Psychiatric Pathology and Social Deviance in 25 Incarcerated Offenders

A patient population comprised of 25 young adult male felons was subcategorized into three major groupings on the basis of a combination of psychiatric and sociometric criteria. Group 1 was characterized by active neurotic symptomatology in patients who lacked prior criminal convictions and whose social functioning was for the most part adequate. Group 2 was characterized by an absence of current or past psychiatric symptomatology in patients with extensive and long-term criminal records who demonstrated extensive difficulties in social functioning as well. Group 3 was characterized by multiple neurotic or psychotic (or both ) symptoms and signs in patients with extensive past criminal records whose social functioning was marked by great chaos and primitivity. The need to validate this method of characterization with a larger unbiased offender sample was pointed out.