Home » Misc » Can sociopaths be good parents

Can sociopaths be good parents


Sociopathic Parents and Their Effects on Children

Tanya J. Peterson

Sociopathic parents exist and can cause great harm to their children through both emotional and physical abuse, even to the point of producing sociopathic children. In addition, co-parenting with a sociopath can be very troubling.

A sociopath is a man or a woman who cares only about him/herself (What Is A Sociopathic Person Like?). All the world is his stage, and all the people merely his puppets on a string. He is a social predator in all aspects of his life, including parenthood; he's a sociopathic parent.

Traits of Sociopathic Parents

At the most basic level, sociopathic parents aren't warm and fuzzy. Cold, distant, and unwelcoming, he provides neither comfort nor affection. James Fallon, a neurobiologist who studies the brains of sociopaths and happens to be one himself, is one of the rare sociopaths who has sustained a marriage over time and helped raise children. He describes his feelings toward his children as indifferent, "[d]ominated less by warmth than by entertainment and intellectual interest."

By sociopathic standards, Fallon is "loving parent of the year". Other sociopath parents aren't so kind and generous. The only true feeling sociopath parents have is anger, and they typically express it loudly and physically (Do Sociopaths Cry or Even Have Feelings?). Because the expressed anger is out of proportion to whatever induced it, children are left hurt, confused, and with a sense that the world is unpredictable, illogical, and unsafe. Antisocial parents teach their children that the world is chaotic and inconsistent.

Sociopathic parents have other hallmark parenting traits that amount to psychological abuse:

  • Lack of attachment, bonding, love
  • Dismissiveness (because kids are boring)
  • Disregard for the child's welfare
  • Harsh expectations and demands
  • Neglect, often extreme
  • Purposeful attempts to corrupt a child (exposure to pornography, encouraging delinquent behavior)


As if the sociopathic parent wasn't bad enough, this parent is often a spouse or a partner. Co-parenting with a sociopath can be a daily challenge. In all parenting partnerships, there exists an ongoing need to negotiate and compromise; unfortunately, the sociopath neither negotiates nor compromises. Ever. Co-parenting with a sociopath creates a strained relationship that adds yet another layer of difficulty to family life  (Co-Parenting With An Abuser: How to Help Your Kids, Yourself).

A Sociopath Mother!

The sociopath mother is no June Cleaver. She is much more like Game of Thrones' Cersei Lannister. Granted, she's excellent at emulating June Cleaver. Typical of a sociopath, this mom can morph into any persona that suits her in a given moment. When others are watching, she launches into Supermom. She dotes, she encourages, she loves, she attends. She provides the snacks at the end of the soccer game. Everyone loves SuperJune.

Then, when the game is over and the family is back home, Cersei returns. She doesn't need SuperJune because no one is around to entrap as future tools of manipulation.

Far from being a nurturing, loving attachment figure, the sociopath mother is a cold, abusive, frightening figure representing chaos and emotional distance. She ignores and she neglects. She controls and manipulates; to the sociopathic mother, her child isn't a person in his own right but a possession that exists to serve her. She uses insincere, shallow affection to manipulate. She hardly praises or encourages, but she lavishes the child with verbal abuse and punishment.

Society's norms mirror our biological wiring: mothers are designed to nurture and protect, so when they don't, the results are devastating to the child.

The Sociopathic Parent's Effect on Their Kids

Children are adversely affected by a sociopathic parent. The exact nature and impact of the ramifications of abuse vary from child to child and are dependent upon the severity of the sociopathy and the level of functioning of the parent, the nature of the child and her level of resiliency, and the degree and presence of other support systems. Still in one way or another, every child is impacted by having a sociopath parent. Much of the harm done to a child by a sociopathic parent is seen in behavior. The child might

  • shrink in isolation or express problems through bullying and aggression
  • become easily distracted
  • be either overly emotional or flat
  • have poor school performance.


The child's mental health is often affected as well. Approximately twenty-five percent of kids develop a mental illness such as childhood anxiety and depression (Woods, 2011). Sociopathic parents instill fear, shame, and a sense of worthlessness and self-blame in their children.

