The bad seed: facts and values in the study of childhood antisocial behaviour

Most societies seek to reduce the level of violence that occurs between its members and utilise social and political means to do so. There has been increasing interest in the possibilities of using psychiatric and psychological means to reduce violence; chiefly by identifying potentially violent individuals and intervening in some way. I will present some recent work that has been done on children who are seen to be at risk of violence; and raise questions about the social and ethical significance of studying children in this way and for this purpose. Gwen Adshead is a Forensic Psychiatrist and Psychotherapist. She trained at St George's hospital, the Institute of Psychiatry and the Institute of Group Analysis. For the last ten years, she has worked as a Consultant Forensic Psychotherapist at Broadmoor Hospital, where she runs psychotherapeutic groups for offenders, and works with staff and organisational dynamics. Gwen also has a Masters' Degree in Medical Law and Ethics; and has a research interest in moral reasoning, and how this links with 'bad' behaviour. Gwen has published a number of books and over 100 papers, book chapters and commissioned articles on forensic psychotherapy, ethics in psychiatry, and attachment theory as applied to medicine and forensic psychiatry.