boy says he was mad at his dog so he killed it

[markpkessinger]

80. Why, I never knew there were so many experts in adolescent psych. dev. on DU!

I mean, all this certitude concerning this boy's psychopathy, all this apparent expertise in what is or is not effective in treating this 12-year-old "psychopath," all this prognostication about what his future will, or will not, hold -- surely that must mean you are all psychiatrists with a specialty in adolescent psychiatric medicine, or Psy.D's in adolescent psychology, with hundreds of years between you all in clinical or laboratory research settings, right?

Look, we've all seen the documentaries, or read the articles, on serial killers that identify cruelty to animals in youth and adolescence as a commonly found trait. But identifying a commonly found trait is not the same thing as establishing with any certainty that such trait is always an indicator of psychopathy. No doubt this boy's behavior and affect concerning his behavior are red flags for some serious psychological issues, and warrant immediate intervention by qualified mental health professionals. I am not qualified in the field either, but I do know this much: psychopathy, or anti-social personality disorders (the DSM-IV term), are evaluated and diagnosed across a complex of interpersonal skills, emotional affect and behaviors, and a single incident -- how ever troubling -- does not constitute a basis on which such a diagnosis is made. The suggestion that the only thing to be done with this kid is to throw him into a locked mental ward for the next 30 years, based on a report of a single incident, and upon no direct knowledge of the boy or his life circumstances, partakes of the very sort of armchair "expertise" Tea Partiers profess with respect to macroeconomics. And, iw ould submit, it also reflects one of the features of American popular culture that leads us, as a society, to our general cluelessness when it comes to issues of mental health!