A few years ago, while we were in the midst of the COVID-19 pandemic and my kids were home from school full time, my mom graciously volunteered to hang out with them a few days a week so that I could get some work done. At some point during one of those days, my mom was playing restaurant with my younger son Charlie and asked him whether he would take her to a fancy restaurant one day when he was all grown up. Charlie, who was only 3 at the time, looked her straight in the eyes and said, “Well, no, grandma. You’ll probably be dead by then.”
All I can say is Yikes (and thank goodness my mom has a great sense of humor). Hearing a small child say something so callous can be chilling, and after frequent interactions like this one, you might even think to yourself, Is my toddler a psychopath? And you’d be surprised how many stories I hear from other parents that are remarkably similar. Kids do say the darndest things, but do I have to worry about my kid murdering me in my sleep one day?
Believe it or not, despite how many times you’ve heard it, the term “psychopath” is not recognized as a disorder by the Diagnostic and Statistical Manual of Mental Disorders (DSM-5), which is practically the Bible for mental health issues. Instead of having its own term, psychopathy and psychopathic traits fall under the more general umbrella of antisocial personality disorder. Antisocial personality disorder focuses on behaviors like breaking the law, being deceitful, acting impulsively, acting aggressively, being irresponsible, and showing a general disregard for the safety of others and oneself. Psychopathy also includes these behaviors but is characterized by additional personality traits like lack of empathy, narcissism, and general lack of remorse.
If you’re a true crime aficionado like myself, you might associate psychopaths with being murderers or........