CHILD HYGIENE IN HUMAN ECOLOGY 345 



no immunity to certain serious diseases and it is our privilege to aid in pre- 

 serving such strains. 



Again, by means of prenatal and intranatal care we can prevent the birth 

 of a certain number of defectives. Not that such care can have the slightest 

 effect on germ plasm or heredity, but since a sound healthy population is our 

 objective it has distinct eugenic value. The mental defectiveness and physi- 

 cal disability resulting from birth injury can be largely eliminated by care- 

 ful, skilled obstetrics. By adequate treatment of the syphilitic pregnant 

 woman the incidence of congenital syphilis can be lowered to a very marked 

 extent. The reduction of the incidence of syphilis, with its predilection for 

 the nervous system, is certainly much to be desired from the standpoint of 

 national efficiency. 



It may be that child hygiene's best contribution to eugenics will be found 

 in the field of research. From the standpoint of eugenics there can be no 

 greater problem than that of mental defect and disease and it is there that 

 research is most needed. 



The problem of the hereditarily feebleminded is a very discouraging one, 

 and at the present time its best eugenic solution seems to be segregation for 

 their shorter life span or sterilization. As a class they are least susceptible 

 to eugenics education. 



In the case of insanity, however, we have a quite different proposition. 

 Late studies seem to indicate that sterilization of the insane would have 

 little effect on the amount of insanity in the general population. But there 

 is some indication that certain biological and sociological factors, together 

 with measures in the field of child hygiene, may tend to slowly reduce the 

 number of the insane in the population. 



The office in the Public Health Service of which I am in charge — Field 

 Investigations in Child Hygiene — has recently completed a study of a small 

 group of children of psychotic parents, which corroborates some of the find- 

 ings of other investigators, and brings out some interesting facts. 



This study of children of patients in State hospitals for the insane was 

 undertaken with a view to finding some answer to the following questions: 



1. Do children living in family groups which have contained definitely 

 psychotic persons show potentially psychotic behavior, delinquency, school 

 maladjustment, or personality problems to greater extent than children who 

 have not been associated with psychotic adults? 



2. Do any significantly causative relationships exist between the behavior 

 of children and the presence of psychotic adults in the family group? 



3. Do children living in family groups which contain psychotic adults 

 constitute a responsibility which should be met by some specific public 

 health or welfare agency, or by some member of the hospital staff? 



