Early medical care of delinquent children

The purpose of this study was to investigate the role of the pediatrician and other physicians in the lives of a selected group of delinquent children; the types of problems encountered during the preschool period; and the kind of medical care received. The parents of 102 juvenile delinquents were interviewed at the King County Juvenile Court. By means of a structured questionnaire-type interview, an effort was made to determine: 1) whether these children had developmental problems which could be diagnosed; 2) whether the parent or parents were actively aware of existing problems; 3) whether professional guidance was sought in the attempt to remedy the problem; and 4) what type of patient-physician relationship existed. The parents were questioned specifically about the type of medical care received by their children, the guidance obtained from physicians, and the active interest displayed by physicians toward developmental problems. Objective data depicting the formative, early home life of the children were also obtained, including the incidence of working mothers and of fathers who were absent from the home for considerable lengths of time during the child's formative preschool years. In general it was found that both the parents and the physicians showed little appreciation of emotional and developmental aspects of child development. Moreover, even when such problems were recognized, there was significant tendency to take no definitive therapeutic action to remedy this type of problem. These parents were apparently satisfied with medical care given for specific illness or injuries. The most prominent deficiency in the parent-child-physician relationship appeared to be related to the lack of interest shown by some physicians in problems of child development, and the lack of time for discussion with the physician about the specific problems present.