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La w and Hu ma n Behavior, Vol . 2 , No. 1 , 1978

M enstrual ycles and rim inal R espon sibil ityJulie Horney

S i n c e a t l e a s t t h e t u r n o f t h e c e n t u r y , t h e r e h a v e b e e n r e p o r t s i n d i c a ti n g t h a t w o m e n h a v e a n i n c r e a s e dt e n d e n c y t o w a r d c r i m i n a l b e h a v i o r d u r i n g c e r t a i n p h a s e s o f t h e m e n s t r u a l c yc le . R e c e n t l y t h e se r e p o r t sh a v e s e r v e d as t h e b a s i s f o r a p r o p o s a l t o e x p a n d t h e i n s a n i t y d e fe n s e t o r e c o g n i z e t h e i m p a c t o f m e n s t r u a lcycles in d imin ish in g c r imina l r e spons ib i l i ty . This pap er r ev iew s the empi r ica l l i t e r a tur e on th e l ink be tw eenme ns t r ua t ion and c r im e and r a i ses sever a l c r i t i ca l ques t ions r egar d ing in te r p r e ta t ion of th i s da ta . I n l igh t o ft h e s e q u e s ti o n s i t i s s u g g e st e d t h a t a t t h i s t i m e a n i n s a n i t y d ef e n s e b a s e d o n m e n s t r u a l s y m p t o m o l o g y w o u l db e i n a p p r o p r i a t e .

I N T R O D U C T I O NI n t h e p a s t t w o d e c a d e s t he p r o p o r t i o n o f s er i ou s c r im e s c o m m i t t e d b y w o m e n h a sincreased s ign if ican t ly in th is coun try (S im on , 1975) . Th is increase , as pa r t o f thela rg e r p i c tu re o f th e ch an g in g female ro le , h as co n t r ib u ted to a g ro w in g co n cern w i ths tu d y in g th e f emale o f fen d er an d th o se e t io lo g ica l f ac to r s w h ich may b e o f spec ia lr e l ev an ce to c r imes c o m mi t t ed b y w o m en . A s th e re h as a lw ay s b een a fa sc in a t io n w i ththe poss ib i l i ty o f f ind ing a l ink between b io log ical character is t ics and cr iminalb eh av io r , i t i s n o t su rp r is in g th a t so m e o f th e a t t en t io n h as fo cu sed o n a b io lo g ica l fac -t o r t r a d i ti o n a l ly c o n s id e r e d a n i m p o r t a n t d e t e r m i n a n t o f fe m a l e b e h a v io r - - t h eme n s t ru a l cy c le . S in ce a t l eas t th e tu rn o f th e cen tu ry th e re h av e b een rep o r t s o f in -c reased c r im in a l t en d en c ies d u r in g ce r t a in p h ases o f th e men s t ru a l cy c le , an d m o rerecen t ly a n u mb er o f r e sea rch er s h av e a t t em p ted to emp i r i ca l ly ex p lo re th is n o t io n.S u ch s tu d ies co u ld o b v io u s ly h av e imp o r tan t imp l i ca t io n s fo r th e co n ce p t s o f c r im in a lresp o n s ib i l i t y , p u n i sh men t , t r ea tmen t , an d c r ime p rev en t io n .

O v e r 2 0 y ea r s ag o O leck (1 9 5 3) su g g es ted th a t d e fen se a t to rn ey s a n d p ro sec u to r sh ad th e d u ty to in v es t ig a te th e p o ss ib le co n n ec t io n w i th p rem en s t ru a l t en s io n in ev e rycase in w h ich a f em ale w as accu sed o f a c rime . H e a l so p ro p o sed th a t l ega l p rin c ip lesb e d ev e lo p ed to a l lo w p rem en s t ru a l t en s io n as an in san i ty d e fen se . O lec k s su g g es t io n* D e p a r t m e n t o f C r i m i n a l J u s ti c e , U n i v e r s i ty o f N e b r a s k a , O m a h a .

250147-730 7/78/0300-0025505.00/0 9 Plenum PublishingCorporation

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6 HORNEY

a p p a r e n t l y h a d l it tl e im p a c t , b u t t h e i s su e h a s r e c e n t l y b e e n r a i s e d a g a i n b y W a l l a c ha n d R u b i n ( 19 7 1 ), w h o d o c u m e n t e d n e w s t u d ie s o n t h e l in k b e t w e e n c r i m i n a l b e h a v i o ra n d m e n s t r u a l c y c le p h a se . C o n c l u d i n g th a t t h e l e g a l c o m m u n i t y s h o u l d n o t r e m a i ni n d i f fe r e n t t o t h e e v i d e n c e , t h e y e x p l o r e d t h e p o s s i b l e p r e m e n s t r u a l s y n d r o m e d e fe n s es t r a t e g i e s u n d e r e a c h o f t h e c u r r e n t t e s t s f o r d e t e r m i n i n g c r i m i n a l r e s p o n s i b i l i t y mM ' N a g h t e n r u l e s , t h e i r r e s i s t i b l e i m p u l s e t e s t , t h e p r o d u c t r u l e a n d t h e M o d e l P e n a lC o d e t e s t - - a n d d i s c u s s e d a s w e l l t h e i m p l i c a t i o n s fo r d i m i n i s h e d c a p a c i t y v e r d ic t sa n d f o r t h e m i t i g a t i o n o f p u n i s h m e n t ( se e B r a k e l & R o c k , 1 97 1, C h a p t e r 1 1, f o r m o r ed e t a i l e d e x p l i c a t io n o f t h e v a r i o u s c r i m i n a l r e s p o n s i b i li t y te s t s) .

T h e r e c e p t i v e n e s s t o s c i en t if i c s t u d i e s in t h e l e g a l c o m m u n i t y is c e r ta i n l y m u c hg r e a t e r t o d a y t h a n i t w a s w h e n O l e c k f ir s t p r o p o s e d t h e p r e m e n s t r u a l d e fe n s e ; t h e in -c r e a s e d a t t e m p t s a t c o m m u n i c a t i o n a c r o s s d i s c ip l i n e s a r e a p p l a u d e d f r o m b o t h s id e s .T h e e a g e r n es s t o m e r g e s c ie n ti fi c d a t a a n d l eg a l t h o u g h t m a y s o m e t im e s , h o w e v e r ,r e s u l t i n t h e p r e m a t u r e a c c e p t a n c e o f c e r t a i n f a c t s a s c o n c l u s i v e . I f s c ie n t if ic f in d -i n g s a r e t o b e p r o f i t a b l y i n c o r p o r a t e d i n t o l e g a l p r i n c i p l e s i t i s n e c e s s a r y t o h a v et h o u g h t f u l e x a m i n a t i o n o f t h e r e se a r c h m e t h o d o l o g i e s in v o l v e d a n d c a u t i o u s e v a lu a -t i o n o f t h e c o n c l u s i v e n e s s o f th o s e f in d i n g s . U n f o r t u n a t e l y t h e r e h a s b e e n n o c a r e f u ls c r u t i n y o f t h e s t u d i e s r e p o r t i n g a l i n k b e t w e e n c r i m i n a l b e h a v i o r a n d m e n s t r u a l c y c lep h a s e . T h e p u r p o s e o f t h i s p a p e r i s t o c r i ti c a ll y r e v ie w t h a t l i te r a t u r e a n d a t t e m p t t od e t e r m i n e w h a t a p p l i c a t i o n s t o t h e l a w a r e p r e s e n t l y w a r r a n t e d .The remenstrual Syndrome