A sociopath parent is what a child fears: the monster under his bed and everywhere, and he can't turn to this parent for comfort.

article references

APA Reference
Peterson, T. (2021, December 17). Sociopathic Parents and Their Effects on Children, HealthyPlace. Retrieved on 2022, October 23 from https://www. healthyplace.com/personality-disorders/sociopath/sociopathic-parents-and-their-effects-on-children

Last Updated: January 28, 2022

Medically reviewed by Harry Croft, MD

More Info

Narcissistic Personality Disorder Tips

The Pathological Charmer

Grandiosity Hangover and Narcissistic Baiting

Intimacy and Abuse

The Ubiquitous Narcissist - The Prime Mover and Shaker

Psychological Theories and Narcissism

What Is Antisocial Personality Disorder?

5 Things Sociopathic Parents Hide Behind

A surprising fact that most people find difficult to believe: sociopaths are everywhere.

They can be found in places you would never expect, and doing things you would never imagine. They are our grandparents, siblings, and friends. And, perhaps most shockingly: they are sometimes our mothers and fathers.

Many therapists will tell you because they see it surprisingly often in their offices that the world is filled with people who have no idea they were raised by a sociopathic parent. Yet these parents do an incredible amount of damage to their children. They are, to say the least, the most harmful kind of emotionally neglectful parent one can have.

Sociopathic parents are the most difficult to spot for several key reasons. Like a chameleon in the desert, they know exactly how to hide. But before we talk about that, I am sharing an excerpt from my book Running On Empty: Overcome Your Childhood Emotional Neglect. It comes directly from the section outlining the 11 types of emotionally neglectful parents; the chapter called The Sociopathic Parent.

The Sociopathic Parent

Who comes to your mind when you hear the word sociopath?” Hannibal Lecter? Tony Soprano? Mussolini? These are indeed iconic representations of the concept. But they are the most extreme, dramatic and obvious versions of sociopathy.

The kind of sociopath were interested in is different. This sociopath quite possibly never breaks a law and has never been to jail, is far less obvious but far more commonplace. Most people would not ever think of this person as a sociopath. In fact, she may have a charisma that draws people to her. She may be admired and appear selfless and kind to many. But deep down, she is not like the rest of us.

Sometimes no one can see that something is wrong except the people who are closest to her. Often her children can feel it, but that doesnt mean they understand it.

There is one main feature that sets sociopaths apart from the rest of us. That one thing can be expressed in one word: conscience. Simply put, a sociopath feels no guilt. Because of this, hes freed up to do virtually anything without having to pay any internal price for it.

A sociopath can say or do anything she wants and not feel bad the next day, or ever. Along with a lack of guilt comes a profound lack of empathy. For the sociopath, other peoples feelings are meaningless because she has no ability to feel them.

In fact, sociopaths dont really feel anything the way the rest of us do. Their emotions operate under a very different system, which revolves around controlling others. If the sociopath succeeds in controlling you, he may actually feel some love for you. The flip side of that coin is that if he fails at controlling you, he will despise you. He uses underhanded means to get his way, and if that doesnt work, hell bully. If that fails, hell retaliate by trying to hurt you.

Having no conscience frees up the sociopath to use any underhanded means to get her way. She can be verbally ruthless. She can portray things falsely. She can twist others words to her own purposes. She can blame others when things go awry. Its not necessary to own her mistakes because its much easier to blame someone else. The sociopath has discovered the value of playing the victim and plays it like a virtuoso.

Yes, sociopathic parents are the most pain-inducing kind of emotionally neglectful parent. Yet they are, in many ways, the most difficult for the child to see. Why? Because, as I said above, they do know exactly how to hide.

