Abstract
This paper is that pleasurable rarity which presents implications for prevention (of delinquency and other deviant life styles) that are impressively solid and specific.
The hyperkinetic syndrome of childhood is hypothesized as a potential precursor of delinquency in adolescence. Several behavior and personality variables identified as common both to theories of the etiology of delinquency and to the life histories of hyperkinetic children are examined.
Evidence is cited concerning the relationship of hyperkinesis in childhood and antisocial behavior in young adulthood. A case history is included. The response to dextroamphetamine sulfate in a manner characteristic of hyperkinetic children complements the life history evidence in support of the hypothesized relationship, and suggests judicious psychopharmacological intervention to prevent such development.
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Trained at Johns Hopkins and the Philadelphia Child Guidance Clinic, he is the author of numerous papers on family therapy and hyperkinetic disorders of children.
Formerly on the staff of the University of Washington Medical School and the University of Rochester, his specialty is family diagnosis and therapy.
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Barcai, A., Rabkin, L.Y. A precursor of delinquency: The hyperkinetic disorder of childhood. Psych Quar 48, 387–399 (1974). https://doi.org/10.1007/BF01562161
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DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/BF01562161