S y m p t o m s r e p o r t e d t o o c c u r n e a r t h e o n s e t o f m e n s t r u a t i o n h a v e b e e n c o l l e c -t iv e ly t e r m e d t h e p r e m e n s t r u a l s y n d r o m e ; th e y i n cl u d e p h y s ic a l s y m p t o m s s u c h a ss t o m a c h c r a m p s a n d b a c k a c h e a s w e ll as v a r io u s p s y c h o l o g ic a l s y m p t o m s s u c h a sdep r es s i on , anx i e t y , and i r r i t ab i l i t y ( Da l t on , 1971 ; Pa r l ee , 1973) . Typ i ca l l y , t hea s s e s s m e n t o f m e n s t r u a l c y c l e i n f lu e n c e s i s d o n e b y a s k i n g w o m e n t o d i s c u s s t h e i r o w ne x p e r ie n c e o f s y m p t o m s a t d i ff e r en t p h a se s o f th e i r c y cl es . W i t h r e g a r d t o h o w m a n yw o m e n a r e a f fe c t e d b y t h e p r e m e n s t r u a l s y n d r o m e , t h e s u rv e y m e t h o d h a s p r o d u c e de s t im a t e s w h i c h ra n g e f r o m 2 5 % t o 1 0 0 % d e p e n d i n g o n t h e p a r t ic u l a r q u e s t io n n a i r ea n d s e l e c t i o n o f s u b j e c t s ( S u t h e r l a n d & S t e w a r t , 1 9 6 5 ) . T h e s t u d i e s h a v e f a i l e d t oi so l a te a u n i t a r y p a t t e r n o f s y m p t o m s e x p e ri e n c e d j u s t b e f o r e o r d u r i n g m e n s t r u a -t io n ; r a th e r , t h e r e p o r t s o f p a r t ic u l a r s y m p t o m s v a ry g r e a t ly f r o m o n e w o m a n t o t h en e x t . I n f a c t , s o m e o f t h e r e p o r t e d s y m p t o m s a p p e a r t o b e d i r e c t o p p o s i t e s; e . g ., c o n -s t i p a t io n a n d d i a r r h e a , i n s o m n i a a n d s l ee p i n g a ll d a y , f a t ig u e a n d b u r s t s o f e n e r g y( S u t h e r l a n d & S t e w a r t , 1 96 5). T h e s y n d r o m e is n o t c o m p o s e d o f s y m p t o m s u n i q u e lya s s o c ia t e d w i t h m e n s t r u a t i o n o r e v e n w i t h w o m e n , b u t o f s y m p t o m s o f te n e x p e r ie n c e dby bo t h s exes unde r s t r e s s f u l cond i t i ons ( Pa i ge , 1973) .A l t h o u g h t h e p r e m e n s t r u a l s y n d r o m e is t h u s r a t h e r v a g u e l y d e f in e d , t h e r e h a v eb e e n n u m e r o u s a t t e m p t s t o a s c e r t a i n i ts r e l a ti o n s h i p t o o v e r t b e h a v i o r , in c l u d i n g t e s tp e r f o r m a n c e ( D a l t o n , 1 9 60 a ; W i c k h a m , 1 9 58 ), i n d u s t r ia l e ff ic i e n c y ( S m i t h , 1 9 5 0 a,1 9 50 b ), r e a c t i o n t i m e ( K o p e l l, L u n d e , C l a y t o n , & M o o s , 1 9 69 ), s u ic i d e a t t e m p t s( B i r t c h n e l l & F l o y d , 1 9 7 4 ; M a c k i n n o n & M a c k i n n o n , 1 9 5 6 ; M a n d e l l & M a n d e l l ,1967) , admi s s i ons t o hos p i t a l s f o r acu t e p s ych i a t r i c i l l nes s ( Da l t on , 1959) , and i n -v o l v e m e n t i n a c c i d e n t s ( D a l t o n , 1 9 60 b ). T h e s t u d i e s w h i c h h a v e e x a m i n e d t h e p o s s ib l el i n k t o c r i m i n a l b e h a v i o r a r e a m o n g t h e m o s t p r o v o c a t i v e .

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MENSTRUAL CYCLES AND CRIMINAL RESPONSIBILITY 7

M E N S T R U A T I O N A N D C R I M E

E a r l y ReportsS e v e r a l r e p o r t s o f a l i n k b e t w e e n m e n s t r u a t i o n a n d c r i m e a p p e a r e d i n t h e e a r lyc r imino log ica l li t e r a tu re , b u t wi th f ew de ta i ls con cern ing the d a t a i nvo lved . Lom brosoand Fer re ro (1894) r epor t ed t ha t among 80 women who were a r r es t ed fo r r e s i s t anceaga ins t pub l i c o f f ic i a ls , 71 were m ens t rua t ing a t t he t ime of t he o f f ense . I ca rd (1890)and Gud den (1907) bo th n o t ed t ha t l a rge pe rcen t ages o f wo m en a r r es t ed fo r shop li f t-i ng had commi t t ed t he o f f enses dur ing mens t rua t ion . In an ea r ly book on de l in -q u e n c y H e a l y ( 19 15 ) m e n t i o n e d t h e c a s e o f a y o u n g g i r l w h o w a s r e p o r t e d b y a n o l d e rf r iend to be p e r f ec t l y t rus two r thy a t a l l t imes excep t dur ing he r m onth ly pe riods - - a twhich t ime she seemed no t t o b e he r se l f and som et imes s to le smal l i t ems .

In h i s p res iden t ia l address t o t he A m er i can A ssoc i a t ion o f Obs t e t r i c ians ,Gyneco log i s t s , and A bdo m ina l Surgeons , W. R . Co oke (1945) no t ed t ha t ac cord ing toa P a r i s i an p re fec t o f po l ice 84% of a ll t he c r ime s o f v io lence com m i t t ed by w om en a reperpe t r a t ed dur ing the p remens t rua l and ea r ly mens t rua l phases o f t he cyc l e . Th i spiece of info rm at ion i s st il l widely c i ted as ev idence for the biological l ink to cr im e;u n f o r t u n a t e l y C o o k e p r o v id e d n o d o c u m e n t a t i o n o f t h e p r e f e c t' s i n f o r m a t io n .Othe r da t a o f t en r e fe r r ed t o an d a l so d i f fi cu l t t o eva lua t e com e f rom a s tudywhich M or ton , Addi ton , Addi son , Hunt , and Su l l i van (1953) ca r r i ed ou t i n a NewY o r k c o r r e c t i o n a l f a c il it y f o r w o m e n . T h e i r s t u d y f o c u se d o n t h e m e a s u r e m e n t o fp r e m e n s t r u a l t e n si o n in t h e i n m a t e s a n d o n t h e e v a l u a ti o n o f a tr e a t m e n t p r o g r a mdes igned to r e l i eve t he sym ptom s . The d a t a on t he l i nk be tween c r imina l behav ior andmens t rua t ion were f rom a pa r t o f t he i nves t i ga t i on on ly b r i e f ly ment ioned by thea u t h o rs . T h e y i n d i c a te d t h a t f o r th i s g r o u p o f in m a t e s 6 2 % o f t h e u n p r e m e d i t a t e dc r im e s o f v io l en c e ( m u r d e r , m a n s l a u g h t e r , a n d a s s au l t) h a d b e e n c o m m i t t e d d u r i n gthe p rem ens t rua l wee k and 17% dur ing mens t rua t ion . Th e pe rcen t ages o f c r imes wererepor t ed fo r four cyc l e phases (men s t rua l week , midcyc l e , me ns t rua t ing , and end o fper iod) , but the leng ths of these phases w ere not given. N o s ta t i s tica l analys is wasrepor t ed , nor was t he re an y exp lana t ion o f how these da t a were ob t a ined .C u r r e n t iterature

A m o n g t h e m o r e r e c e n t s tu d i es o n w h i c h W a l l a c h a n d R u b i n (1 97 1) h a v e b a s edthe i r p roposa l fo r exp ans ion o f the i nsan i ty de fense , on ly one has dea l t d i r ec t l y wi thac tua l c r imina l behav ior which has r e su l t ed i n convic t i on and impr i sonment . Thedepen dent va r i ab l es o f t he o the r r e l evan t st ud i es have been m easures o f e i t he raggress ive beha vior or ins t i tut ional ru le breaking . Al l o f the s tudies wi ll be consideredhere , and be fore any assessm ent o f t he va l id i ty o f t he da t a and conc lus ions each s tudywi l l be br ief ly descr ibed. I t wi l l be useful to group these s tudies according to thegenera l me th odo logy fo r r e l a ti ng t he depen den t va r iab l e t o phase o f t he m ens t rua l cy-c le . The t e rm re t rospec t ive ca l cu l a t i on wi ll r e f e r t o t he m e tho d by which the da t e o foccur ren ce o f t he c r imina l o r aggressive ac t i s de t e rmine d and the n the w om an ' s se lf -r epor t s a r e used to ca l cu l a te cyc l e phase a t t ha t t ime in t he past . Co ncu r ren t da t awi l l r e f e r t o t he l ong i tud ina l s t udy of women in i ns t i t u t i ons where behav iora l andm e n s t r u a l c y c l e d a t a a r e c o n c u r r e n t l y m a i n t ai n e d .Retrospective Calculation M ethod Som e k ind o f re t rospec t ive ca l cu l a t ion i s oh-

