin, not only after birth, but in the womb. Malnutritioned or anemic mothers may have children with abnormal brain development. In addition to these, maternal alcoholism or drug abuse are hazards to fetal development which interfere with the nervous system as well as brain development. These may effect a child's - and future adult's - ability to control violent impulsive behavior. There have also been cases where prenatal damage was not inflicted by the pregnant mother, but by members of the family and community as in the case of the British serial killer Patrick Mackay who was seen to kick his pregnant wife in the stomach.
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