Česká a slovenská psychiatrie

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Psychiatrické společnosti ČLS JEP
a Psychiatrickej spoločnosti SLS

ohlasy

ISSN 1212-0383

Sezonalita narodenia ako biologický faktor kriminálnej aktivity Česká a Slovenská psychiatrie 2011; 6: 324-326

Dear Editor:

I read with great interest the article SEASONALITY OF BIRTH AS BIOLOGICAL FACTOR IN CRIMINAL ACTIVITY by Andre et al. published in the December issue of your Journal. Their intriguing data indicate that forensic patients charged with violent crimes were more likely born in the winter than in the other seasons. Several potential explanations were offered for this finding.

I am writing to draw attention to a possible explanation that is rather different from those mentioned by these authors. The new explanation is that children born at different times of the year have mothers of different socio-economic characteristics. This was demonstrated in a set of approximately 52 million live births in the United States (Buckles & Hungerman, 2008). Children born in the winter were disproportionately born to women who were more likely to be teenagers and less likely to be married, and had lower educational achievement. These mothers had low socioeconomic status. The children were therefore likely to grow up under conditions of economic deprivation. There is general agreement that such rearing environment elevates the risk for violent crime in adulthood.

Jan Volavka, USA

Reference:

Buckles, K. & Hungerman, D M. (2008). Season of Birth and Later Outcomes: Old Questions, New Answers.
National Bureau of Economic Research Working Paper Series, NBER Working Paper No 14573.
http://www.nber.org/papers/wl4573.pdf; accessed January 30, 2012.

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Čes a slov Psychiatr 2012;108(1): 50

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