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8 HORNEY

v io u s ly n ecessa ry to d ea l w i th ac tu a l c r im in a l b eh av io r , s in ce s tu d y in g a g ro u p o fw o m en an d th e i r m en s t ru a l cy c les u n t il t h ey co m mi t c r imes w o u ld b e h ig h ly imp rac -t i ca l . T h u s i t i s t h e me th o d w h ich h as b een emp lo y ed b y D a l to n (1 9 6 1 ) , w h o h asp ro d u ced th e mo s t d i r ec t an d mo s t w id e ly c i t ed ev id en ce fo r a r e l a t io n sh ip b e tw eenth e men s t ru a l cy c le an d c r im in a l b eh av io r .

D a l to n en te red an E n g l i sh w o men ' s p r i so n an d o v er a 6 -mo n th p e r io d in t e r -v iew ed 1 5 6 n ew ly co n v ic t ed w o men w h o se c r imes h ad b een co mmi t t ed w i th in th ep rev io us 28 d ay s . F ro m each w o m an d a ta w ere o b ta in ed o n d u ra t io n o f men s t ru a -t io n , l en g th o f cy c le , d a te o f l a s t men s t ru a t io n , an d ex p er i en ce o f sy m p to m s b e fo re o rd u r in g men s t ru a t io n . F ro m th ese se lf - r ep o r ts D a l to n ca lcu la t ed th e p h ase o f eachw o man ' s cy c le a t t h e t ime sh e co mmi t t ed th e c r ime fo r w h ich sh e h ad b een im-p r iso n ed ; th en th e f r eq u en c ies o f c r imes co mm i t t ed in th e d i f f e ren t cy c le p h ases w ereco m p ared . F o r th is an a ly s is th e men s t ru a l cy c le w as d iv ided in to sev en 4 -d ay p e r io d s ,w i th d ay s 1 -4 ca l l ed th e m en s t ru u m (d ay s o f me n s t ru a t io n ) an d d ay s 2 5 -2 8 th e

p r e m e n s t r u u m . D a l t o n f o u n d t h a t 49 % o f a ll th e c ri m e s w e r e c o m m i t t e d b y w o m e nd u r in g th e me n s t ru u m o r p rem en s t ru u m (an 8 -d ay p h ase r e fe r red to a s th e p a ra -me n s t ru u m ) . S h e ca lcu la t ed th a t i f c r imes w ere r an d o m ly d i s t rib u ted ac ro ss th e 28d ay s o f th e men s t ru a l cy c le th e ex p ec ted p ro p o r t io n o f c rimes in an y 8 -d ay p e r io dw o u ld b e 2 9 %; th e 4 9 % ac tu a l ly fo u n d in th e p a ramen s t ru u m w o u ld th en b e h ig h lys ig ni f ican t . T h e same p a t t e rn w as fo u n d w h en c r imes o f th e f t, p ro s t i tu t io n , an da lco h o l i sm w ere co n s id e red sep ara te ly , a l th o u g h th e re w ere to o f ew cases o fa l co h o l i sm to d e te rmin e th e s ig n if i can ce o f th o se r e su l ts . F o r th e f t (w h ich in c lu d edv ar io u s p ro p er ty c r imes su ch as sh o p l i f t in g , b u rg la ry , emb ezz lemen t , an d fo rg e ry )5 6.3 % o f th e c r imes w ere co mm i t t ed d u r in g th e p a ra me n s t ru u m w h i l e 4 3.6% o f th ec r imes o f p ro s t itu t io n w ere co mm i t t ed d u r in g th a t p h ase . R e su l t s w ere a lso v e rysimi lar when cr imes were categor ized as f i rs t o f fenses , second and th i rd o ffenses , o rfo u r th o r mo re o f fen ses .In th e s ame p r i so n , D a l to n in t e rv iew ed a l l p ri so n er s w h o h ad b een rep o r t ed to th eg o v ern o r fo r b ad b eh av io r w h i l e serv in g th e i r sen ten ces . O u t o f 9 4 w o men , 5 4 % w ererep o r t ed to h av e been d iso rd e r ly d u r in g th e p a ram en s t ru u m . A m o n g th e 5 4 p r i so n er srep o r t ed o n ly o n ce , 43 % o f th e o f fen ses w ere a sso c ia t ed w i th men s t ru a t io n , w h ereasamo n g th e 4 0 p r i so n ers r ep o r t ed m o re th an o n ce , 70 % o f th e r ep o r t s w ere a sso c ia t edw i th men s t ru a t io n . I t w as n o ted th a t p r i so n er s su f fe r in g f ro m p remen s t ru a l t en s io nw h o w ere d i so rd e r ly a t t h e t ime o f men s t ru a t io n w ere o f fe red th e o p p o r tu n i ty fo rt r ea tm en t fo r th e sy n d ro me . ( I t w as n o t men t io n ed w h e th e r p remen s t ru a l t en s io n w asco n s id e red a m i t ig a tin g f ac to r in th e d e te rm in a t io n o f p u n i sh men t fo r th ese ac t s . )D a l to n co n c lu d ed f ro m h er w o rk th a t t h e h ig h ly s ig n i fi can t r e la t io n sh ip b e tw eenmen s t ru a t io n an d c r ime co u ld in d ica te th a t t h e h o rmo n a l ch an g es a sso c ia t ed w i thme n s t ru a t io n cau se w o m en to co mm i t c r imes o r th a t t h ey in c rease th e l ik e lih o o d o fd e tec t io n o r b o th . S h e sp ecu la t ed th a t sy m p to m s o f p reme n s t ru a l t en s io n su ch asle thargy , s lower react ion t ime, and mental du l lness cou ld lead to eas ier detect ion ,w h i le sy m p to m s su ch as i r r it ab i li t y , l e th a rg y , an d w a te r r e t en t io n co u ld b e r e sp o n s ib lefo r co mm iss io n o f ce r t a in c r imes m p ar t i cu la r ly c r imes o f vio len ce o r a s sau l t . ( I t i s in -teres t ing to n o te tha t o f the 156 cr imes in the pop u lat ion she s tud ied , 155 fe ll in to thenonvio len t ca tegor ies o f thef t , p rost i tu t ion , an d a lcoho l ism .)U s in g th e same re t ro sp ec t iv e ca lcu la t io n meth o d , D a l to n p ro v id ed ad d i t io n a lev id ence fo r th e in f lu en ce o f men s t ru a l cy c les o n b eh av io r in h e r s tu d ies o f acu te p sy -

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ch ia t r ic i llness and inv o lvem ent in acciden ts . S he found that 45% of the wo m en ad-mi t t ed to th e h o sp i t a l fo r an a cu te p sy ch ia t r i c i ll ness w ere ad m i t t ed d u r in g th e p a ra -me n s t ru u m an d 5 2% o f th e w o m en ad m i t t ed to th e h o sp i t a l a f t e r se r io u s acc id en t sw ere ad mi t t ed d u r in g th e 8 -d ay p h ase .Concurrent Data Method In an Engl ish board ing schoo l , Dal ton (1960c) s tud iedth e r e l a t io n sh ip b e tw een me n s t ru a t io n an d sch o o lg ir l s ' b eh av io r. B e cau se it w as s tan -d a rd p ro ced u re in th a t sch o o l t o r eco rd mark s g iv en fo r b ad b eh av io r w i th th e d a t ean d ty p e o f o ff en se , an d a l so to k eep r eco rd s o f t h e g ir l s ' men s t ru a t io n d a tes , D a l to nw as ab le to u se ex i st ing sch o o l r eco rd s fo r h e r an a ly s is . I t w as n o ted th a t t h e l en g th o fth e g i rl s ' cy c les v a r i ed g rea t ly ; b ecau se o f th i s f ac t o n ly o f fen ses co m m i t t ed w i th in 1 4d ay s b e fo re o r 1 4 d ay s a f t e r t h e o n se t o f men s t ru a t io n w ere co n s id e red . S tu d y in g ato t a l o f 27 2 o f fen ses , D a l to n fo u n d th a t 2 9% w e re co m mi t t ed d u r in g th e 4 d ay s o fmen s t ru a t io n ( ex p ec ted v a lu e 1 4 % ) . B ad b eh av io r w h ich o ccu r red s ig n i fi can t ly mo reo f t en d u r in g me n s t ru a t io n in c lud ed u n p u n c tu a l i t y , fo rg e t fu ln ess , av o id in g g ames , an dta lk in g - - ca t eg o r i e s w h ich acco u n ted fo r 1 80 o u t o f t h e to t a l 2 7 2 o ffen ses . T h e n a tu reo f th e r emain in g o f fen ses w as n o t d i scu ssed .

