Annotated outline on child psychopathy

Case #3: Child Psychopathy
Case: Mrs. Johnson, a foster parent, woke up from a nap during the afternoon of 8/28/17 with a kitchen steak knife poking her neck. Her 9, year-old adopted daughter, J.K. (name withheld because she is a minor), was at the other end of the knife. “Were you trying to hurt me?” she asked. J.K. only smiled. “Were you trying to kill me?” Again, J.K. continued to smile. Mrs. Johnson, who’s 46, called the police as this wasn’t the first incident involving J.K. and she knew it wouldn’t be her last.
J.K.’s biological mother gave her up for adoption when J.K. was 3.5. J.K.’s mother was a prostitute and J.K. was an unplanned pregnancy. J.K.’s biological mother was eager to drop J.K. off with relatives whenever possible. She even tried to give J.K. away at one point. Information gathered from CPS records indicated that family members believed J.K.’s mother suffered from Munchausen by Proxy and would intentionally make J.K. ill for the sake of obtaining attention. A number of medical reports in the file appeared to corroborate this allegation as J.K. as she was brought to the pediatrician with a number of illnesses and symptoms, many of which could not be easily medically explained.
Mrs. Johnson and her husband have been foster parents for 10 years, allowing all kinds of kids with a variety of problems into their home. In addition to their two birth children, the couple have also adopted three other children throughout the years. They acquired J.K. right after her 4th birthday. Despite years of love, affection, and attention, J.K. never bonded with Mrs. Johnson and frequently calls her names or indicates that “she wishes Mrs. Johnson would die.”
J.K. is described as manipulative, intelligent, and somewhat cold. She has a known history of being violent and lies frequently. In kindergarten, she wrapped her hands around a classmate’s throat and squeezed. At the end of kindergarten, her teacher found her looking at a dead bird. The teacher suspects that J.K. was the one to harm the bird. J.K. has frequently threatened to harm the younger children in the family but has only physically assaulted (punch, slap) her younger siblings twice because they took something of her’s.
After the latest incident, Mrs. Johnson called the State and asked for them to take J.K. back. They responded, “if you are not willing to keep J.K. in the home, we will charge you with child abandonment and neglect.” Mrs. Johnson has contacted a lawyer to see what can be done. She does not feel that she can provide the type of resources that J.K. needs and is fearful for her life and the lives of her children. She has contacted the lawyer to see if J.K. can be made a ward of the state and deemed a “danger to society.”

Ultimate Question: Can a child this age be diagnosed as a psychopath ?

YES – there is enough evidence to show, without a doubt, that a child of this age can be labeled as a psychopath.
NO – there is NOT enough evidence to show that a child of this age is a definitive threat to society
Unlike a traditional research/review paper, you will need to choose a “side” (this will make more sense when you look at the cases). Your job is to persuade the reader/audience into identifying that your side is the most empirically-validated side.

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