NCJ Number
99947
Journal
International Journal of Law and Psychiatry Volume: 6 Issue: 3/4 Dated: (1983) Pages: 413-421
Date Published
1983
Length
9 pages
Annotation
Evidence, stemming from psychological investigations and criminal histories of men from a Copenhagen, Denmark, birth cohort, does not support the notion that XYY men are particularly violent or aggressive.
Abstract
The birth cohort consisted of all males born in the municipality of Copenhagen from January 1, 1944, to December 31, 1947, with chromosomal determinations made for 4,139. In this research, the 12 XYY's and the 16 XXY's were given the Rorschach, Word Association, Draw-a-Person, and Thematic Apperception tests. A 2-hour structured interview containing 270 questions was conducted with each subject. A search of the penal registers showed that 5 (41.7 percent) of the 12 XYY's, 3 (18.8 percent) of the 16 XXY's, and 9.3 percent of the XY controls had been convicted of 1 or more criminal offenses. Most crimes committed by the five XYY's were property offenses rather than aggressive acts against people. In addition, XYY's showed a slight general deficit in global intelligence compared to controls. Overall, the differences between XYY and XXY men and controls were not impressive. Most remarkable were variations among the two groups in ways of exhibiting aggressiveness rather than differences with regard to its strength. Over 20 references.