Or, you get the ultimate sociopath who tells your teen/early 20's child, lies about you - mixing truths in different contexts - and the kid believes - so you don't see the child you raised ever again.

Breaks my heart everyday, yet seeing shades of his father in him makes me wonder if I can ever have a real relationship with my son again.

emysty, dont spend all your life worrying that your children will inherit this sickness. there is no reason to believe this. i had a child with a sociopath and she is 22 now and a wonderful person. she has a half sister with this man too and she is a wonderful person also. raise your children to be kind and loving and just do your best. ive seen first hand where the children of sociopaths come out to be just fine adults. just do your best to raise them with love and im praying your children will be everything you had hoped for them to be when they grow up.

Studies apparently find somewhere between 30% and 80% heritability for psychopaths, whose brains are wired differently. The rest is environment. "Sociopaths" is a broader, less clear term, but if it means ASPD, not all those are psychopaths. I think the genetic link is only for psychopaths, and maybe narcissists, though genetic studies of personality disorders are still in the early days.

To me, environment is not only the family in which they are raised and everywhere else they grow up, but it is also modelling they see from parents, teachers, friends, mentors, coaches, etc. I just try to develop genuine empathy and caring in my kids. For example, we have always had a lot of pets. Taking care of an animal leads to learning to care for another living being with its wants and needs. I try to encourage doing as much with friends as possible and talking with them about issues with friends, partially to help them develop the capacity to think these things through. So, there are things you can do to help on the environment side.

Taking my kids (at least part of the time) out of the weird world of the narcissist/psychopath is also important, with better modelling of the way to live a more normal life. I had a clear vision of a better "after", but I confess, I'm still working on fully trying to get there.

The worst psychopaths and ASPDs had a lot of abuse in their upbringing, particularly in the early years, sometimes really bad abuse. So, if this is not happening, your kids are more likely to be just fine, according to the studies. We just have to fight for their hearts and minds to be good!

If any parents are finding that their kids just aren't doing well, no matter how hard they try, or seem to be developing psychopaths or sociopaths, take a look at Stanton Samenow books, including one on helping kids (I forget the title). His take on it can clarify things, and may provide answers.

Oh yeah, I should have also mentioned that studies are also finding that certain head injuries (like from sports or accidents) and possibly certain brain illnesses can cause brain damage that mimics psychopathy. So, some "psychopaths" are not really psychopaths, but just act like them. It doesn't really matter which way it is if you are the one affected, or on the receiving end. But it does matter when one thinks about the worry of having kids turn out that way or not. Obviously, that type would not be inherited.