Psychoneurotic disturbance and drug-taking in Borstal boys

Their own accounts of their use of drugs, together with a detailed description of psychiatric history and present mental state, were obtained from a sample of institutionalized delinquents, Subjects reporting extensive involvement in drug abuse were found to be disturbed on a number of psychiatric variables; however, those reporting some limited abuse were less disturbed than subjects reporting no experience of drug taking. The results and their implications are discussed.