A s imi lar approach was employed by E l l i s and Aust in (1971) in s tudy ing 45 in -mates o f t h e N o r th C aro l in a C o r rec t io n a l C e n te r fo r W o m en . T h e p a r t i c ip an t s f i ll edo u t fo rms ev e ry ev en in g, g ivin g in fo rmat io n o n d a tes o f co m me n cem en t an d t e rmin a-t io n o f m e n s t r u a t io n , s y m p t o m s a n d e m o t i o n a l m o o d s e x p e r i e nc e d d u ri n g t h e d a y ,an d o v e r t ag g ress iv e ac ts co m mi t t ed d u r in g th e d ay . D a ta o n th e f r eq u en cy o f ag g res-s ive acts we re a lso ob ta ine d f rom the dai ly record s o f p r ison o ff icers . Included in thed ef in i ti o n o f o v e r t ag g ress iv e b eh av io r w ere v e rb a l a t t ack s (o b scen e l an gu ag e , t h rea t s ,ex p ressed w i sh es o f h a rm ) as w e l l a s p h y s ica l a t t ack s o n an o th e r p e r so n . T h e f ind in gsw ere b ased o n th e an a ly s i s o f 1 35 co mp le t ed cy c les (3 p e r r e sp o n d en t , 4 5 r e sp o n -d en t s) . In o rd e r t o ad ju s t fo r t h e v a r i ab le l en g th o f men s t ru a l cy c les, each cy c le w asad ju s t ed to th e n o rm al 2 8 d ay s , an d cy c les w h ich w ere u n d er 2 2 d ay s o r o v e r 3 4d ay s lo n g w ere ex c lu ded . W h en th e p r i so n o f f i ce r ' s b eh av io ra l r ep o r t s w ere an a ly zed ,i t w as fo u n d th a t 4 1 % o f th e ag g ress iv e ac t s o ccu r red d u r in g th e p rem en s t ru a l an dmen s t ru a l p h ases o f t h e cy c le , an d th e re w as n o d i f f e ren ce fo r p h y s ica l an d v e rb a lag g ress io n . T h e au th o r s n o ted th a t o v e r 95 % o f th e p h y s ica lly ag g ress iv e ac ts w erere la t ively m inor in natu re , e .g ., push ing , pu l l ing , t r ipp ing , and p inch ing .

T h e d a ta o n th e su b jec t s ' s e l f -r ep o r t s o f agg ress iv e b eh av io r w ere n o t r ep o r t edbecause the authors decided that the women did not trust them sufficiently to acknowl-ed g e th e co m miss io n o f ac ts t o w h ich n eg a t iv e san c t io n s w ere a t t ach ed . T h ey d id n o tethat th ey found l i t t le o r no var ia t ion in the responses , bu t they d id no t exp la in wh etherth is m ean t l it t le v a r i a t io n ac ro ss w o m en o r ac ro ss th e m en s t ru a l cy c le . (T h i s is imp o r -t an t i n fo rm at io n , b ecau se i f t h e w o m en d id n o t an sw er th e q u es t io n s a t a l l, i t i sr easo n ab le to a s su m e th a t t h e me asu re w as to o r eac t iv e , b u t i f t h e r e su l ts s imp ly f a il edto sh o w an y v a r i a t io n ac ro ss cy c le p h ase , i t is u n l ik e ly th a t t h is co u ld b e ex p la in ed b ya l ack o f t ru s t o n th e p a r t o f t h e w o m en . )

V a l i d i t y o f R e s u l t s a n d o n c l u s i o n sAccuracy of Cycle Phase Data A l l o f t h e s tu d ies d esc r ib ed ab o v e d ep en d ed o nw o m en ' s se l f - r ep o r ts fo r d e t e rmin a t io n o f cy c le p h ase a t t h e t ime th e w o m en co m-mi t t ed ce r t a in an t i so c ia l ac t s . F o r th e co n cu r ren t d a t a me th o d , w i th lo n g - t e rm ,

