One in 100 Children In UK Are Psychopaths

A new study has revealed that around one percent of children in Britain could be genetically psychopathic and there is nothing parents can do to control them.

Up until now, children who lie, manipulate and commit acts of cruelty without remorse were thought to be the product of poor parenting, but psychologists at University College London revealed such traits are largely genetic.

"For the group which has callous-unemotional traits, there's a strong genetic vulnerability," the Daily Mail quoted the lead researcher Professor Essi Viding, as saying.

"This does not mean these children are born anti-social or are destined to become anti-social.

"But in the same way that some of us are more susceptible to heart disease, these children are people who are more vulnerable to environmental influences that trigger the anti-social outcome," she said.

Researchers also found that normal parenting methods rarely work on such children because the these kids an incapable of empathy

It means that typical punishments such as the 'naughty step' are unlikely to turn around their behavior.

The researchers also revealed that such children, whom they describe as 'callous- unemotional', form a distinct sub-group of badly behaved youngsters and predicted that between a quarter and half of children in UK with conduct problems could fall into this category.

However the researcher said that even though such children are unlikely to be controlled, there is some evidence that psychopathic kids respond to 'warm parenting'.

Source: ANI