There isn’t a single personality trait that can reliably predict whether a young person will become violent, and it’s important not to label children based on one behaviour.
What matters more is a pattern that shows up repeatedly across different situations and gradually intensifies over time.
Warning signs that deserve attention include ongoing aggression that comes with low empathy, frequent rule-breaking, enjoyment of the humiliation of others, cruelty to animals, seeking out or carrying weapons, a strong focus on dominance, or sudden shifts from calm to explosive behaviour.
These concerns become more serious when they occur alongside family conflict, exposure to violent content online, substance use, or peer groups that glorify aggression.
At the same time, many young people who show one or two of these behaviours do not go on to become violent adults.
The key issue is how often the behaviour happens, how severe it is, whether it is getting worse, and whether the child can still respond to boundaries, guidance and opportunities to repair relationships.
Sunway University School of Psychology senior lecturer Dr Wu Shin Ling
Youths who display violent behaviour should be given treatment, instead of just being punished. We don’t fight fire with fire; we fight fire with water, an element with calming effects.
This is not to say these youths are innocent and should be let off without consequences. Rather, it means we understand their behaviour is very much a systemic problem as well as an individual problem.
They have been failed by many adults around them before they became who they are and did what they did. If they are to be punished, society should also bear responsibility for failing them in the first place.
Violence, often linked to anger, is a self-protective mechanism built to ensure the individual’s survival. Instead of asking why the child is bad or evil, we need to ask: what threat is the child trying to protect himself from?
Many children who commit offences have themselves experienced significant disadvantage, abuse, neglect or exploitation by adults. They should also receive rehabilitation, support and welfare rather than solely punitive measures.
Suka Society training and consultancy head Alex Lui, who is also a registered clinical psychologist
