HIGH RISK CHILDREN WITHOUT A CONSCIENCE
Dr. Ken Magid and Carole A. McKelvey
Bantam, Doubleday, Dell: 1990
ISBN: 0553346679
Book Review by: Anita Biase
emilyrose2342000@yahoo.com
High Risk Children without a Conscience is a book about high-risk
children that deals with the symptoms, causes and possible
contributing factors leading to psychopathic behavior in adults
while describing the symptoms that herald the genesis of anti-social
personality disorders in children. It differs from other books
on this subject by not exaggerating or resorting to buzzwords
or prefabricated assumptions. The authors use research studies
and case histories to illustrate the problem and reinforce
their opinions.
The authors are very specific about the definition of high-risk
children, which is important because several federally funded
programs and numerous research studies are aimed at identifying
at-risk children, a term that is often associated with poor,
minority families. Although the authors give examples of the
prevalence of high-risk children among teenage and/or single
working mothers, they also make it clear that in a society
where two-income families are the norm, high-risk children
can come from any social strata.
The book is organized into five major sections. The first
section deals with an overview of the condition and the risk
it presents to society. It describes the diagnostic criteria
in detail and provides a checklist of symptoms. The next chapter
is concerned with the symptoms, and the following chapter
outlines the causes and contributors to this condition. Subsequent
chapters provide information concerning prevention and treatment
of this disorder.
According to the authors, "most psychopaths are highly
intelligent and use their intelligence to con and manipulate
others with their charm having done so since they were children.
They are compulsive liars and have no concern for the feelings
of others."
The Symptoms:
The authors believe unattached children find it difficult
to give and receive affection. They are cruel to other people,
animals, resist authority, have problems with stealing, have
few long-term friends and display an obsession with blood
and gore.
The Causes:
So what causes children to develop anti-social personalities?
Magid and McKelvey maintain that the most important contributor
to the incidence of high-risk children is a lack of bonding.
The authors say it is in the first year of life that a child
learns to bond and attach to the primary caregiver (mother)
and then extend their attachment to the father. If the child
does not form an adequate attachment, he/she feels uncared
for and lost. Consequently, the child learns to mistrust everyone
and becomes hostile and resentful. As a result, this lack
of trust prevents the child from learning to care for others
and prohibits his ability to develop a conscience.
Other Factors:
Magid and McKelvey believe that some of the factors contributing
to the development of unattached children include the loss
of quality daycare, lack of extended periods of time for maternity
leave, foster care, child abuse and teenage pregnancy. The
authors believe that "daycare is not merely a dilemma
in finding satisfactory care, but a part of the problem since
the effects of separation from the mother are a painful burden
endured by very young infants and children." Children
who have been in and out of different foster homes from an
early age are also at-risk for becoming psychopaths. These
"multiple placements are interpreted by the child as
rejections." Accompanying the infant daycare crisis and
problems with adoptions is the soaring rate of illegitimacy.
Nationally, approximately one-third of births are to single
mothers and the majority of these births are to teenagers
below age 17. "The results of illegitimacy are poverty,
quitting school and child abuse. When the infant becomes the
cause of the mother's unhappiness, abuse is often the result."
Prevention:
High Risk concludes by saying that it will take a nationwide
public effort to solve all of the tribulations that occurred
from bringing up generations of un-bonded children, but the
authors feel that positive parenting and parental leave will
go a long way towards preventing the child without a conscience.
I recommend this book to parents, therapists and the general
public because I feel that Dr. Ken Magid and Carole A. McKelvey
have written an important study of the unattached child. Anyone
who is concerned about the increasing incidents of violence
in our society will be interested in reading it. High Risk
Children without a Conscience is a tremendous contribution
to our understanding of this ever-increasing problem.
About the Authors:
Dr. Ken Magid is the chief of psychological
services at Golden Medical Clinic in Golden, CO, and co-director
of the behavioral science department for family practice physicians
at Saint Joseph Hospital in Denver. His work has been featured
on NBC's today show and many publications. Carole A. McKelvey
is a journalist who has won numerous awards for her writing
and editing. Her work has appeared in a variety of publications
nationally and on Hour Magazine.
Copyright ©
2005, Woodbury Reports, Inc.
(This article may be reproduced without prior approval if
the copyright
notice and proper publication and author attribution accompanies
the copy.)
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