NCJ Number
50350
Journal
Journal of the American Academy of Child Psychiatry Volume: 17 Issue: 2 Dated: SPECIAL ISSUE (SPRING 1978) Pages: 263-276
Date Published
1978
Length
14 pages
Annotation
THIS PAPER HYPOTHESIZES THAT A RELATIONSHIP EXISTS BETWEEN SOME DELINQUENCY AND THE SCHIZOPHRENIC SPECTRUM OF DISORDERS, BASED ON A REVIEW OF CLINICAL AND EPIDEMIOLOGICAL STUDIES OF CHILDREN AND PARENTS.
Abstract
SYMPTOMATOLOGY OBSERVED IN CLINICAL STUDIES OF CHILDREN, INCLUDING HALLUCINATIONS, DELUSIONS, AND EXTREME PARANOIA, HAVE LED TO THE EXPLORATION OF A POSSIBLE ASSOCIATION BETWEEN DELINQUENCY AND SCHIZOPHRENIA. MANY PARENTS OF DELINQUENT CHILDREN SUFFER FROM SERIOUS PSYCHOPATHOLOGY OTHER THAN SOCIOPATHY OR ALCOHOLISM. SOME EPIDEMIOLOGICAL STUDIES INDICATE THAT PARENTS OF DELINQUENT CHILDREN ARE SIGNIFICANTLY MORE LIKELY TO BE PSYCHIATRICALLY HOSPITALIZED AND/OR TREATED THAN A DEMOGRAPHICALLY SIMILAR SAMPLE OF THE GENERAL POPULATION. PSYCHIATRICALLY TREATED FATHERS TEND TO MARRY PSYCHIATRICALLY TREATED MOTHERS, AND FATHERS WITH CRIMINAL RECORDS TEND TO GRAVITATE TOWARD PSYCHIATRICALLY TREATED MOTHERS. MANY PARENTS OF DELINQUENTS ARE PSYCHIATRICALLY IMPAIRED TO A SERIOUS EXTENT, AND BOTH PARENTS OFTEN DEMONSTRATE BEHAVIOR SUGGESTIVE OF A SCHIZOPHRENIC DISORDER. A STUDY OF THE PREVALENCE OF DELINQUENCY IN THE CHILDREN OF A SAMPLE OF 223 INDIVIDUALS TWICE DIAGNOSED AS SCHIZOPHRENIC WAS CONDUCTED. THIS SAMPLE WAS COMPARED WITH A RANDOM SAMPLE OF 491 DEMOGRAPHICALLY COMPARABLE INDIVIDUALS FROM THE SAME GEOGRAPHIC AREA WHO HAD NOT BEEN DIAGNOSED AS SCHIZOPHRENIC. OF SCHIZOPHRENICS, 17 PERCENT HAD A CHILD KNOWN TO THE JUVENILE COURT AS COMPARED WITH 6 PERCENT OF THE NONSCHIZOPHRENIC GROUP. SIMILAR DIFFERENCES WERE NOTED WHEN THE GROUPS WERE SUBDIVIDED AND ANALYZED BY SEX AND RACE. FAMILY STUDIES ON DELINQUENCY AND SCHIZOPHRENIA AND INVESTIGATIONS OF NONGENETIC FACTORS INFLUENCING DELINQUENCY AND SCHIZOPHRENIA ARE REVIEWED. REFERENCES ARE INLCUDED. (DEP)