Donald Blair

The medicolegal implications of the terms 'psychopath', 'psychopathic personality' and 'psychopathic disorder'.

The difficulty in diagnosing various types of personality is considerable. What are the dividing lines between the so-called ‘ordinary personality’, ‘trend disturbances of personality’, ‘trait disorders of personality’ and ‘psychopathic disorders of personality’. There are no border lines and the qualities of one may shade into those of another. From the medicolegal point of view, however, it is obviously essential to determine which disorders of personality, if any, make sufferers not legally fully responsible for their actions. It is evident that only psychopathic disorders qualify for legal disposals that recognize their lack of legal responsibility to one degree or another. On the other hand, the latitude of interpretation of this diagnosis since it was recognized legally in the Mental Health Act 1959, has led to its use in the courts being in many cases of nebulous and doubtful value. If the conception of this entity is not to be abolished altogether there will in my estimation have to be a more exclusive and narrow meaning signified by psychopathic disorder and this article presents provocative suggestions how this may be achieved as well as a precise description of all aspects of psychopathy. The snags and illusions which have so far resulted in the mêlée of opinion regarding the whole of this matter and the influence this has had on the custodial and therapeutic disposal of this group of antisocial offenders and criminals will be discussed in a further article to be published in a subsequent issue of this journal.

Book Review: Paraprofessionals in Mental Health and Case Studies of Mental Health ParaprofessionalsParaprofessionals in Mental Health and Case Studies of Mental Health Paraprofessionals. By AlleyS. R. et al. 1979. New York, Human Sciences Press.

The idea of a psychiatry of infancy may appear to many to be a disturbing concept. Are there really mentally disturbed infants, babies who might require the services of psychiatrists or psychologists? There has, in fact, been a rapid growth of interest in the earliest stages of child development in recent years. In particular much work is being done on how these are influenced by family and parental factors and on how the infant can in turn affect its own environment. The original ideas of Bowlby have been refined and modified and, when taken in conjunction with more recent studies, present a model of early family relationships which can be used to suggest a variety of approaches towards early intervention and treatment. A new journal devoted to these issues is therefore welcome. The first issue contains articles which either cover aspects of treatment techniques or present original research. The standard is high. This journal should make a real contribution to a rapidly growing field of interest. It deserves a place in child psychiatric libraries. STEPHEN WOLKIND

Book Review: Foreign Codes: EuthanasiaEuthanasia. By ShapiroOosthuizen, & Strauss. 1978. Oxford University Press.

The substantive 1968 work contains a short introduction to the Italian Civil Code of 1942 and the changes which followed in 1944. There are no explanations of the differences between American and Italian Law but this omission is not so important as there exists a 1967 text on the Italian Legal System (Cappelletti, Merryman and Perillo, Stanford University Press). The Civil Code supplement is a joy to read as it contains on even pages the original Italian text and on the facing page the English translation. There is a most useful table of concordance so that the state of the code on any particular topic (it is largely family law which has been amended) can be found easily. The existence of these works, whose cost of production probably far exceeds the likely return, is of very great assistance to those who wish to be better informed in matters of European Law and I welcome their availability very much. D. R. CHAMBERS

Book Review: Foreign Codes: ParasuicideParasuicide. By KreitmanNorman. 1978. John Wiley & Sons.

The substantive 1968 work contains a short introduction to the Italian Civil Code of 1942 and the changes which followed in 1944. There are no explanations of the differences between American and Italian Law but this omission is not so important as there exists a 1967 text on the Italian Legal System (Cappelletti, Merryman and Perillo, Stanford University Press). The Civil Code supplement is a joy to read as it contains on even pages the original Italian text and on the facing page the English translation. There is a most useful table of concordance so that the state of the code on any particular topic (it is largely family law which has been amended) can be found easily. The existence of these works, whose cost of production probably far exceeds the likely return, is of very great assistance to those who wish to be better informed in matters of European Law and I welcome their availability very much. D. R. CHAMBERS