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3 HORNEY

r eg u la r r ep o r t in g o f cy c les , t h e re sh o u ld b e l i t t l e p ro b lem w i th th ese se l f - r ep o r t s .A l th o u g h th e p o ss ib i l it y o f th e w o m en b e in g u n t ru th fu l a lw ay s ex i s ts , t h e re i s a t l eas tn o r easo n to a s su m e th a t t h ey w o u ld b e in cap ab le o f p rov id ing ac cu ra t e r ep o r t s o f t h eb eg inn in g an d en d o f men s t ru a t io n . W i th th e r e t ro sp ec t iv e ca l cu la t io n me th o d ,h o w ev er , w o me n w ere q u es t io n ed o n e t ime o n ly an d a sk ed to r eca l l cy c le d a t a f ro mme mo ry . S o m e w o m en ad m i t t ed to b e in g u n ab le to d o th is ; D a l to n (1 9 61 ) ex c lu ded 26w o m en o u t o f a t o t a l o f 1 82 b ecau se th ey co u ld n o t reca l l t h e d a t e o f l a s t men s t ru a -t io n . T h e r es t o f t h e w o m en d id g iv e d a tes , b u t t h e re w as n o w a y o f a s sess in g th e ac -cu racy o f t h e i r r ep o r t s , an d th e re is so m e ev id en ce w h ich su g g es t s t h a t t h e accu racysh o u ld b e q u es t io n ed . Wick h am (1 9 5 8 ) r ep o r t ed th a t i n a samp le o f 3 0 0 0 w o men re -sp o n d in g to th e q u es t io n o f cy c le l en g th , 8 0 o f t h e w o m en an sw ered th a t t h e i r cy c lesw ere 2 8 d ay s lo n g , an d th e r e s t o f t h e w o m en t en d ed to g iv e an sw ers th a t w ere mu l -t ip le s o f 7 . F ew w o me n ac tu a l ly h av e 2 8 -d ay cy c les o r cy c les th a t a re mu l t ip l e s o fsev en (C h iazze , B ray er , M ac i sco , P a rk e r , & D u f fy , 1 96 8) ; i t i s o b v io u s th a t mo s t o ft h e s e w o m e n w e r e j u s t g iv in g t h e b e s t e s t im a t e t h e y c o u l d . M a t s u m o t o , N o g a m i , a n dO h k u r i (1 9 6 2 ) d ir ec t ly co mp ared r eco rd s k ep t b y 2 0 2 6 w o m en w i th th e i r se l f -r ep o r t so f cy c le l en g th an d fo u n d l a rg e d i sc repan c ies . M o s t n o tab ly th e se l f - rep o r t s g rea t lyo v eres t im a ted cy c les o f 2 8 an d 3 0 d ay s . D a l to n (1 9 71 ) h e r se l f a l so r ep o r t ed th a t a f t e rh av ing p a t i en t s k eep d e ta i led r eco rd s o f t h e i r cy c les sh e fo u n d a su rp r is in g d i f f e ren ceb e tw een th e ac tu a l c y c le an d th a t d esc r ib ed b y th e p a t i en t a t h e r f i r st in t e rv i ew . I t i sd i f f i cu l t t o k n o w w h e th e r t h e r eca l l p ro b lem w o u ld p ro d u ce an y sy s t emat i c b i as inrep o r t s o f l a s t men s t ru a t io n . I t w o u ld b e a u se fu l co m p ar i so n to co n s id e r t h e d a t es o fl a s t men s t ru a t io n g iven b y a l a rg e g ro u p o f r an d o mly se l ec ted w o m en to see h o w th o sed a tes a re ac tu a l ly d i s t r ib u ted .B es id es th e p ro b lem o f w h e th e r t h e w o m en co u ld accu ra t e ly r ep o r t cy c le in fo r -mat io n , t h e me th o d o f u s in g th a t i n fo rmat io n to ca l cu la t e cy c le p h ase a t a p as t t imemu s t b e co n s id e red . In D a l to n ' s (19 61 ) r ep o r t t h e re w ere u n fo r tu n a te ly f ew d e ta i lsco n cern in g th e me th o d o f ca lcu la t io n . W o m en w ere a sk ed ab o u t cy c le l en g th an dd u ra t io n o f men s t ru a t io n as w e l l a s d a t e o f l a s t men s t ru a t io n , b u t D a l to n d id n o t ex-p la in h o w m u ch o f th i s i n fo rmat io n w as u t i li zed in th e ca l cu la t io n . N e i th e r d id sh emen t io n h o w sh e d ea l t w i th th e p ro b lem o f cy c le l en g th v a r i ab i l it y . T h e ex ten t o f cy c lei r r eg u la ri ty in n o rm al ly m en s t ru a t in g w o m en w as r ev ea led in a s tu d y b y C h iazze e t a l.(1968) in which 2316 w om en repo r ted on a t leas t 10 cycles each , p rov id ing a da ta ba seo f 30 ,6 55 cy c les . W h en th e av e rag e cy c le o f each w o m an w as ca l cu la t ed , t h e me an o fth e av e rag e cy c les w as fo u n d to b e 2 9 .4 d ay s w i th a s t an d ard d ev ia t io n o f 3.2 7. O n ly3 48 o u t o f 2 3 1 6 o r 1 5 o f t h e w o m en h ad av e rag e cy c les o f 2 8 d ay s . T h e av e rag eleng th o f a ll 30 ,655 cyc les was found to be 29 .1 d ays wi th a s tan dard dev ia t ion o f 7 .46 .O n ly 1 3 o f a l l t h e r eco rd ed cy c les w ere 2 8 d ay s lo n g . O u t o f a l l t h e w o men , 5 6 h adav erag e cy c le l en g th s g rea t e r t h an 2 8 d ay s . T h u s th e 2 8 -d ay cy c le is n o t an o ccu r ren ceo f ex t r eme f r eq u en cy , an d th e re i s a g rea t d ea l o f v a r i ab i l i ty w i th in a s w e l l a s am o n gw o m en . T h e d eg ree o f i r r eg u la ri ty w i thin w o m en w as so g rea t t h a t o n ly 13 o f t h ew o m en s tu d ied h ad a r an g e o f cy c le l en g th s l e s s t h an 6 d ay s .A s an ex am p le o f t h e d i s to r t io n p o ss ib l e i f a 2 8 -d ay cy c le i s a s su m ed fo r a llw o m en , co n s id e r t h e case o f a w o m an w i th a cy c le l en g th o f 3 5 d ay s w h o rep o r t s t h a th e r l a s t m en s t ru a t io n b eg an 2 5 d ay s b e fo re th e co m miss io n o f t h e c r ime . S h e w o u ld b eco u n ted as b e in g in th e p rem en s t ru u m a t t h e t ime o f t h e c r ime i f a 2 8 -d ay cy c le w ereassu med , w h ereas b as in g th e ca l cu la t io n o n h e r 3 5 -d ay cy c le w o u ld in d ica t e th a t t h ec r im in a l ac t o ccu r red 1 0 d ay s b e fo re th e o n se t o f men s t ru a t io n .

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MENSTRUAL CYCLES AND CRIMINAL RESPONSIBILITY 3

In he r s tudies of psy chia t r ic il lness and a cciden ts Da l ton (1959, 196 0b) exclud edw o m e n w h o h a d n o t m e n s t r u a t e d d u r i n g t h e 2 8 d a y s p r io r t o t h e e v e n t in q u e s t io n(hosp i t a l admiss ion o r acc iden t ) . These women were a l l g rouped under t he ca t egory~ (no t men s t rua t ing) . Da l ton (1961) r epor t ed 38 wo me n exc luded f romthe s tudy of c r imina l behav ior because o f ame nor rh ea , bu t d id no t no t e t he c r it e r i a fo rc a t eg o r i zi n g w o m e n t h a t w a y . T h e r e m a y b e w o m e n w i th r e a l c y c l e a b n o r m a l i t ie s w h oshould be exc luded f rom these s tud ies , a s shou ld be wom en who a re no t me ns t rua t ingbecau se of pregn anc y. But in l ight of the C hiazz e e t a l . (1968) descr ipt ive da ta i t is ob-v ious t ha t exc lud ing a ll wom en who have n o t m ens t ru a t ed i n t he l a s t 28 days wouldm e a n o m i t t i n g m a n y w o m e n w i t h p e r f e c t l y n o r m a l c y c l e s . I t w o u l d a l s o m e a nsys t ema t i ca l ly exc lud ing wo m en wi th l on g cyc l es and thus r educ ing the ave rage cy-c l e l eng th fo r t he r em ain ing wom en. I f t he ave rag e cyc l e fo r t hose w om en i s then le ssthan 28 days , a com par i son o f obse rved f r equency wi th in any 4- o r 8 -day phase wi than expec t ed f r equency based on 28-day cyc l es wou ld ensure f requenc i es g rea t e r t hanthe exp ec t ed va lues . B i r tchne l l and F loy d (1974) cons ide red th i s p rob lem when theys tud i ed a t t em pted su i cides i n r e la t i on t o m ens t rua l cyc l e phase . R a the r t han bas ingexpec t ed f r equenc i es on a 28-day cyc l e , t hey co mp uted the ave rage cyc l e fo r t hewo m en in t he i r sam ple (based on se l f -r epor ts ) . Wi th t hose ca l cu l a t i ons t hey found nos ign if ican t dev i a ti ons f ro m the expec t ed f r equenc i es i n any of t he p hases o f t hemen s t rua l cyc le , in co n t r as t t o p rev ious r e sea rch which found m ore su i c ides a t t emp tedin t he p remens t rua l and mens t rua l phases ( e . g . , M ande l l & M ande l l , 1967) .Representativeness of Results A l t h o u g h t h e c o n c u r r e n t d a t a m e t h o d i s n o ts e ri o u sl y t ro u b l e d b y p r o b le m s o f a c c u r a t e l y d e t e rm i n i n g c o r r e s p o n d e n c e o f c y c lephase and an t i soc i a l behav ior , t he re i s a g re a t e r d i f f i cu l ty wi th t h i s me thod in de t e r -m i n i n g h o w m a n y w o m e n a r e a c t u a ll y a f fe c t e d b y m e n s t r u a l f a c to r s . I n t h e s tu d i esemp loy ing the co ncu r ren t da t a m e tho d the w om en were a ll liv ing in ve ry c lose con tac ta t t he t ime the an t i soc i a l ac t s occur red . M cCl in tock (1971) p rov ided ev idence fo rmen s t rua l sync hron y in such groups ; i n a co l l ege dorm i to ry she found a s ign i f ican td e c r e a se o v e r a n a c a d e m i c y e a r i n t h e d i f fe r e n c e b e t w e e n m e n s t r u a t i o n o n s e t d a t e s o froommates and c loses t f r i ends . Synchrony of t he women ' s cyc l es i n t he p r i sons andb o a r d i n g s c h o o l w o u l d o f c o u r s e m e a n t h a t c y c l e p h a se s w e r e n o t r a n d o m l y d i s-t r ibu t ed i n t ime , and non rando rn d i s tr i bu t ion co u ld a l low the reac t ion o f one wo ma nto mens t rua t ion t o have an undue impac t on t he t o t a l r e su l t s . For example , onewoman migh t r e spond to p remens t rua l t ens ion by in i t i a t i ng an aggress ive a t t ack onone or more o the r women, and i t i s l i ke ly t ha t t hey would r espond wi th aggress iveac ts . I f a l l t he cyc l es were synch ron ized , t he r e spond ent s ' ac t s wo uld a l so be occur r ingnear t he t ime of men s t rua t ion . App ropr i a t e i n t e rpre t a t i on o f t he r e su lt s wou ldnecess i ta t e a ca re fu l exam ina t ion o f t h is poss ib l e f ac to r , bu t n one o f the s tud iesrev i ewed he re p resen t ed any da t a on d i s t r i bu t ion o f cyc l es .

