By What is behind an insensitive, violent and defiant young person? Antisocial behaviour can be explained by certain neurobiological abnormalities that science is increasingly understanding. We analyse them.
Antisocial behavior begins in childhood . Although we always focus on those adults who transgress social norms and lead to criminal behavior, it is important to focus on childhood. It is in the early years of a human being that many personality disorders take hold.
One of the most defining characteristics of this clinical condition is the absolute lack of concern for how their actions impact others. Sometimes, in primary school classrooms we can find students with a very particular type of problem. They are not only disruptive and problematic; we may be struck by their high impulsiveness and lack of empathy.
While it is true that behind these types of profiles and clinical pictures there is a dysfunctional family and a deficient education, there is another variable that should be highlighted. There are neurobiological disorders that correlate with emotional insensitivity in children and adolescents . We delve into this.
Antisocial behavior is usually evident between the ages of 8 and 11. Defiance of authority and lack of empathy are the most notable characteristics.
Antisocial behavior in childhood
Around 3% of the population has antisocial personality disorder . Of this percentage, 40% already show clear antisocial behavior in childhood (Widiger & Gore, 2016). This data is important and highlights the fact that if we look at the earliest ages we could better understand the reason for the development of this condition.
This is what psychology has been doing for several decades. We cannot ignore the fact that cluster B personality disorders are the most problematic and have the greatest impact on society. Thus, something we see in both children and adults is that they not only do not hesitate to circumvent and challenge everything that is ethical or subject to a legal code. In addition, they boast about it.
We are dealing with a profile that has a high probability of leading to criminal behaviour from an early age. This sector of our population also represents a challenge, since we do not always know how to deal with antisocial behaviour in children. Families, educators, social agents… It is not easy to respond to this complex reality.
Emotional insensitivity and problems with empathy could be explained by dysfunction in the amygdala.
How to recognize an antisocial child?
The most striking characteristic of antisocial children is their lack of empathy . They are not sensitive to the emotional realities of others. Thus, although they can recognize the feelings of others, they do not react to them. They also do not show remorse for their behavior or care in the least about the effect of their actions.
- They show defiant and violent behavior.
- They fight frequently.
- They mistreat animals.
- They lie.
- They can steal and destroy other people’s property.
- A taste for breaking rules and regulations. Truancy is the most common characteristic at this age.
- Constant reactions of anger, rage, resentment, etc.
- Inability to control impulses.
- Very poor social skills.
- Serious limitations in solving problems .
Neurobiological alterations in young people without empathy and antisocial
One of the most decisive factors in the appearance of antisocial behavior in children is a dysfunctional family . Growing up in a hostile, cold environment, without emotional support and with poor parenting skills almost always has a great impact. However, science has been addressing another hypothesis for years.
The etiology of young people without empathy and antisocial is not only due to the social and educational factor, but also to neurobiological disorders. We will analyze them below.
The amygdala and emotional insensitivity in children
In a chapter of the book The American Journal of Psychiatry, Dr. Mairead Dolan explains what young people without empathy and with emotional insensitivity are like. Thanks to studies with magnetic resonance imaging, it has been possible to see that there may be a dysfunction in the amygdala, that is, there is less activation.
This results in a limitation when processing facial expressions and understanding other people’s emotions. However, there are more neurobiological problems that are worth highlighting. Another research work from the Universidad Central del Sur revealed another detail.
This disregard for social obligations and emotional insensitivity can also be explained by abnormalities in the functional connectivity of the brain . The frequency bands in the neuronal connectivity of children and adults with antisocial behaviour are altered.
A brain with fewer charges of conscience
Young people who lack empathy and are emotionally insensitive do not usually show feelings of guilt. They rarely think about the effect of their behavior. They are not worried about causing harm to others. These characteristics are very striking if we begin to notice them from childhood.
Functional neuroimaging is currently the most widely used mechanism to understand the neural correlates of antisocial behavior in young people. Thus, one thing we see is a clear alteration in all the prefrontal areas related to self-awareness and reflection.
Furthermore, the aforementioned functional deficits in the amygdala are related to another fact. These children and adolescents barely process the emotion of fear. This not only causes them to be more impulsive and to engage in risky behavior; they also do not experience fear of possible punishment for their aggressive or criminal behavior. This justifies their relapse into actions for which they are usually reprimanded.
The limbic system and the prefrontal cortex explain emotional coldness
Young people without empathy are a real challenge from a psychological and social point of view. Neuroscience provides more and more scientific literature that shows us how various neurobiological disorders make up antisocial behavior in many cases. Thus, one aspect that has already been amply demonstrated is how this condition is more frequent in the male gender than in the female.
Furthermore, this emotional insensitivity is the result of various and complex brain dysfunctions that orbit between the emotional regions and the prefrontal cortex. If we talked about the amygdala before, we must also highlight the limbic system, which is also related to emotional processing and memory.
Research conducted at the Department of Child and Adolescent Psychiatry at the University of Basel mentions another disorder. There is a dysfunction in the white matter fiber tracts that connect the limbic system with the prefrontal cortex . This explains the inability to process, control and understand emotions.
The influence of upbringing
At this point we can ask ourselves a question. Are young people who lack empathy, are they emotionally insensitive and who challenge authority because of educational factors or because of neurobiological variables? Well, something that should be kept in mind is that antisocial behavior has a strong genetic component . It is very likely that a family member has this characteristic.
On the other hand, there is a very interesting aspect regarding personality disorders. Many of us may have neurological bases that incline us to develop an antisocial disorder or psychopathy and not end up developing these conditions. The simple fact of being educated in an affectionate, safe family environment and having a happy childhood reduces this risk.
This is what happened to neurologist James Fallon . After undergoing an MRI, he discovered that his brain had the same similarities as the inmates with psychopathy or antisocial disorder that he studied daily. In fact, one of his ancestors was Lizzie Borden, the axe murderer. However, having been raised and educated with love, this gene was not activated.
Although neurological factors can condition us, it is our upbringing that determines us almost completely.