ISSN: 0022-1198
CODEN: JFSCA
Published Online: 1 January 1979
Page Count: 7

Enuresis, Firesetting, and Cruelty to Animals: The Significance of Two Thirds of This Triad
Felthous, AR
Staff psychiatrist, The Menninger Foundation, Kans

Bernard, H
Assistant professor of psychiatry (psychology) and staff psychologist, University of Rochester School of Medicine and Dentistry and University Health Service, N.Y.

(Received 17 April 1978; accepted 26 May 1978)

Abstract

The familiar childhood behavioral triad of persistent enuresis, firesetting, and cruelty to animals has been suggested as a predictor of dangerously aggressive acts at a later age [1]. These studies, which support an association between these triadic elements and assaultive behaviors, involve only subjects who have already been identified as “dangerous” or “antisocial.” How then does the incidence of a partial or complete triad in an aggressive population compare with that of a nonaggressive population? What is the significance of a single element of the triad or of two out of three elements? Finally, is there a sex-related difference in the significance of a partial or complete triad?

Keywords:

Paper ID: JFS10815J
DOI: 10.1520/JFS10815J
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