5 Things Sociopathic Parents Hide Behind
  • Charity work: Whether its fundraising, volunteerism, or the PTA, few things provide better cover for a person with no conscience. Everyone assumes that if you are offering your time and work to others, it must be done for selfless, caring reasons. But the sociopath will often use their involvement in this work as an avenue to control or manipulate people. If you look closely, you will see that they bask just a little too excessively in the illusion of kindness they have created for themselves.
  • Success, power or wealth: Most folks suspect that people who are highly successful have some special knowledge that has propelled them to their place. But some have achieved their success by stepping on the backs of others, secretly treating people as objects or movable chess pieces. Fortunately, this cover is becoming less effective since many have become aware that wealth does not necessarily say anything meaningful about a person.
  • Religion: The vast majority of religious people are goodhearted folks who genuinely want to be their best selves. And this provides the perfect camouflage for the sociopath. In their attempts to present themselves as good people, sociopaths often go overboard, becoming zealous, controlling or competitive in their religious ways. Even when others around them catch a glimpse of this, they are likely to distrust their own perceptions and give the highly religious sociopath the benefit of the doubt.
  • Charisma: Since sociopaths are not held back by conscience and care for others they exude an energetic presence that draws others to them and then holds them under a spell. When we feel drawn to someone, we tend to trust them. And this puts you directly in their untrustworthy hands.
  • You, their child: And by this I mean parenthood. In the world today, mothers and fathers enjoy a great deal of latitude. Mothers are generally assumed to be caring and to love their children and want whats best for them. This makes it quite difficult for folks to imagine that a parent might be a sociopath. On top of this, the brain of the human infant is wired to its parents in a way that is difficult to describe. All children are born needing to be known, appreciated, and loved by their parents. Children automatically trust that their parents feel all of the above unless proven otherwise. When you have a sociopathic parent, your intense need to receive these basic things from your parents makes it very, very difficult to accept that they are not there. You are born to believe that your parents are good, genuine people who love you. This makes a sociopathic parent almost impossible for his child, or anyone else, to see, believe, or accept.

The Sociopathic Parent & Childhood Emotional Neglect (CEN)

Few parents fail to notice or respond to their childrens feelings (the definition of Childhood Emotional Neglect) in a more thorough or twisted way than the sociopathic one. And no other type of CEN parent literally uses their position as a parent as a cover-up to hide who they actually are. As the child of a sociopath, you sadly play the roles of both cover and casualty.

If you were raised by such a parent, you are likely unaware. You are probably suffering in silence, quietly wondering what is wrong with you.

And fortunately, for you, there are answers! Because once you understand whats really wrong, you can heal.

Even if your parent was not a sociopath, CEN is difficult to see and remember. To learn whether you grew up with Emotional Neglect visit EmotionalNeglect.com and Take the Free Emotional Neglect Test (link below).

To learn much more about CEN, how it happens, sociopathic parenting and the other 10 types of emotionally neglectful parents see the book Running On Empty: Overcome Your Childhood Emotional Neglect (link below).

Sociopathic parents

There are sociopaths who do not break the law and have never been to prison. They can hide behind a perfect manicure, a great job, a charity, and most people will never think of this person as a sociopath.

Who comes to mind when you hear the word "sociopath"? Jack the Ripper, perhaps? This is a truly iconic representative of the concept. But this is the most extreme, dramatic and obvious version of a sociopath.

One fact that most people never think about or realize is the high probability that every community, every school, and every company or organization probably already has members of this segment.

The sociopath I'm talking about is very different from a serial killer. This sociopath quite possibly never breaks the law and has never been to jail. This sociopath is much less obvious, but far more common.

He or she can be your neighbor, your brother, your mother or your father. He can hide behind a perfect manicure, a great job, a charity work. Most people would never think of this person as a sociopath.

In fact, this person may have a charisma that attracts people. Such a person can be admired, and he will seem disinterested and kind to many of his surroundings. But deep down, he's not like the rest of us. More often than not, no one sees that something is wrong, except for the people who are closest to him. Often, their own children can feel it, but this does not mean that they understand it.

There is one major feature that sets sociopaths apart from the rest. This one thing can be expressed in a single word: conscience.

Simply put,

the sociopath feels no guilt.

Because of this, he is freed to do just about anything without paying any intrinsic price. A sociopath can say or do whatever he wants and not feel bad the next day or ever.

Along with the lack of guilt comes a deep lack of empathy. For a sociopath, other people's feelings are meaningless, because he does not have the ability to feel them. In fact, sociopaths don't really feel like the rest of us do. Their emotions operate in a completely different system, which usually revolves around controlling others.

