NCJ Number
48772
Date Published
1978
Length
43 pages
Annotation
A RESEARCHER IN THE FIELDS OF LEARNING DISORDERS AND HYPERACTIVITY IN CHILDREN DESCRIBES HIS STUDY OF CONDUCT AND OTHER PROBLEMS LIKELY TO LEAD TO CRIMINAL BEHAVIOR.
Abstract
THE DISCUSSION IS IN THE FORM OF TESTIMONY PRESENTED BEFORE A COMMITTEE OF THE CANADIAN SENATE. IT IS POINTED OUT THAT BECAUSE OF THE COMPLEXITY OF ALL HUMAN BEHAVIOR, AS SIMPLE EXPLANATIONS OF CRIMINAL BEHAVIOR -- BRAIN LESIONS, CHROMOSOMAL ABNORMALITY -- WILL NOT BE ADEQUATE. A STUDY IS DESCRIBED IN WHICH 14,000 CHILDREN AGED 4 THROUGH 12 IN ONE-QUARTER OF THE SCHOOLS IN THE OTTAWA-CARLETON REGION WERE SCREENED. IT WAS FOUND THT 4 PERCENT OF THE BOYS AND 1.7 PERCENT OF THE GIRLS DEMONSTRATED SERIOUS BEHAVIOR DISORDERS. THE PREVALENCE OF BEHAVIOR PROBLEMS WAS CONSTANT ACROSS AGES, BUT THERE WERE DIFFERENCES IN PREVALENCE FROM REGION TO REGION OF THE URBAN AREA STUDIED. THE REGIONAL DIFFERENCES VARIED FOR BOYS AND GIRLS, PARTICULARLY WITH REGARD TO HYPERACTIVITY. PLANS TO EXAMINE THESE FINDINGS FURTHER, WITH A VIEW TO DELINEATING THE FEATURES OF THE AREAS OF THE CITY IN WHICH BEHAVIOR DISORDERS ARE MOST COMMON, ARE NOTED. THE STUDY ALSO FOUND THAT 14 PERCENT OF THE CHILDREN SCREENED WERE RATED BY THEIR TEACHERS AS HYPERACTIVE. RESEARCH INDICATING THAT HYPERACTIVE CHILDREN ARE AT GREATER RISK THEN LEARNING-DISABLED CHILDREN FOR DEVELOPING ANTISOCIAL BEHAVIOR IS NOTED. IN RESPONSES TO QUESTIONS BY SENATORS, THE WITNESS DISCUSSES THE NATURE OF HYPERACTIVITY AND LEARNING DISORDERS IN CHILDREN AND IDENTIFIES RESEARCH NEEDS IN THIS AREA. A PAPER PREPARED BY THE WITNESS AND APPENDED TO HIS TESTIMONY DISCUSSES FACTORS IN CRIMINAL BEHAVIOR (BRAIN DYSFUNCTION, HYPERACTIVITY IN CHILDREN, DRUG ABUSE), POINTS OUT THE UTILITY OF EPIDEMIOLOGICAL STUDIES FOR IDENTIFYING HIGH-RISK GROUPS OF CHILDREN AND ADULTS, AND PRESENTS A LIST OF REFERENCES AND DATA FROM THE STUDY CITED IN THE TESTIMONY. --IN ENGLISH AND FRENCH. (LKM)