NCJ Number
48767
Date Published
1977
Length
38 pages
Annotation
A FORENSIC PSYCHIATRIST DISCUSSES THE BIOLOGICAL, PSYCHOLOGICAL, AND SOCIAL DETERMINANTS OF DISRUPTIVE BEHAVIOR IN TESTIMONY BEFORE A COMMITTEE OF THE CANADIAN SENATE.
Abstract
RESEARCH INTO LEARNING THEORY AND THE EFFECTS OF ENVIRONMENTAL AND EMOTIONAL DEPRIVATION ON THE FUTURE BEHAVIOR OF ANIMALS IS NOTED, AND THE BIOLOGICAL, PSYCHOLOGICAL, AND ENVIRONMENTAL INFLUENCES ON HUMAN DEVELOPMENT ARE DISCUSSED. IT IS POINTED OUT THAT ORGANIC AND PSYCHOGENIC CONCEPTS OF THE ETIOLOGY OF DELINQUENCY AND CRIMINAL BEHAVIOR HAVE BEEN IN CONTINUOUS OPPOSITION, AND THAT FUTURE RESEARCH INTO THE CAUSES OF ANTISOCIAL BEHAVIOR SHOULD INVESTIGATE THE WAYS IN WHICH BIOLOGICAL, PSYCHOLOGICAL, AND SOCIAL FACTORS ARE MUTUALLY INVOLVED IN SOCIAL MALADJUSTMENT. IT IS SUGGESTED THAT SOME CHILDREN ARE CONSTITUTIONALLY UNABLE TO LEARN CONTROLS, I.E., DEVELOP A CONSCIENCE, BUT THAT THE MAJORITY OF ANTISOCIAL BEHAVIOR IS A PRODUCT OF EMOTIONAL DEPRIVATION AND INAPPROPRIATE PARENTING. ASPECTS OF CHILD DEVELOPMENT ARE DISCUSSED IN A QUESTION-AND-ANSWER SESSION, INCLUDING THE CONSEQUENCES FOR THE CHILD OF A MOTHER'S FRUSTRATION WITH HER LIFE, AND THE POSSIBILITY THAT CHILDREN SHOULD START SCHOOL AT AN EARLIER AGE. MORE RESEARCH ON HUMAN DEVELOPMENT AT THE PRENATAL LEVEL AND IN THE EARLY YEARS IS RECOMMENDED. --IN ENGLISH AND FRENCH. (LKM)