If the sociopath succeeds in controlling you, he may feel some warmth towards you. The flip side of this coin is that if he can't handle you, he will despise you.

Lack of conscience frees the sociopath to use some disguised means to achieve his goals. He can be verbally ruthless. He can distort things, giving them a false interpretation. He can twist the words of others for his own purposes. He can blame others when things go wrong. Never accepts his mistakes because it is much easier to blame someone else.

3 signs that may indicate that a parent is a sociopath:

1. He or she emotionally harms others, including children, repeatedly others may perceive these actions as deliberate.

2. After harming another person, the sociopathic parent acts as if it never happened , and expects or requires the same from others.

3. The sociopath lies or distorts the truth, or plays the victim in an attempt to deny or dismiss responsibility. He freely manipulates people to get his way.

The realization that your mother or father is a sociopath can be extremely difficult and painful.

Most children of sociopaths are desperate to rationalize or understand their parent's bad behavior. Many can be very creative in trying to explain the inexplicable.

Here are a few of the many excuses children of sociopaths have come up with to understand and justify their parents' behavior in their own eyes:

"She doesn't really think that way"

"She just cares too much about me"

"He had a difficult childhood"

The best publications in the Econet.ru Telegram channel. Subscribe!

Such self-deluded excuses may comfort the sociopath child, but in the long run they are damaging. Perhaps the child even feels guilty about his inability to understand or meet the needs of his parent.

3 Strategies for Dealing with a Sociopathic Parent:

1. The child of the sociopath must acknowledge that the parents' feelings are not like their own, due to the inability to feel true guilt or empathy.

2. Know that a sociopathic parent cannot be trusted to act in the best interests of their child. Unfortunately, this statement contradicts our moral principles. Most of us have been brought up to feel and believe that all parents love and want the best for their children. Unfortunately, in the case of a sociopathic parent, this is simply not true.

3. All the guilt in the relationship of a sociopathic parent with their child belongs to one person who is unable to feel it: the parent. However, it is the child who usually suffers the burden of guilt.

Sociopathic upbringing is a powerful version of "childhood emotional trauma" that takes years to heal. You can always turn to a competent psychotherapist for help. The goals of psychotherapy are ambitious. It claims to improve the quality of life and lead to healing and happiness. These claims are justified. After all, the norm is not what it is, but the best that can be. And talking helps.

published by econet.ru. If you have any questions on this topic, ask them to specialists and readers of our project here

Author: Stanislav Malanin

P.S. And remember, just by changing your consciousness - together we change the world! © econet

What is sociopathy and how to fight it / Pravoslavie.Ru

Sociopathy is fairly new term in the list of mental disorders. Meets sociopathy at all ages: as in small children, as well as adolescents and adults. It's mental personality disorder resulting from poor living conditions, unfavorable environmental influences. Particularly vulnerable in this respect childhood, because improper upbringing can have a detrimental effect on the psyche and lead to development of sociopaths. Understand the problem and the doctor will help us show the ways to solve it (Med.), child psychiatrist, Professor Galina Vyacheslavovna Kozlovskaya.

- Galina Vyacheslavovna, provokes sociopathy wrong upbringing. What upbringing right?

– The concepts of right and wrong education quite conditional. However, we are all understand to some extent what right or proper upbringing. It is reasonably reasonable moderately benevolent and moderately strict. With such upbringing, adults try to reveal the hidden, the potential of the child and allow them to develop into maximum degree. If the possibilities of the child limited due to some unavoidable physical or mental deficiencies, it is important to strongly stimulate its preserved functions, in order to develop as far as possible personality, form character, bring physical status to the maximum possible in these difficult conditions. And we we know many cases when people with disabilities, people with disabilities physical abilities achieve success in other areas that do not require heavy physical exertion. For example, in music or painting. That is correct education is, of course, not indulgence, not smoothing out shortcomings, not allowing the child to whims, not some excessive kindness that can go into harm. The process of education is a persistent joint work of an adult and a child. Work aimed at improvement of the makings of the child and his adaptation to the world around, to prepare the child for serious creative activity, because in everything, no matter what you do man, may be present creativity. Even ordinary life situations, family life, parenthood require creativity and creative solutions.

