NCJ Number
121131
Date Published
1988
Length
38 pages
Annotation
In this family study, the view of mental defect as a unit trait is rejected in favor of conceptualized intelligence as a continuum on which the cutoff point for mental retardation may be raised as a civilization becomes more demanding.
Abstract
The family study views feeble-mindedness as hereditary and contends that such social inefficiency cannot be dealt with from the standpoint of the criminologist alone. Feeble-minded persons are defined as those who are incapable of competing on equal terms with normal persons because of mental defects existing from birth or from an early age. The families are characterized by pauperism, alcoholism, criminal behavior, and immorality due to their mental deficiences. The stories of several families interwoven by marriage demonstrate family solidarity among the feeble-minded and the perpetuation of defective traits in successive generations. The societal costs of feeble-mindedness are discussed, and it is contended that institutionalization alone provides the eugenic segregation necessary to stop the flow of degeneracy from one family generation to another. 10 figures.