Drug-taking in delinquent boys.

Abstract

A retrospective survey was conducted on 67 boys in a London remand home during the years 1965-7 inclusive who were known to have taken drugs. The boys were divided into a "hard" and a "soft" group according to whether or not there was evidence of narcotic taking. The groups were compared and the hard group showed a significantly greater incidence of abnormal personality, family history of psychiatric illness, and disturbed relationships within the family. The sub- sequent drug careers of all boys were followed by means of Home Office records. Nine boys in the soft group had progressed to hard drugs by June 1969.