Barty Crouch, Jr: sociopath or zealot?

[Milz]

No: HPFGUIDX 22486

I agree with you that Voldemort is a sociopath and a prototypical 
"charismatic" cult leader. Barty Jr. might not be a sociopath, but I 
get the impression he wasn't 'wrapped too tightly' before he joined 
the DEs. Barty Jr. may have had some kind of pyschological problem 
that made him more susceptible to Voldemort. I think some of them, 
like the Lestrange's, joined the DE cult strictly for philosophical 
reasons and some of them joined for personal gain, like Lucius Malfoy 
and Peter. But back to Barty Jr. His family life appears to have been 
dysfunctional: absent father figure, weak maternal figure (the image 
of the frail Mrs. Crouch weeping at the trial). So joining the DEs 
might have been a form of rebellion or attention-seeking behavior too.

Milz