– And what does wrong upbringing look like?

- It may look different. First, it's a type education, called "Cinderella" - when a child is oppressed, humiliated, when adults present excessive demands on him, do not recognize his successes; he does not receive affection and gifts; he is badly fed, he is bad, slovenly, carelessly dressed. This child is in state of deep emotional and physical deprivation (restrictions). His upbringing is dominated by punishment. over encouragement and praise.

Another, opposite to the previous, type of wrong upbringing - "the idol of the family." Such everything is allowed for the child, he is required to be always the first, but this requirement is manifested in a very specific way: no matter what he does, he, according to his parents, always the best. He never fails in anything, egoism is powerfully fueled by it. Such a child may be sincerely sure that the world revolves around him. To him it is not known what it means to work hard, he is not in able to yield, to please another, to share.

Still from the movie "Toy"
Third type of wrong parenting is hypo-custody, when a child is not getting the help he or she needs surrounding. Simply put, they are not engaged, and there is pedagogical neglect, neglect. And there is also hyper-custody, when they seem to be trying for the child to live, everything is done for him, everywhere they patronize, protect from any difficulties, do not let go in infancy. This is also wrong.

- Do such different forms of education lead to to the same result?

– Imagine, yes! By puberty, when personality is determined and the young person begins independently enter the world around, the result in all four cases is approximately the same. These people are formed as antisocial types. To varying degrees, of course, but nonetheless less…

- What characterizes this type of person?

- These are usually people who are not independent, insecure, with great ambitions and great dissatisfaction. For example, "family idol" requires special attention. And he is not! Moreover, he claims leadership, but there are no grounds for this. He considers himself an important bird, but it turns out that he insufficiently educated and skillful. And he, in general, does nothing stands out among others, while claims remain very large, which gives rise to resentment and anger.

– Well, what about Cinderella?

– Unfortunately, in real life "Cinderella" on her life path is not always comes across a prince who would reward her for hardships. Growing up, she often becomes an evil creature, offended by the whole world. Such a person also claims some incredible successes, for unconditional recognition surrounding. And, without receiving it, he becomes embittered even more.

In case of neglect (hypo-guardianship) and in case of hyper-custodial a teenager develops a negative attitude towards relatives and towards the surrounding world in general. Such people are conflicted, for them characterized by subordination to the strong and neglect of the weak. They try to humiliate the weak by taking out their grievances on them, claims and anger. Some may find it excessive simplification of such a view on the relationship of educational measures with development of sociopaths. But in fact, everything is very serious. It is these features of education that form the deviation personality. And in some cases this deviation (deviation) is so fixed that it already becomes spontaneous, not dependent on external influences constitutionally conditioned, innate quality. The so-called acquired psychopathy is formed, which differs from nuclear, constitutional psychopathy in that that it is shaped by the environment and not given by nature. This acquired psychopathy is that group sociopaths, which, in fact, is created by society. How as a rule, such individuals are desocialized, they are poorly adapt to normal human interactions.

– Why?

– Because ordinary human communications are based on certain principles, on the requirement observance of the hierarchy and, most importantly, the need to work, to fulfill some business obligations. BUT sociopaths do not know how to do this, because the ability to work is it is a skill of patience when a person invests certain effort in the hope of some future reward. And not necessarily material! For him much it is more important to realize that someday, sooner or later, he will achieve the desired result: learn something, something will create the like. If a person is not brought up the need to work when work in itself brings him joy, and forced idleness perceived as a punishment, then such a person is deeply unhappy. Although not everyone realizes it. It seems to many that the main thing is to have a lot of money, then it will not be necessary work, but you can have fun without end. However, not in vain It is said that money does not bring happiness. Far from money you can always buy a real emotional, spiritual satisfaction. Comfort, prosperity, saturation of elementary you can, of course, acquire the necessities of life. But this not yet happy. When a person is not consumed by thoughts of where to get money for daily bread, he has other desires, other needs. And for their implementation still have to work. If the skill to work no, but there is a desire to get everything quickly and immediately, then the person is frustrated.

– Are there many sociopaths now?

