Biological-psychiatric aspects of delinquency and aggression
Knecht, T.
Schweizerische Medizinische Wochenschrift 123(22): 1169-1175
1993
ISSN/ISBN: 0036-7672 PMID: 8322053 Document Number: 413454
After a historical introduction, the author summarizes the findings of biologically oriented psychiatric research on delinquency and aggression. In the field of genetics, twin and adoption studies prove that there must be a strong hereditary factor in the genesis of criminality, although so far only two chromosomal abnormalities have been found which seem to show a comparatively increased tendency to criminal behaviour. In addition, minimal cerebral dysfunction caused by early acquired brain damage, and attention deficit disorder combined with hyperactivity (two types of infantile mental disorder that seem hard to tell apart) are thought to be high risk conditions for criminality.