How do sociopathic parents effect their children?

Answer 1

Sociopathic parents can vary widely in how they express their sociopathic traits. In general, sociopaths are defined as having no empathy. They're driven only by their own needs wants and desires. Often they get a thrill out of the pain they inflict by the cons they pull off. If you apply this to a parent it's a frightening picture. I recently put together my own fragmented childhood memories and realized that my mother is a sociopath. The events I remember that I couldn't explain - the constant feelings of being a failure and inadequate although not knowing why - the answer is easy to say but hard to accept. One of my earliest memories is of tearing around the living room as a toddler in socks on a hardwood floor. So much fun to slide as you round the corner of the couch... then my mother would pop up from behind a door wearing a garish rubber mask of the devil! I'd shriek in sheer terror - not a "this is fun" shriek - a sincere shriek of Horror. My mom would laugh uproariously for hours. She'd find any excuse to terrorize me with that mask for years. When my parents divorced I was 7. My father had been sexually molesting my mom's younger sister for 6 years; since she was 10. My mother left me with my child molester of a father for 2 years while she enjoyed being single. Later, she remarried. This new husband came from a family with money( a great reason to marry a very odd and awkward man). They divorced several years later because (according to my mom) she found detailed sexual fantasies about me written in his journal. He had indeed been molesting me for years. I had I tried to explain to her how uncomfortable he made me her response: "So help me, if you do anything to mess this up for me I'll kill you". So I just took it. After divorcing this man she left me alone with him while she took my younger brother to live in an apartment Years later, as an adult, I'd try to work out these fragmented memories with my mom. Her standard answer whenever confronted with something she didn't like was "I don't remember that ever happening" or better yet, she'd start rehashing all the unfortunate events of her childhood - to make me feel sorry for her and shift the attention on to herself. These are just a few personal examples, but the gist is that a sociopathic parent sees their children as an inconvenience. If the parent is the mother of a girl she may see her daughter as competition. But the sociopathic parent never sees their child as human - needing affection, support and nurturing- they are the ones needing those things, and often expect an older child to provide those "goodies" for them without ever returning the favor. The end result is often either another sociopath, or in my case, a highly sensitive "emotional sponge". I was expected to give without reservation or expectation of anything in return. Today I'm a productive and fairly successful member of society, but I'm an emotional mess with intense self-destructive tendencies

Answer 2

Coming from someone who is the 'other' sibling of a sociopath, yes, the parents are a problem. 100% positive. I'm 27 and still trying to help myself because of this. Devastation is in effect and near total destruction. The problem for is not knowing that it is a problem but the help!

Anyone?

Answer 3

Physical, emotional, sexual abuse, poor example, introducing bad influences into the child's life -- all of these things, or none, are possible.