NCJ Number
47294
Date Published
1977
Length
15 pages
Annotation
THE KINDS AND AMOUNTS OF REGISTERED CRIMINALITY IN FAMILIES WITH A SCHIZOPHRENIC MOTHER ARE DESCRIBED.
Abstract
THE SUBJECTS WERE 311 DANISH CHILDREN DIVIDED INTO TWO GROUPS. THE EXPERIMENTAL (HIGH-RISK) GROUP CONTAINED 207 CHILDREN WHOSE MOTHERS WERE DIAGNOSED AS SEVERELY SCHIZOPHRENIC. THERE WERE 129 SCHIZOPHRENIC MOTHERS. THE CONTROL (LOW-RISK) GROUP CONSISTED OF 104 CHILDREN WHOSE PARENTS AND GRANDPARENTS HAD NEVER BEEN PSYCHIATRICALLY HOSPITALIZED. IN THIS GROUP THERE WERE 88 MOTHERS. THE CRIMINALITY OF THE MOTHERS, FATHERS, AND CHILDREN WAS OBTAINED FROM TWO SOURCES: THE NATIONAL POLICE REGISTER AND THE PENAL REGISTER MAINTAINED IN THE BIRTHPLACE OF THE SUBJECT. INASMUCH AS THE LOW-RISK GROUP WAS CHOSEN TO MATCH THE HIGH-RISK GROUP FOR A NUMBER OF DIFFERENT SOCIAL CHARACTERISTICS, IT WAS NOT CONSIDERED REPRESENTATIVE OF THE GENERAL POPULATION. IN VIEW OF THIS, THE FREQUENCY OF CRIMINALITY IN THE EXPERIMENTAL AND CONTROL GROUPS WAS COMPARED WITH THE FREQUENCY IN THE GENERAL POPULATION. DANISH FAMILIES WITH A SCHIZOPHRENIC MOTHER EVIDENCED HIGHER RATES OF CRIMINALITY THAN DID MATCHED CONTROLS OR CORRESPONDING SECTORS OF THE DANISH POPULATION. RESULTS ALSO SHOWED THAT THE MATES OF SCHIZOPHRENIC WOMEN HAD HIGHER RATES OR REGISTERED CRIMINALITY THAN COMPARABLE DANISH MALES. FURTHER, BOTH MALE AND FEMALE CHILDREN EVIDENCED MORE CRIMINALITY THAN THEIR CONTROLS OF CORRESPONDING SECTORS OF THE DANISH POPULATION. IT IS NOTED THAT THE INCREASE IN CRIMINALITY OF THE HIGH-RISK CHILDREN OCCURS ONLY IN THE CASE WHERE THE FATHER IS CRIMINAL. IF THE FATHER IS NOT CRIMINAL, THE SCHIZOPHRENIA IN THE MOTHER DOES NOT INCREASE THE LEVEL OF CRIMINALITY IN THE CHILDREN. TABLES OF DATA AND RESULTS ARE INCLUDED. FOR RELATED PAPERS, SEE NCJ-47293 AND 47295-47297. (RCB)