- Alas, yes. Modern society is such that young people have a lot of deformed personalities who have there is no so-called social, emotional intellect, which is not understood to be the intellect which is inherent in man by nature: memory, speech skills and the like, and the intellect, which is formed in the process education. Emotional intelligence refers to a person knows how to understand the emotions of those around him, knows how to sympathize, provide emotional support. Because of this, he becomes pleasant to people. They see, that he can be trusted with some of his experiences, because he will understand, he will not ridicule, but on the contrary, will help.

- What about social intelligence?

- Social intelligence is a person is able to plan his future, his actions. And not just to plan, but to express them in words as for yourself as well as for those around you. Explain why he does something does, what are his intentions. The person who has social intelligence, able to critically evaluate themselves, sees his own and other people's shortcomings, can say nothing about them rudely, on the forehead, but delicately, showing his emotional intelligence. Unfortunately, these subtle spiritual qualities now underdeveloped among young people. The phenomenon is observed which is called in psychiatry "alexithymia". It's impossible to express words their desires, actions, plans.

– Are today's young people so undeveloped speech?

- No, the point here is not the underdevelopment of speech, but the fact that a person does not have the skills of introspection, does not know how to to understand people, is not able to analyze his own and other people's actions. In my opinion, to such a sad the state of affairs has largely been brought about by the fact that in our schools stopped seriously studying classical literature.

– And the fact that children don't read much? And if they read often some nonsense.

- Quite right. But the school plays a special role here. Earlier, as you remember, children were taught to write essays in literary themes, analyze actions and characters heroes. Taught to understand musical works, to describe the mood that this or that music evokes, tell what images and pictures pop up in imagination while listening to it. The harder work, the more difficult it is to analyze feelings, embedded in music. Now it is almost non-existent trains, and many teenagers do not have a thin mental organization necessary for empathy, for real creativity, the ability to get along with others. In that so many young people are helpless, they don't even are always aware of the deviation of their actions, their social insufficiency, sociopathy, which, of course, is not always happens to the extent of a real mental disorder, but which still prevents a person from being happy, because that he does not find a place for himself in the world around him, builds stupid plans. Let's say a cute teenage girl all of a sudden declares that she wants to be a prostitute because, according to her concepts, it's cheap and cheerful.

- And the desire to become a fashion model, which is now girls often say, from the same opera?

- Of course! Notice what about your teenagers say they want to become fashion designers much less often because it is clear that this requires a lot of work, be good at drawing. A fashion model, girls think, to be quite easy. The main thing is to have the appropriate data, put on an outfit and show yourself on the podium. And then that this is really hard and thankless work, Most applicants don't even think about it. Ignorance life, even at his teenage level, too, as usually due to the lack of cultural baggage. Dropping literary classics from the ship of modernity led to the fact that a huge mass of modern adolescents do not have normal, true values: values friendship, love, devotion, diligence.

- Moreover, traditional, universal values modern mass culture purposefully refuted and ridiculed!

And it bears bitter fruit. If higher feelings and high ideals are not formed, in a person prevails animal origin. His desires are primitive, although the intellect while being preserved. One of my friend girl from 10 years old I tried to put on high heels. It was her the most cherished dream, and when, at the age of 12, a girl finally bought such shoes, she was in seventh heaven with happiness. Although she looked ridiculous in them, even ugly! legs thin, physically undeveloped and still completely undeveloped prepared for such an adult load. Wear shoes on high heels are bad for her, but the poor thing is nothing wanted to hear, because it seemed to her that thanks to these shoes, she turned into a beauty. Now she dreams become a saleswoman and work in a boutique to buy the most fashionable clothes. Although it cannot be said that her family focused on the acquisition of material wealth. Parents from childhood they tried to read to their daughter, took them to the theater, but now neither she nor the other girls in the class are completely good books are interesting, they are not carried away by any subjects, they don't want to go to clubs. To study and normal children's and teenage interests they treat with some childish cynicism. I would even say perverted. To for example, the three musketeers are perceived almost as racketeers or, in any case, criminal elements, who plotted against their own country, wrestled with a woman. That is, everything is turned upside down. head! The rejection of the classical heritage also generates a rejection away from the traditional value system, the traditional perception of world famous works. Above these strange, absurd judgments could be laughed at, if not for the bitterness of realizing that before our eyes there is a growing cohort of people who are completely alien to us in spirit and in perception of life divorced from classical culture and traditional concepts of good and evil, honor and meanness, loyalty and betrayal. Why are there three musketeers! Even about Zoya Kosmodemyanskaya now sometimes you can hear that she is to blame. Why was silent? I would tell everything The Germans would let her go. Well, and others are just as ridiculous fantasies ... Strictly speaking, from a medical point of view sociopathy is not a psychiatric problem. it rather, the problem is a social one, and not doctors should treat it, but society.

