Book Review: Aggression and Dangerousness
| Date | 01 June 1986 |
| DOI | 10.1177/000486908601900205 |
| Published date | 01 June 1986 |
| Author | Ivan Potas |
| Subject Matter | Book Reviews |
120
BOOK REVIEWS
(1986) 19
ANZJ
Crim
Aggression
and
Dangerousness, edited by David PFarrington
and
John
Gunn,
John
Wiley and Sons (1985) 259
pp,
£28.50.
This
book
is
the
last of
three
volumes in
the
series Current Research in Forensic
Psychiatry and Psychology,
and
is concerned with
the
contribution of psychiatry
and
psychology to crime, criminals
and
the criminal justice system.
The
present
volume
is divided into two
parts;
the
first dealing with characteristics
and
treatment
of
aggressive psychopathic offenders;
the
second concerns
methods
of managing
"dangerous"
offenders.
Robert
Prentky's contribution is
presented
first. His topic
"The
Neurochemistry
and
Neuroendocrinology of Sexual Aggression", is technical
but
not
beyond
the
perseverence of laypersons who wish to have an introduction to
the
several
"types"
of
human
aggressive
behaviour
that
are discussed.
For
example,
the
pre-menstrual
syndrome
is discussed,
and
the
key studies linking
the
menstrual cycle
and
violence
are
briefly referred
to.
This article is
supported
by a very long bibliography,
and
probably
deserves
the
introductory remarks of
the
editors
that
this review on
the
biochemistry of aggression is
the
most extensive yet written on
the
topic.
The
next article, "Characteristics of Non-institutionalized Psychopaths" by Cathy
Spatz
Widon
and
Joseph
PNewman, describes amethodology for studying
psychpaths who
are
not
labelled criminal.
They
say
that
this is
important
in any
attempt
to disentangle
those
attributes
related
to psychopathy
and
those
related
to
criminality or antisocial behavoiur. They also describe some difficulties relating to
the
diagonsis of psychopathy and
the
serious problems in evaluating research
results.
Four
approaches to diagnosing
and
selecting psychopaths
are
compared
and
discussed.
Gisli H
Gudjonsson
and
Joanna
C
Roberts
present an article entitled
"Psychological
and
Physiological Characteristics of Personality-disordered
Patients".
Their
subjects
eminate
from
the
Henderson
Hospital, a 36
bed
National
Health
Service
inpatient
unit
that
provides
treatment
in
the
form of a
therapeutic
community for young adults with personality disorders. In "Jealousy, Pathological
Jealousy and Aggression", Paul EMullen
and
Lara
H
Maack
discuss
the
pathological extensions of
the
emotions of jealousy
and
violence associated with it.
The
final offering in
the
first
part
of the
book
is
"The
Psychodynamics of
Borderline
Personality" by Patrick L G Gallwey.
The
latter
is technical
and
best directed at
clinicians than
the
general reader.
The
first article in
Part
2 of
the
book
is by David
Hepworth.
Called
"Dangerousness
and
the
Mental
Health
Review
Tribunal",
the
article questions
the
traditional "judicial decision-making model of
the
Mental
Health
Review Tribunal
where
visible facts
and
records form
the
basis of restraint-release decisions".
Amongst
other
things an alternative decision-making model is
presented.
The
next
article "Security in a Local Mental Hospital" by Michael Carney
and
Jane
Garner,
presents aplea for reversing
the
trend away from
the
greater use of
mental
hospitals
for dangerous patients.
They
suggest
that
local security units would be best placed
in psychiatric,
rather
than
district general hospitals,
and
in short do
not
support
the
regional system of secure care
that
was advocated by
the
Butler
report
in 1975.
Next,
Ronald
Roesch
and
Stephen LGoldring deal with the deinstitutionalization
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