Environmental Health and Antisocial Behavior: Implications for Public Policy.* Identifying the mechanisms driving juvenile delinquency juvenile delinquency, legal term for behavior of children and adolescents that in adults would be judged criminal under law. In the United States, definitions and age limits of juveniles vary, the maximum age being set at 14 years in some states and as high as 21 is difficult. * Two predominant theories have emerged: -- The School Failure Hypothesis suggests that cognitive deficiencies prevent academic success, leading to a negative self-image that promotes delinquent behavior. -- The Susceptibility Hypothesis suggests that individuals with learning disabilities have personality characteristics that make them more likely to engage in antisocial antisocial /an·ti·so·cial/ (-so´sh'l) 1. denoting behavior that violates the rights of others, societal mores, or the law. 2. denoting the specific personality traits seen in antisocial personality disorder. behavior. * A large number of youth with impaired cognition and histories of antisocial behavior, regardless of the cause, have entered the criminal justice system. * Sufficient evidence exists to hypothesize hy·poth·e·size v. hy·poth·e·sized, hy·poth·e·siz·ing, hy·poth·e·siz·es v.tr. To assert as a hypothesis. v.intr. To form a hypothesis. that exposure to neurotoxins may be a risk factor for antisocial behavior. * Bone, blood, dentine dentine, n See dentin. dentine one of the hard tissues of the teeth which constitutes most of its bulk. Lies between the pulp cavity and the enamel, and where it is not covered by enamel is covered by cementum, the third hard substance , and cord blood cord blood n. Blood present in the umbilical vessels at the time of delivery. lead concentrations have all been found to correlate significantly with dysfunctional class room behavior. * Adverse behavioral effects also have been associated with exposure to PCBs and other chlorinated hydrocarbons chlorinated hydrocarbons insecticidal substances which are no longer recommended for use on food animals because of their persistence in animal tissues and entry into the human food chain. Many of them still find industrial and nonanimal use and poisoning of animals can occur. . * Unfortunately, environmental toxicology has concentrated on the effects of acute exposures associated with overtly contaminated contaminated, v 1. made radioactive by the addition of small quantities of radioactive material. 2. made contaminated by adding infective or radiographic materials. 3. an infective surface or object. sites. * Little attention has been given to subtle effects arising from chronic exposure to mixtures of low-level pollutants. * Also, establishing epidemiological links between environmental exposures and health outcomes is a constant challenge. * Demonstrating that neurotoxins have a causal role in antisocial behavior is even more difficult. * As a result, the strength of the association between neurotoxicity neurotoxicity /neu·ro·tox·ic·i·ty/ (noor?o-tok-sis´it-e) the quality of exerting a destructive or poisonous effect upon nerve tissue. , cognition, and behavior is largely unknown. * If neurotoxicity is a contributing factor in antisocial behavior, there may be implications for the manner in which the criminal justice system responds. * What obligations, for example, does the system have to individuals who have been placed at risk for antisocial behavior through exposure to social burdens such as environmental contamination? * The high economic costs associated with antisocial behavior (in the billions of dollars per year) make interventions that can reduce antisocial behavior more attractive. * The most effective approach for the present may be to ensure that environmental contaminants are released into the environment at concentrations sufficiently low to prevent adverse physiological effects. * This approach likely will require increased effort in a number of areas of toxicology: -- more thorough study of mechanisms of toxicity, -- more sensitive methods for detecting toxic effects, and -- more scrutiny of the long-term health consequences of chronic exposure. |
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