The au thor s o f t he s tud ies r ev i ewed a lso f a i led t o p rov ide da t a on t he d i s t ri bu t ionof ant i socia l ac ts . In s tudying 45 women over three cycles El l i s and Aust in (1971)obse rved i74 aggressive ac t s , bu t t hey d id no t r epo r t how m any o f t he 45 wom en con-t r ibu t ed t o t ha t t o t a l . T hey d id s t a t e t ha t t hey d id no t f i nd the pa t t e rn t o be p r imar i l y afunc t ion o f a f ew of t he mos t aggress ive women, bu t t he d i s t r i bu t ion da t a were no tpresen t ed . Da l ton (1960c) a l so f a i l ed to r epo r t how m any of the 350 schoolg i r ls wererespons ib l e fo r t he 272 r ep or t ed o f f enses and how those o f f enses were d i s tr i bu ted .A n Alternative Hypothesis In a l l o f t he s tud i es r ev iewed the h igher i nc idence o fv a r io u s a n t is o c ia l b e h a v i o rs d u r i n g t h e p r e m e n s t r u a l a n d / o r m e n s t r u a l p h a se s o f t h e

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cyc l e has b een v i ewed as an i nd i ca t ion t ha t t he ho rm ona l changes a s soc i a ted wi thmens t rua t i on somehow produce i nc reased an t i soc i a l o r c r imina l t endenc i es . Th i s i snot , how ever , the only hypo thes is wh ich could expla in the resul t s o f these s tudies . I t i sposs ib le t ha t t he an t i soc i a l behav ior s and con com i t an t even t s p rodu ce horm ona lchanges , r a the r t han v i ce ve r sa . I f a woman were qu i ck ly a r r es t ed and j a i l ed a f t e rc o m m i t t i n g a c r i m e a n d t h a t t r a u m a b r o u g h t o n e a r l y m e n s t ru a t i o n , a l a te r c a lc u la -t io n w o u l d i n d i ca t e th a t t h e w o m a n h a d b e e n i n t h e p r e m e n s t r u a l p h a s e o f h e r c y c l e a tt he t ime of t he c r imina l behav ior .The i n f luence o f psycholog i ca l f ac to r s on t h e m ens t rua l cyc l e has been f r equen t lyno t ed i n t he med ica l l it e r a tu re ( e .g . , Benson , 1974 , p . 649 ; O 'Con nor , She l l ey , &Stern, 1974 , p . 31 1; Kaiser , 1974 , p . 498) . M ost speci f ic repo r t s have deal t wi thamenor rhea ( ces sa t i on o f mens t rua t i on) r e su l t i ng f rom emot iona l s t r e s s , p robab lybecause mi s sed me ns t rua l cyc l es a r e a cause o f concern fo r wom en and m ore l i ke ly tobe r epo r t ed t han o the r cyc l e changes . Recen t ly , however , s eve ra l r e sea rcher s havenoted o the r e f f ec t s o f em ot iona l f ac to r s. C ope (19 71)de sc r ibed d ys func t i ona l b l eed-i n g r e s u l t i n g f r o m e m o t i o n a l d i s t u r b a n c e . M a t s u m o t o , T h o m a , K u b o , W a t a n a b e ,Ho saka , and Ut su no (1965) s tud i ed g roups o f te l ephone opera to r s wh o had jus t ob-t a ined employment , s t uden t s who had j us t en t e r ed nur s ing school , de l i nquen t g i r l sr ecen t ly sen t enced t o a r e formatory , and pa t i en t s undergo ing surge ry ( exc lud ingopera t i ons o n i n t rape lv i c o rgans ). I n com par ing cyc l es imm edia t e ly a f t e r the env i ron-m e n t a l c h a n g e w i t h 2 c y c le s b e f o r e t h e c h a n g e , a n u m b e r o f w o m e n r e p o r t e d c y c l escons ide rab ly shor t ened or l eng thened ( a t l eas t 10 days t oo l ong or 10 days t oo shor t ).S h o r t e n e d c y c l es w e r e r e p o r t e d b y 2 4 o f th e 1 03 w o m e n w h o u n d e r w e n t s u r g e r y , 6 o fthe 27 nur s ing- s tud en t s , and 16 o f t he 156 te l ephone o pera to r s . O f the 85 g i rl ssen t enced t o a r e fo rm atory 40% repo r t ed cyc l e changes , bu t these were no t b rokend o w n b y d i r e c ti o n o f c h a n g e . I n a t t e m p t i n g t o d i sc o v e r m o r e p r e c is e ly th e n a t u r e o fthe r e l a t ionsh ip be tween st re s s and m ens t rua l cyc l e M at su m oto , Iga rash i , andNa ga ok a (1968) s tud i ed 105 wo me n who r ecord ed t he i r basa l body t emp era tu res overe x t e n d ed p e r io d s o f ti m e . T h e b a s al b o d y t e m p e r a t u r e m e a s u r e is o n e m e t h o d f o rde t e rm in ing t he occur r ence o f ov u l a ti on . O ut o f o~ /e r 1000 cyc l es r ecorde d t he re w ere14 cases o f anovula to ry cyc l es (no ovu l a t i on occur r ed) . F rom repor t s o f t he wo me nthey d e t e rm ined t ha t t hese cyc l es had occur r ed a f t e r such even t s a s t r a f f ic acc iden t s ,dea th o f a b ro the r , a f ami ly il lness , e xam s , and t r ave l . W hen these even t s occur r ed inthe ea r ly phases o f the cyc l e , ovu l a t i on was suppressed and m ens t rua t i on fo l lowed im-media t e ly .I t i s i n t e res t i ng t ha t Da l ton he r se l f (1968) has r epor t ed da t a on cyc l es be ingaffected by em ot ion al s tress . In a s tudy of 91 gi rl s t akin g exa m inat io ns in a Br i t i shschool , Da l ton found tha t more g i r l s were mens t rua t i ng dur ing examina t i on weekthan would have been expec t ed f rom the i r normal pa t t e rn . These g i r l s rou t i ne lyrecorded t he i r d a t es o f me ns t rua t i on i n spec ia l books , so i t was possib le t o ca l cu l a t et h e n u m b e r o f g ir ls m e n s t r u a ti n g o n a n y p a r t i c u la r d a y . D u r in g t h e m o n t h o f M a ythe re was an ave rage o f 16 g i rl s men s t rua t i ng each day , bu t dur ing t he week of ex-am ina t i ons i n Jun e t he re was a sudden i nc rease i n the n um ber wi th a peak of 36 g i rl sm e n s t r u a ti n g o n o n e d a y . D a l to n r e p o r t e d t h a t t h e r e w e r e d e v ia t io n s f r o m t h e n o r m a lcyc l e fo r 42% of t he g i r ls dur ing Jun e , an d she conc luded t ha t t h i s was du e t o t he s t re s sof t he examina t i ons .T h e r e a r e p r o b a b l y f e w c i rc u m s t a n c e s m o r e t r a u m a t i c t h a n b e in g a r r e s te d a n d

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t ak en to j a i l, so th e a l t e rn a tiv e h y p o th es i s ma y b e a r ea l p o ss ib i l it y . In D a l to n ' ss tud ies (1959 , 1960b , 1961) the w om en were aske d the date o f las t menst ru at ion ; theyw ere n o t a sk ed i f me n s t ru a t io n s t a r t ed a t t h e ex p ec ted t ime o r w h en th e n ex tmen s t ru a t io n w as ex p ec ted . I t i s n o t p o ss ib le to t e ll f ro m th e d a ta w h ich h y p o th es i s isco r rec t . F u r th e r an a ly s i s o f h e r d a t a , h o w ev er , m ay p ro v id e a c lu e. In th e 1 9 6 1 s tu d yo f c r im in a l b eh a v io r D a l to n fo u n d essen t i a lly th e sam e resu l ts ac ro ss th e d i f f e ren tca t eg o r i e s o f c r ime , i n c lud in g th e f t an d p ro s t i t u t io n . P ro s t i t u t io n seem s an u n l ik e lycrime to be m uch influenced by tran sitory em otional f luctuations beca use i t is typicallyan o n g o in g o ccu p a t io n . T h e f ac to r s w h ich l ead to an a r r es t a l so seem u n l ik e ly to b ea f fec t ed b y th e p ro s t i t u t e ' s j u d g m en t o r r eac t io n t ime . I t m ay w e l l b e , h o w ev er , t h a tth e w o m an a r res t ed fo r p ro s t it u t io n co u ld b e emo t io n a l ly a f f ec t ed b y g o in g to j a i l in aw ay w h ich w o u ld in f lu en ce th e men s t ru a l cy c le .

