ORGANIC DIMENSION OF CRIME

• NCJ Number: 55823
• Journal: Archives of General Psychiatry Volume: 15 Issue: 1 Dated: (JULY 1966) Pages: 82-89
• Author(s): J G SMALL
• Date Published: 1966
• Length: 8 pages
• Corporate Author: American Medical Assoc
• Publication Format: Article
• Publication Type: Report (Study/Research)
• Language: English
• Country: United States of America

Annotation

THIS STUDY EXAMINES RELATIONSHIPS BETWEEN CLINICAL ATTRIBUTES -- CENTRAL NERVOUS SYSTEM (CNS) DISORDERS AND ELECTROENCEPHALOGRAM (EEG) ABNORMALITIES -- IN 100 FELONS AND ASPECTS OF CRIMINAL AND ANTISOCIAL BEHAVIOR.

Abstract

THE SUBJECTS, CONSECUTIVELY REFERRED FOR PSYCHIATRIC EVALUATION BY COURTS AND LAW ENFORCEMENT AGENCIES OF THE CITY OF ST. LOUIS, MO., WERE DIAGNOSTICALLY TESTED WITH PHYSICAL AND NEUROLOGICAL EXAMINATIONS, PSYCHIATRIC EVALUATIONS, EEG STUDIES, ROUTINE LABORATORY TESTS, AND PSYCHOLOGICAL TESTS, AND THEIR MEDICAL HISTORIES WERE COLLECTED. THE PSYCHOLOGICAL TEST BATTERY INCLUDED THE WESCHLER ADULT INTELLIGENCE SCALE, THE BENDER-GESTALT, BENTON AND GRAHAM-KENDALL TESTS, AND OTHER EVALUATIONS. CLINICAL MATERIALS WERE CLASSIFIED ACCORDING TO FINAL PSYCHIATRIC DIAGNOSIS, MENTAL STATUS FINDINGS, PREVIOUS PSYCHIATRIC MEDICAL ILLNESSES, PAST HISTORY OF HEAD INJURIES, ALCOHOLISM AND DRUG USE, AND FAMILY HISTORY CRIME, EMOTIONAL DISORDERS, AND OTHER ILLNESSES. THE FOLLOWING ANALYSES OF THE DATA WERE PERFORMED: (1) DETERMINATION OF INTERRELATIONSHIPS BETWEEN PSYCHIATRIC, EEG, PSYCHOLOGICAL, AND OTHER VARIABLES; (2) COMPARISONS OF SUBJECTS DISPLAYING EEG FINDINGS OF REPORTED HIGH INCIDENCE IN CRIMINAL POPULATIONS WITH MATCHED CONTROLS; AND (3) CONSIDERATIONS OF CLINICAL AND FORENSIC RELATIONSHIPS OF VARIOUS KINDS OF EVIDENCES OF CNS IMPAIRMENT. FINDINGS REVEAL THAT A HIGH INCIDENCE OF MENTAL ILLNESS, EEG ABNORMALITIES, AND CNS DISORDER IS OBSERVABLE IN THE FELON GROUP AND NO SIGNIFICANT CORRELATIONS ARE EVIDENT BETWEEN THE PSYCHIATRIC DIAGNOSES, EEG FINDINGS, OR RESULTS OF OTHER INDIVIDUAL EXAMINATIONS AND SPECIFIC ASPECTS OF CRIMINAL BEHAVIOR. MOREOVER, CONTROLLED COMPARISONS OF PRISONERS WITH AND WITHOUT THE EEG MANIFESTATIONS CONSIDERED TYPICAL OF CRIMINALS, REVEAL NON IMPORTANT CLINICAL OR FORENSIC DIFFERENCES. EVIDENCE OF POSSIBLE CNS DYSFUNCTION DID PERMIT CLASSIFICATION OF SUBJECTS INTO GROUPS WITH TYPICAL ANTISOCIAL BEHAVIOR PATTERNS. REFERENCES AND STUDY DATA ARE PROVIDED. (DAG)