Estelle
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Interested Bystander said:
"I am open to his being a psychopath and throwing in ASD to the mix stemmed from his being known, all his life it seems, to be a lovely boy but a loner and his sister commenting he was a "dick". Could drugs have caused such an enormous change in his personality, which seemingly only lasted for the one night? I understand psychopaths can be charming but the cracks tend to break open periodically (as in OP's case)".
He was shrewd enough to become a loner so he could hide his behaviour and put on an act when he was with people but his psychopathy had not probably developed to its full extent by then.
Psychopathy, or sociopathy, is not an official diagnosis. The Diagnostic and Statistical Manual of Mental Disorders (DSM) refers to the condition as antisocial personality disorder. People with APD, the DSM says, have “abnormal personality functioning” and “pathological personality traits,” such as egocentrism, manipulativeness, and a lack of empathy.
https://www.businessinsider.com.au/what-a-psychopath-brain-looks-like-2015-7?r=US&IR=T
[QUOTE Interested Bystander said:
]He had only been home for around a couple of weeks before committing these most awful crimes but I suspect those two weeks were torment for him. I think his parents were high achievers (at least his father was) and expected the same of the children. HvB giving up/being thrown off of his Physics course must have created enormous tensions in the household.
[/QUOTE]
Egocentrism would make him also prefer to ba a loner and you are right in thinking that that two weeks would hve been "torment" for him being under the microscope of his family again every day asking him questions about why he dropped out of university (he could have been expelled (although I have never heard of anyone being expelled before from a university). Who knows what he did while there? He may have wagged lectures or been reported for his behavior. They might have blamed the drugs. His father told him that his allowance was not going to continue and he had better get a real job and fend for himself which would have upset him. All he wanted to do was a course in scuba diving if I remember correctly.
Brain scans, of course, are only one potential indicator that someone has psychopathic tendencies. Genetics and family history also likely play a role in the development of the disorder..
Interested Bystander said:
Could drugs have caused such an enormous change in his personality, which seemingly only lasted for the one night? I understand psychopaths can be charming but the cracks tend to break open periodically (as in OP's case).
In drug addicts who are also violent offenders, the combination of week resistance and a strong impulses result in a stronger drive to seek pleasure. Drug addiction can explain the impulsivity, irresponsibility, delinquency, and poor behavioral controls, which are all on Hare’s Psychopathy Checklist. Then, since addiction and psychopathy affect different parts of the brain, they can both be present at the same time and present compound and more severe symptoms, which, when combined, could present as psychopathy when it is really just a tendency for psychopathy and life long drug addiction.
The manifestation of drug addiction with comorbid psychopathic tendencies does not lend itself to a proper diagnosis of psychopathy. Instead, drug addiction should be treated and then the subject should be reevaluated for psychopathy. For sentencing, a criminal exhibiting psychopathic tendencies and drug addiction should be culpable to a similar degree as a drug addict since addiction explains many of the behaviors and has a potential for lower recidivism.
http://www.neulaw.org/blog/1034-class-blog/3757-psychopathic-tendencies-and-addiction