Can Kids with Violent Temptations Be Real?

Click For Summary

Discussion Overview

The discussion revolves around the potential reality of children exhibiting violent thoughts or behaviors, particularly in the context of a specific anecdote shared on Reddit. Participants explore possible psychological and psychiatric explanations, as well as the rarity and nature of such cases.

Discussion Character

  • Exploratory
  • Debate/contested
  • Conceptual clarification

Main Points Raised

  • One participant questions the authenticity of a story about a child expressing violent thoughts and seeks explanations for such behavior, wondering about psychiatric or psychological issues that could arise from birth.
  • Another participant mentions "William's Syndrome" as a potential genetic or developmental condition that might relate to similar behaviors, suggesting there could be other undiscovered syndromes.
  • A different participant references a search for "murderous children," noting that while some may have experienced severe trauma, others might possess psychopathic traits, indicating a lack of compassion.
  • Another contribution reflects on the challenges of childhood development, emphasizing that extreme behaviors are exceptions rather than the norm and that most children go through difficult phases without resorting to violence.

Areas of Agreement / Disagreement

Participants express a range of views, with some suggesting that extreme violent tendencies in children are rare exceptions, while others highlight the complexity of factors that may contribute to such behaviors. No consensus is reached on the nature or prevalence of these cases.

Contextual Notes

Participants acknowledge the difficulty in categorizing or understanding the behaviors discussed, with some noting the lack of comprehensive studies or statistics on the topic. The conversation reflects uncertainty about definitions and the variability of individual cases.

ShayanJ
Science Advisor
Insights Author
Messages
2,802
Reaction score
605
Summary:: Curious whether this story about this kid could be real, and if yes, is there any explanations?

I just came across this reddit thread. I know, it could be fake. But I've seen a similar story before about a little girl who openly talked about wanting to kill her adoptive parents and her brother. You can read about it here and here. Granted, she was sexually abused by her biological father as a toddler(what the hell is going on with some people?!) and that could explain it.
But I'm just wondering, can there be any psychiatric/psychological issues from the birth that could cause such a mentality and behavior in the kid? Is there any statistics about this? Have there been any studies? How much do we know about it?
I'm asking about it here because I don't even know what to call these kids or if there is even enough cases out there for me to able to find any information. So I appreciate any kind of clue or sources you may have
thanks
 
Biology news on Phys.org
ShayanJ said:
Summary:: Curious whether this story about this kid could be real, and if yes, is there any explanations?

I just came across this reddit thread.
"William's Syndrome" results from a genetic/developmental defect/malfunction; there could be any number of similar/related syndromes yet to be discovered.
 
  • Like
Likes   Reactions: ShayanJ
Do a google search on "murderous children" and one can find a gruesome gallery of kids who are truly evil in a way that boggles the mind.

How they came to be this way no one knows for sure.

Some suffered tremendous cruelty from their parents or caregivers while others were found to have a streak of psychopathy or a basic lack of compassion for any living thing in their personality.
 
Last edited:
  • Like
Likes   Reactions: mcastillo356 and ShayanJ
Growing up is hard enough in itself. There are many things to learn, and amongst them: how to handle aggression (aggression of your own and aggression of others): and then the revelation, that not all the world is about you... It's hard. Practically every child has bad periods.
If the circumstances are extreme, those bad periods can be really extreme too.

What you are bringing up here is the extreme of the extreme. We are 'wired' to depend on during childhood (and that may foil things more frequently than rage). So don't take these cases (yes, there are cases) as any kind of common. They are exceptions. Not really worth keeping them in the foreground.
 
  • Like
Likes   Reactions: ShayanJ

Similar threads

  • · Replies 15 ·
Replies
15
Views
4K
  • · Replies 2 ·
Replies
2
Views
15K
Replies
5
Views
3K
  • · Replies 29 ·
Replies
29
Views
17K
  • · Replies 24 ·
Replies
24
Views
6K
  • · Replies 60 ·
3
Replies
60
Views
10K
  • · Replies 1 ·
Replies
1
Views
3K
Replies
7
Views
2K
  • · Replies 13 ·
Replies
13
Views
3K
  • · Replies 19 ·
Replies
19
Views
11K