The conviction of Daswant for the kidnap, rape and murder of a seven-year-old girl in Mugalivakkam has thrown the spotlight on the need to identify psycopathic behaviour early.
Speaking about the need for early intervention, Aruna Balachandra, retired Reader, Department of Psychology, JBAS college said that it was important to sensitise children on how to respect and treat other people.
“Parents and schools play a vital role and they need to be aware of the behaviour of children. Aggression is often swept under the carpet and many parents assume that it might get better once they grow up,” she said.
Lakshmi Vijayakumar, a psychiatrist, said that people like Daswant came across as superficially charming and helpful, while internally they were unstable. “Such people are antisocial have antisocial personalities and lack empathy. They can be extremely manipulative too,” she said.
Family environment
“Most of these individuals come from disturbed or dysfunctional families; they are either aggressive or withdrawn. While timely interventions are necessary, it can be difficult to help them,” she said.
Echoing her views, S. Nambi, Professor and HOD Department of Psychiatry, Sree Balaji Medical College and Hospital, said that it was not always easy to identify people with psychopathic tendencies. “We have to look at their family history and past records to identify such individuals. . But it is difficult to treat them. Self gratification is all that matters to people with this disorder. They are not known to trust anyone including their parents,” he said.
The Madras High Court in 2016 had directed the State government to consider employing trained full-time counsellors in educational institutions. “There is however no compulsory rule yet and in most schools like ours, a designated teacher is asked to address the students as and when required,,” said T. Vijaya, a teacher from a government school in Chennai.
