Stress Reactivity in Relation to Delinquent and Psychopathic Behaviour

Abstract

Anxiety, either manifest or in the form of non-specific emotional disturbance, has been widely accepted as an operative factor in the personality structure of delinquent subjects (Aichhorn, 1; Burt, 5; Friedlander, 17; Stott, 53), and at present it appears that cognitive factors have little or no bearing upon the problem (Marcus, 43; Woodward, 61). By regarding anxiety or activated stress as a stimulus producing response (Hull, 24, 25; Miller, 45), delinquent behaviour has been postulated as learned responsiveness to anxiety or stress, which also functions as a learnable drive (Tong, 55). Previous investigations using Rorschach, persistence and galvanic skin response indices of anxiety or emotional disturbance have shown that there are significant variations according to both the nature of the conduct disorder (sex, violence, larceny, etc.), and ratings of stability (Tong, 54, 55). Different forms of conduct disorder are also known to carry different relapse potentialities, so that sex offenders, for example, are less likely to relapse than are larceny offenders (Mannheim and Wilkins, 42; Tong and Mackay, 60), although it is possible that different methods of treatment or disposal influence the likelihood of relapse for different sex offenders (Radzinowicz, 48). Prediction tables have been constructed for the purpose of more accurately assessing the most unstable offenders (42), and although such systems carry an encouraging degree of reliability it is apparent that greater reliability in prediction will only follow more accurate personality assessment than is possible by the use of impressionistic methods alone (58). Only knowledge of the relevant personality variables will lead to accurate assessment of change in subjects for whom the significant historical factors necessarily remain fixed. Furthermore, assessment techniques must be relatively unaffected by intelligence, education and rapport factors.