SOME MENTAL PROBLEMS AT SING SING* Bernard Glueck, M. D., Director, Psychiatric Clinic, Sing Sing Prison, Ossining, N. Y. The difficulties in speaking before a mixed audience on mental problems involved in a penal institution, such as Sing Sing represents, are many, since, in speaking of these men many people have a tendency to assume that one speaks concerning antisocial people in general. That such is not the case, a closer attention to the actual facts involved must convince anyone. In' a study of 608 cases admitted to Sing Sing during a period of nine months, rather convincing proof was obtained of the fact that one is dealing here with a highly specialized group of people. Some of the facts which substantiate this conviction are as follows: 1. That of 608 adult prisoners studied by psychiatric methods out of an uninterrupted series of 683 cases admitted to Sing Sing Prison within a period of nine months, 66.7 per cent, were not merely prisoners, but individuals who had shown throughout life a tendency to behave in a manner contrary to the behavior of the average normal person, and that this deviation from normal behavior has repeatedly manifested itself in a criminal act. 2. That of the same series of 608 cases, 59 per cent, were classifi- able in terms of deviation from average normal mental health. 3. That 28.1 per cent, of the same series of cases possessed a degree of intelligence equivalent to the intelligence of the average Amer- ican child of twelve years, or under; that the average individual in this group has already experienced 3.5 sentences in penal or reformatory institutions; and that 85.7 per cent, of them will have been returned again into the general community within a period of five years. 4. That 18.9 per cent, of the 608 cases were constitutionally in- ferior, or psychopathic, to such a pronounced degree as to have rendered them totally unfit to meet the ordinary requirements of life in modem Society. This lack of capacity for adjustment is reflected on the one hand in the fact that the average individual in this Group has already experienced 3.9 sentences in penal or reformatory institutions, and on the other hand, in the fact that a very significant number of them have been total economic failures thus far. Furthermore, that 82.4 per cent, of these cases will have again been discharged into the general community within a period of five years. * Author's abstract. No. 117. Reprints of Reports and Addresses of the National Conference of Social Work, 1917 Meeting at Pittsburgh. Order by number. Write for descriptive list of publications, 315 Plymouth Court, Chicago, Ill. 1 5. That 12 per cent, of the 608 cases suffered from distinct mental diseases or deteriorations, in a considerable number of whom the mental disease was directly or indirectly responsible for the antisocial activities. Lack of space will not permit us to enter into a detailed presenta- tion of case histories, but the accompanying charts demonstrate clearly the types of personalities here dealt with. Each chart represents the life career of an individual; the horizontal lines representing a year in the life. The key to the shading explains the various facts in each life career. The accompanying charts illustrate a method we have evolved of graphically presenting life histories. 2 3 4 5 6 Pamphlet publications on: The Spirit of Social Work, The Neigh- borhood, Housing, The Church, Recreation, Labor, Public Health, Social Hygiene, Medical Social Service, Relief, In- stitutions, Remedial Loans, The Child, Juvenile Delinquency, The Deaf and Blind, The Defective, The Criminal, Public Supervision and Administration, Statistics and Publicity, and other similar subjects. Effective brief presentation by recognized authorities. Write for information and pamphlet prices. Membership in the Conference: This is the general organization of those engaged in all forms of humanitarian effort in America. It was established in 1874. Its annual meeting lasts a week and has an attendance of 3,000 or more dele- gates. All those interested in the purposes of the Confer- ence are cordially Invited to join. Annual dues, regular, $3.00. Members receive free the Proceedings of the annual meeting and the monthly Bulletin. For information or pamphlet prices write: NATIONAL CONFERENCE OF SOCIAL WORK, 315 Plymouth Court, Chicago, Ill.