ABSTRACT
In nearly half of this sample of thirty-three cases at least one of the standard maladjustment-conducive family situations was identified, and in almost as many there existed a degree of stress that might be accounted an aggravating factor. In only two was there early deprivation, and in both it took the form of transfer from the true to a surrogate mother. There were, however, five children who had been reared in stable families without apparent emotional deprivation. In these cases there was positive evidence of parental affection and constancy despite the child's disturbed behaviour. The mean maladjustment score for the eighteen children for whom data were available in Groups I and II — that is to say, those subjected to minimal or subcritical stress — was 25·8, compared with 33·9 for the fourteen scored in Group III, the critical-stress group. Owing to the small size of the sample and the wide variation in scores the difference between the means is not significant statistically, but the trend is consistent with the general view that maladjustment is related to familial stress. That the difference was not greater makes it reasonable to conclude that adverse family situation is an important but not the only factor.