A n ev en mo re p ro v o ca t iv e b it o f ev id en ce is fo u n d in D a l to n ' s (1 9 6 0 b ) s tu d y o fw o m en ad m i t t ed to h o sp i t a l s b ecau se o f acc id en ts . S h e su g g es t ed th a t t h e in f lu en ce o fmen s t ru a t io n w as th ro u g h in c reased l e th a rg y , w h ich co u ld b e r e sp o n s ib l e fo r b o th alo w ered ju d g m en t an d s lo w reac t io n t ime . Y e t o n e f in d in g mak es th i s in t e rp re t a t io nq u es t io n ab le . D a l to n , i n ad d i t io n to ca t eg o r i z in g acc id en t s acco rd in g to w h e th e r ma-jo r o r m in o r , o ccu r r in g a t h o me , o n th e ro ad , o r d u r in g h ab i tu a l ac t io n s , a l so co n -s id e red w h e th e r t h e p e r so n s in v o lv ed in th e acc id en t s w ere ac t iv e o r p ass iv e . A c t iv ep ar t i c ip an t s w ere th o se w h o se b e t t e r j u d g m en t m ig h t h av e l e s sen ed th e sev e r i ty o f th eacc id en t - - fo r ex amp le , d r iv e r s o f v eh ic l es . P ass iv e p a r ti c ip an t s w ere th o se w h o seju d g men t co u ld n o t h av e in f lu en ced th e acc id en t - - fo r ex amp le , p assen g er s inveh ic les . The resu l ts ind icated that 52 o f the act ive par t ic ipan ts ' accide n ts occu rredd u r in g th e p a ram en s t ru u m , b u t 50 o f t h e p ass iv e p a r t i c ip an t s ' acc id en t s a l so o c -cu r red d u r in g th a t 8 -d ay cy c le p h ase . D a l to n p ro v id ed n o ex p lan a t io n fo r th i san o m alo u s f ind in g. I t i s n o t o b v io u s w h a t k in d o f med ia t in g f a c to r co u ld in c rease th ef req u en cy o f acc id en ts fo r p ass iv e p a r t i c ip an t s b es id es b ad lu ck - - a co n cep t D a l to nw o u ld p ro b ab ly b e r e lu c t an t t o en d o rse . T h e d a ta w o u ld , h o w ev er , f i t w i th th e a l t e r -n a t iv e h y p o th es i s t h a t t h e t r au m a o f t h e acc id en t an d h o sp i t a l i za t io n (w h ich sh o u lda f fec t ac t iv e an d p ass iv e p a r t i c ip an t s eq u a l ly ) i n d u ced ea r ly o n se t o f men s t ru a t io n .

T h e s tu d ies w h ich emp lo y e d co n cu r ren t ly co l lec t ed cy c le an d b eh a v io ra l d a t a a rea l so o p en to th e a l t e rn a t iv e ex p lan a t io n o f cy c les b e in g in f lu en ced b y b eh av io r an d i t sco n seq u en ces r a th e r t h an b eh av io r b e in g in f lu en ced b y cy c les. N o n e o f t h e au th o r srep o r t ed th e co n seq u en ces w h ich en su ed fo r t h e ru l e -b reak in g o r ag g ress iv e b eh av io r ,so th e p o ten t i a l fo r emo t io n a l s t r e s s i s n o t k n o w n . A l th o u g h th o se s tu d ies w erelo n g itu d in a l i n d es ig n , i n n e i th e r w as th e re an y an a ly s i s o f t h e cy c le p a t t e rn ( su ch asn o t i ceab le d ev ia t io n s f ro m reg u la r cy c les ) w h ich mig h t b e ab le to sh ed l ig h t o n th ed i r ec tio n o f cau sa t io n .

D I S C U S S I O NIn mak in g th e a rg u me n t th a t t h e p remen s t ru a l sy n d ro m e sh o u ld b e a d e fen se fo rw o m en accu sed o f c r imes , Wa l l ach an d R u b in (19 71 ) p u t g rea t emp h as i s o n th e

s tu d ies w h ich in d ica t ed th a t a t ce r t a in p h ases o f t h e m en s t ru a l cy c le th e re a re in-creases in cr iminal , aggress ive , and ru le-b reak ing behav io r . These s tud ies were c i tedas ev idence fo r the lack o f responsib i l i ty requ is i te to an insan i ty defense . The con-