- Are criminals also sociopaths?

- Of course. Unless they went to jail accidentally, by misunderstanding, due to some serious set of circumstances. Again, I want to emphasize that sociopathic criminals are not psychiatric patients, and therefore are not in a psychiatric hospital, but in prison. From a psychiatric point of view, they can define as people not quite complete, but medicines not invented for them, except for the impact is enough strict imprisonment and reasonable educational measures. If the prison is more like a sanatorium, why some human rights activists are now advocating, the feeling impunity only exacerbates them sociopathy.

- It may be objected to you that imprisonment itself punishment in itself.

– For many people of the criminal warehouse, deprivation freedom, not associated with inconvenience, but rather, providing an opportunity for calm and sufficient comfortable dependency is nothing punishment. Of course, imprisonment should not be bullying; rude, inhuman treatment, dank cells and other outrages, definitely unacceptable. But at the same time it must be serious test: strict, with certain workers and educational responsibilities. If we're talking about teenagers, they must learn to catch up peers, it is necessary to apply occupational therapy to them, since sociopaths, as I said, do not know how to work, but want get everything at once.

– Are drug addicts sociopaths?

– I would put it this way: sociopaths are risk group for drug addiction and other types of addiction, because many sociopaths have an internal structure personality is very weak, and the need for pleasure - in the foreground. And this personal weakness causes people to resort to the easiest ways of getting pleasure: to classic drugs and to new, as they are now called, non-chemical drugs such as computer games and the Internet. Into cyberspace it is those people who do not find recognition in the real world. In the virtual world they can call themselves by another name, come up with another appearance, biography and get in the face of this phantom then recognition, which they so lack in reality. To unfortunately, the psychological dependence on the screen then develops into physical, and eventually non-chemical addiction takes on the classic forms of drug addiction. So same as in drug addiction, in this case there is increasing tolerance, when the patient needs more and more sit in front of the computer more, so to speak - increase the dose of computer drug. When separated from abstinence occurs on the computer, and when the games are resumed - euphoria. Well, it ends up happening destruction of the frontal cortex, neocortex, which essentially makes us human, because it is the neocortex that "manages" the formation our personal qualities, intellectual and creative spos

- Raising children in single-parent families can hide a threat to the formation of sociopathy?

– Of course! Incomplete family always dysfunctional. No matter how hard mom tries to take over dual role, personifying both feminine and masculine beginning, neither physiologically nor psychologically is it impossible. Therefore, distortion cannot be avoided. Necessary say that the influence of the father in the family for many years underestimated, and yet the father plays a colossal role in in the upbringing of a harmonious personality. And not only in the form of any specific educational influences, and even by the mere fact of their presence. Having a father in the family gives confidence not only to children, but also to mothers. Dual implementation of educational functions (as with from the mother's side, and from the father's side) also goes to the child to the benefit. This issue has not yet been studied, but accumulated factual material allows us to assert that The presence of a father in the family plays a colossal role. Especially for boys. It is no coincidence that sociopaths are dominated by boys, and very many come from incomplete families. Or from those families where the father behaves destructively, setting a bad example for the boy. Boys are generally more responsive to right or wrong upbringing, therefore, in their behavior, in the presence of a bad example, quickly deviations appear. On the other hand, they are lighter than girls are amenable to correction.

- Can we talk about any congenital sociopathic inclinations of the child, or it all depends from upbringing?

