The authors studies the hospital records of 109 delinquent children and
a matched comparison group of 109 nondelinquent children. The number,
reasons for, and timing of hospital contacts significantly differentiated
the delinquent from the nondelinquent children; perinatal difficulties did
not. The authors hypothesize that an interaction of developmental factors
and parental inadequacies accounts for the clustering of hospital contacts
before age 4 and between ages 14 and 16 in the delinquent sample. They
discuss the implications of their findings for prevention.Abstract Teaser