Psychopathy, platelet MAO activity and criminality among former juvenile delinquents.

Psychopathy-related personality traits as well as platelet monoamine oxidase (MAO) activity and criminality from the age of 15 years were studied in a group of 68 male former juvenile delinquents and 32 control subjects. The former juvenile delinquents registered for crime as adults were found to have higher Psychopathy Check List (PCL) scores and lower platelet MAO activity than either juvenile delinquents who were not registered criminals from the age of 15 years or non-criminal controls. Although PCL scores and platelet MAC activity were unrelated, a configural frequency analysis showed a significant interaction. Individuals with PCL scores, low platelet MAO activity and persistent criminal behaviour constituted a significant "type'. Among the 27 former juvenile delinquents who developed persistent criminality, 21 subjects (78%) had PCL scores greater than 0 and low platelet MAO activity, while none of these persistent criminals were characterized by a combination of zero PCL score and high platelet MAO activity.

Criminality and psychopathy as related to thyroid activity in former juvenile delinquents.

Levels of triiodothyronine (T3) and thyroid-stimulating hormone (TSH), psychopathy-related personality traits and criminality from the age of 15 years onward were examined in 70 former juvenile delinquents and 35 control subjects aged 38-46 years. T3 levels were significantly associated with criminality but not with psychopathy-related personality traits. TSH levels were not related to any of these variables. Juvenile delinquents who displayed persistent criminal behaviour were found to have higher mean T3 levels than juvenile delinquents who did not display criminality in adulthood and non-criminal controls. Former juvenile delinquents with T3 levels above the mean level found in the controls were registered for criminality 3.8 times more often than juvenile delinquents with T3 levels below the mean level found in the control group. The results are discussed in terms of elevated T3 levels representing a compensatory or stress phenomenon for low social adaptive ability of individuals who display persistent criminal behaviour.

Criminality and platelet monoamine oxidase activity in former juvenile delinquents as adults.

Platelet monoamine oxidase (MAO) activity was estimated in 70 former delinquent boys and 40 controls now aged 38-46 years. Platelet MAO activity was compared with their early criminal behaviour (before the age of 15) and their late registered criminality from the age of 15). Mean platelet MAO activity in subjects with both early and late criminality was significantly lower than that in former delinquents without late criminality. There was no significant difference in mean platelet MAO activity between controls and delinquents with early but no late criminality. When delinquents with early criminality were divided into a low and a high MAO group, the relative risk to be registered for late criminality was about 3.1 times higher for the subjects in the low MAO group. Thus, individuals with low platelet MAO activity run an increased risk of continued criminal behaviour.

Long-term effect on mother-infant behaviour of extra contact during the first hour post partum. V. Follow-up at three years.

Primiparous mothers and their infants who had had an extra 15-20 minutes skin-to-skin and suckling contact (P+) during the first hour after delivery behaved differently, had a longer duration of breast-feeding, and expressed different opinions on child rearing practices at follow-ups 36 hours, 3 and 12 months after delivery as compared with a control group (P) of primiparous mothers and their infants, who were given routine care immediately after birth. The present report is based on parts of the results of the follow-up at 3 years. Asked in retrospect more P mothers found the time together with their infants immediately after delivery to have been insufficient. More P+ children were reported to have been earlier continent during the day and also earlier stubborn than the children in the P group. The Denver Developmental Screening Test showed similar results in both groups. Catecholamine levels in the urine of extra contact mothers and their boys were found to be slightly higher than those of routine care mothers and boys. Two separate analyses of video-tapes of free play showed that mothers and children in the P+ group were smiling/laughing more often than P mothers and children. The P+ mothers were more encouraging and instructing towards their children than the P mothers. Articulated conflicts were more common in the P+ group. Regardless of the type of conflict, more conflicts in the P+ group were solved. As in earlier parts of this longitudinal study differences related to type of neonatal care were more pronounced for boy-mother than for girl-mother pairs.

Personality changes and social adjustment during the first three years of diabetes in children.

Two groups of 64 diabetic and 30 carefully selected and matched non-diabetic control children 4-17 years old were studied with regard to psychological and social adaptation. Four sets of psycho-social methods were used: (a) psychiatric assessment of the mental state, (b) evaluation of the social situation, (c) measurement of the intellectual capacity, and (d) a Rorschach test. A base-line study was done within 5 months after the onset of diabetes and a follow-up 3 years later with the same methods. The mental state was assessed with regard to 18 variables, and the Rorschach test utilized 12 variables. There were no significance differences as to mental state between diabetics and non-diabetics neither at base-line nor at follow-up. Within each group, however, the diabetics showed an increase with regard to symptoms of aggression while the non-diabetics showed a decrease in such symptoms. Diabetics with high or low glucosuria levels did not differ in this respect. When summarizing mental deviations from average in the two groups the diabetics showed more deviations both at base-line and at follow-up, and a tendency towards higher degrees of mental activity, emotional ability and social contact. In the Rorschach test the diabetics showed a higher level of anxiety concerning their own health than the non-diabetics, but there was a decrease in this variable over the 3-year period. However, in an attempt to summarize the degree of mental disturbance, as estimated in the Rorschach test, no significant differences were found between diabetics and non-diabetics. Nor were any significant differences found between the groups with regard to social problems or intellectual capacity. It is concluded that the few abnormal patterns of raction that were observed may well be explained by the traumatic experience of the onset of a serious chronic disorder such as diabetes, and that a relatively strict care given to diabetic children does not seem to disturb their own or their parents' coping ability or psycho-social adjustment. The strictness might even have a supportive effect.