- If we mean sociopathy, then everything is associated with education, that is, with external influences. BUT here in psychopathy, the main thing is innate inclinations. Although the wrong upbringing also plays some formative role. When a child has some brain failure, head trauma infection, increased intracranial pressure, abnormal education exacerbates the problem. It requires mandatory treatment of all prerequisites, elimination of factors risk and certain parental education.

- What kind of study?

– Parents of such children often cannot give them correct framework of behavior and unwittingly contribute to the development of pathology. Many people underestimate the role of home labor, do not understand how important it is for the harmonious development teach a child from childhood to clean up toys, help mom in cleaning the apartment and cooking. Children need give feasible orders and ensure that they they were carried out not in a blunder, through the sleeves, but carefully. it develops a sense of responsibility. Of course, you can't deprive child's playful childhood, but joy should not only be from this, but also from some other successes, not only gaming. Yes, at preschool age music education, sports, arts and other activities are also held in a playful way, but there you still need to try to achieve from the child of any real success, not just Praise him for showing up to class. Wherein any, even the smallest, success must certainly be encouraged, because achieving something new must go through the recognition of success and the development of coping skills with failure. The child needs to be explained that failure - it is a natural phenomenon that it happens to any person, And when faced with failure, do not give up. Parents should determine what their child has tendencies, and try to develop these tendencies. Here The child must also work.

- It seems to be such simple things, but in reality Is this the prevention of sociopathy?

- Yes. Parents often don't understand these days. many seemingly simple things, because the means mass media and some experts confuse them with sense. To help parents who are unable to cope with raising difficult children, it is necessary to create medical and social structures - like those that exist now in Moscow. In these centers such children are engaged in special techniques that teach them make friends, avoid fears, conflict situations, overcome difficulties.

– And how should parents behave with teenagers?

“This is the most difficult problem right now. Pubertal the period goes relatively smoothly if the teenager has there is a passion for some productive occupation. AT Soviet times there were many circles where psychologically deformed teenagers received indirect help. Like there would be placed not medical and psychological, but social tasks. But in fact, there was a parallel prevention, and often correction of sociopathy. Interesting affairs: aircraft modeling, radio engineering, driving cars, camping trips and so on - distracted the boys from wandering aimlessly through the streets, helped shape masculine qualities. There were many free sports sections, theater studios, chess and other circles, in which were enjoyed by children and teenagers. When children, in addition to studying, there is some other super-task, this usually helps guys with the threat of sociopathic personality formation. Creation of such circles and promotion of classes in them can help a lot adolescents go through a difficult transitional age.

- And what can you advise women who, having married, they suddenly discovered that their husband - sociopath? After all, the signs of which you speak: the desire suppress the weak, irritability, unwillingness to work, dependence on computer games, alcoholism, often appear not during courtship, but when people begin joint life.

– It is best to try to recognize these signs as early as possible, before marriage, and beware of tying your destiny with such a person. There is no need to eat here. illusions: it will be very difficult to live with such a person. Well and if a decisive step has already been taken, it is necessary to show a wise patience and try to get your betrothed out of that the trap in which he found himself due to the wrong upbringing in childhood. But this is only possible with a large love, because, as you know, they love not for something, but simply so.

- And even in spite of.

- Yes. In this case, one can hope for a gradual correction of personality deformation, because sociopathy - it's still an acquired state. And that means fixable. But with patience and love, a sociopath cannot be dissolved. A wife should not take on everything responsibilities, including making money. On the contrary, before a sociopath it is absolutely necessary to put some super-tasks - not transcendental, but feasible. And kind of act with him like a small child, encouraging and praising for successes, helping to experience failures. Not all women cope with this, because in her husband I want to see a support, and not just another little child. That's why it's better to take marriage seriously and with a sociopath don't tie your life. These people with their laxity, instability, capriciousness, stubbornness, unfounded claims to leadership can spoil life for wife and children.

- If I understand correctly, sociopaths also characterized by non-recognition of one's guilt, an uncritical attitude towards yourself. Women often say that a husband who creates at home God knows what, categorically refuses to go to psychologist, closes from problems, does not want to improve normal family life.

- Yes, this is precisely the insufficiency social intelligence characteristic of sociopaths. If a the social demands placed on to such people, the number of sociopaths would noticeably decrease.

Learn more