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c lus ions r eached by Wal l ach and Rubin and t he va r ious r e sea rcher s a r e no tnecessa ri ly wrong , bu t t he y do appe ar t o be p rem ature . A t t he p resen t t ime , becauseof t he sm al l num ber o f s t ud ies r e l a t ing t o t h is qu es t ion (wi th on ly one s tudy dea l ingwi th ac tua l c r im ina l behav ior ) , because o f t he m e thodolog i ca l p rob l ems no t ed ea r l i e r ,and because o f t he equ ivoca l na tu re o f t he r e su l ts and i n t e rpre t a t ions , i t would seemunwise t o fu r the r c loud t h e a l r eady d i f f icu l t i s sue o f c r imina l r e spons ib i li ty w i th an ex-panded i nsan i t y de fense based on p remens t rua l t ens ion .W hen Oleck (1953) f ir s t sugges t ed such an i nsan i ty de fense he l am ented t he f ac tt ha t t he l ega l com m un i ty was so unwi l li ng to i ncorpo ra t e sc i en ti fi c fac t s i n to l ega lt h ink ing . T oda y we m ay o ccas iona l ly have t he oppo s i te p rob l em . As g rea t e r va lue hasbeen a t tac hed to g roun ding n ew laws or legal pr inciples in sc ient i f ic fac t , the c i ta t ionof empi r i ca l s tud i es by l ega l s cho la r s , by p rac t ic ing a t t o rneys , and even by Sup rem eCour t Jus t i ces has i nc reased . But somet imes t he zea l fo r i ncorpora t i ng sc i en t i f i cthoug ht i s g r ea t e r t han t he concern fo r d e t e rmin ing t he va l i d i ty o f t he s t ud i es i nvo lved.Ze i se l and Diamond (1974) d i scussed t h i s p rob l em in r e l a t i on t o Supreme Cour tdec i sions. In pa r t i cu l a r t hey desc r ibed t he case i n which t he Sup rem e Co ur t j us t if i edthe i r dec i s ion t o a l low s ix -mem ber j u r i e s by c i ti ng four s t ud i es which found no e f f ec to f u ry s ize on tr i a l r esu l ts . Ze i se l and Diam ond, how ever , po in t ed ou t se r i ous me thod-o log ica l p rob l ems which m ake t he con c lus ions o f a l l f our s t ud i es ve ry ques ti onab l e .The y sugges t ed t ha t c r i ti ca l p r esen t a t ion o f emp i r ica l s t ud ies i n cour t s by exper t s un-de r c ross - examina t i on m ay be t he bes t wa y to e nsure t ha t t he s t ud ies a r e approp r i a t e lyevaluated.The l egal com m uni ty i s obv ious ly no t so le ly r e spons ib l e fo r any prob l em of i nap-prop r ia te use o f em pir ica l s tudies . Th e con t ingencies re la t ing to pub l icat ion of sc ien-t if i c fi nd ings o f t en p rom ote p rem ature conc lus ions and d i scourage t he cau t i ous no t i ngof weaknesses in the research. Scient i s t s , as wel l as legal scholars , f requent ly c i ter esea rch conc lus ions wi thou t p rope r sc ru t i ny o f me thod olog i es and ac tua l r e su lt s . I ft he ba r r i e r s t o pub l i ca t ion o f nega ti ve re su l ts a r e a l so t ak en i n to acco unt , it ma y no tbe surpr i si ng t o f i nd t he l ega l com m uni ty accep t ing unsa t i s f ac to ry da t a . Cons ide rab l ecau t ion m us t s till be dem and ed of t ha t com m uni ty , however , because o f t he po t en-t ia l ly ser ious consequ ences of inco rpora t ing inval id empir ica l conclus ions into the law.In t he case o f a p rem ens t rua l sy ndro m e insan i t y de fense t he j us t i ce o f ind iv idua lt r ia l ou t com es m us t be co ns ide red as mu s t any gene ra l cos t s r e su lt i ng f rom an expan-s ion o f t he i nsan i t y de fense . But t he impl i ca t i ons o f i nappropr i a t e ly us ing t he em-p i ri ca l da t a ex t end even fu r the r . The imp ac t o f i ncorpora t i ng r ecogn i t ion o f th i s l inkbe tween behav ior and b io logy i n to t he l aw on g enera l a tt i tudes t ow ard wo me n mus ta l so be cons ide red . The l ack o f behav iora l con t ro l a t t r i bu t ed t o women a round thet ime o f mens t rua t i on has l ong been of f e r ed as a j us t i fi ca t i on fo r no t a l lowing wom enin pos i ti ons o f r e spons ib il it y . Lega l r ecog ni t i on o f t he l ack o f con t ro l concep t m ayof fe r suppor t t o t hose who would use i t a s g rounds fo r d i sc r imina t i on .I t is a lso imp or t an t t o no t e t ha t a num ber o f r e sea rcher s have sugges t ed t ha t t h en e g a ti v e a tt it u d e s s u r r o u n d i n g m e n s t r u a t io n m a y a c t u a ll y b e t h e p r i m a r y c a u s e o fwh atever prem ens t rual sym ptom s do exis t (Paige , 1971, 1973; Rub le , 1977; Shainess ,1961). Pe rhaps t he s t ronges t suppor t fo r a soc i a l in t e rpre t a t i on has been prov ided byRub le (1977) , who separa t ed wom en s ac tua l cyc le phases f rom the i r be l ie f s concern-ing t he ir cyc l e phases by g iv ing f a lse i n forma t ion abou t t he da t e o f nex t me ns t rua t i oninform at ion supposed ly ga ined t h roug h a n ew sc i en ti fi c t echn ique . She foun d tha t

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M E N S T R U A L C Y C L E S A N D C R I M I N A L R E S P O N S I B I L IT Y 35

wo m en w ho w ere to ld that the ir per iods we re due in 1 or 2 days scored s ign i f icant lyh igher on a menstrua l d istress quest ionnaire than those wo m en w ho were to ld theywere in mid cyc le , even though a l l were ac tua l ly tes ted abou t 1 we ek b efore the onset o fmenstruat ion .

Th e s o c ia l in te r p r e ta t io n o f p re m e n s t r u a l s y m p t o m o lo g y f o r c e s u s to c o n s id e r t h eposs ib i l i ty that o f f ic ia l recogni t ion o f a l ink between menstruat ion and cr imina lbehav ior may exacerbate the problem. Dal ton (1971) noted that in one pr ison womenwere o f fered the opportuni ty o f be ing locked up dur ing the ir premenstrua l o rmenstrua l phases i f they expec ted to have d i f f icu l ty in contro l l ing the ir behav ior a tthat t ime . T houg htfu l cons iderat ion should be g iven to the poss ib le impact o f suchstrateg ies on women's se l f -concepts regard ing respons ib i l i ty for the ir own behav ior .

The resu l ts o f the s tud ies rev iewed here should not , o f course , be ignored . Rather ,further research des igned to e l im inate as m any o f the problems d iscussed as poss ib leshould be conducted . Given the important po l i t ica l and lega l impl icat ions o f suchresearch , how ever , i t m ust be r igorous ly cond ucted , reported , and eva luated .

R E F E R E N C E SBenson, R. C. Handbook of Obstetrics and Gynecology. Los Angeles: Lan ge M edic al Publications, 1974.Bir tchnell , J . , Floyd , S. At temp ted suic ide and the men st rua l cycle - - a negat ive conclusion. Journal ofPsychosomatic Research 1974, 18, 361-369.Brakel, S. J. , Ro ck, R. S. (Eds.). The Mentally Disabled and the Law. Revised Edi tion. C hicago:Unive rsi ty of Chicago Press, 1971.Chiazze , L . , Brayer , F. T . , Macisco, J . J . , Parke r , M . P. , Duffy, B. J~ The length and var iabi l i ty of thehuman menst rua l cycle . The Journal of the American Medical Association 1968, 204, 6, 377-380.Cooke , W . R . Pre s iden ti a l address : The d i f f e ren ti a l p sycho logy o f the A mer i can w oman . American Journalof Obstetrics and Gynecology 1945, 49, 457-472.Cope, E . Dysfu nct ional bleeding. British Medical Journal 1971, 2, 631-632.Dal ton, K . Me nst rua t io n and acute psychia t ric i llnesses. British Medical Journal 1959, 1, 148-149.Dal ton, K. Effec t of menst rua t ion on school gi r l s ' weekly work. British Medical Journal 1960a, 1,326-328.Dal ton, K, M enst rua t ion and accidents . British Medical Journal 1960b, 2, 1425-1426.Dal ton, K . Schoo l gi r l s ' behavior and menst rua t ion. British Medical Journal 1960c, 2, 1647-1649.Da l ton , K. Mens t rua t i on and c r ime . British Medical Journal 1961, 2, 1752-1753.Dal ton, K. M enst rua t ion and examinations. The Lancet Dec. 28, 196 8, 1386-1388.Dal ton, K. The PremenstrualSyndrome. Springfield, IlL: C. C. Thomas, 1971.El li s , D. P. , Au st in , P. Me nst rua t ion an d aggressive behavior in a correc t ional center for women. TheJournal of Criminal Law Criminology and Police Science 1971, 62, 3, 388-395.Gudden, Die Zurechn ungsfah igkei t be i W arenhausdiebstahlen. Vierteljahrsschrift fidir gerichtliche Medizinund Offentliches Sanitgttswesen. D ri t te Folge , 33, Suppl ,, 1907, 66.Hea ly , W . The Individual Delinquent. Boston: L ittle, B rown, 1915, 632-633.Icard, S. La Femme Pendant la Periode Menstruelle. Paris: F e l ix Alcan, 1890, 136.Kaiser , I . H . Synchronizers of reproduc t ive funct ion in men and women. In M . Fer in , F. Halb er , R . M.

Richar t , R. L . Van de W iele (Eds.) , Biorhythms and Human Reproduction. New York : W i l ey ,1974.Kopel l, B. S. , Lunde, D. T . , Clayton , R. B. , M oos, R. H. Varia t ions in som e measu res of a rousa l dur ing

the menst rua l cycle . Journal of Nervous and Mental Disease 1969, 148, 180-187.Lom broso, C. , Ferrero , G. Das Weib als Verbrecherin and Prostituierte. t rans, by H. Kure l la . Hamburg:VerIagsansta l t and D ruckere i , A.G . , 1894, 364.M ackinnon , P. C. B. , M ackinno n, I . L . Haz ards of the men st rua l cycle . British Medical Journal 1956, 1,555.

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Fertility 1968, 13, 15-23.Ma tsumoto , S . , N ogam i , Y. , & Ohkur i , S . S ta t i s t ica l s tud ies on m ens t rua t ion : A cr it ic i sm on the def in i tiono f n o rm a l m en s t ru a ti o n . The Gunma Journal o f Medical Sciences 1962, 11, 294-318.M a t s u m o t o , S . , T h o m a , K . , Ku b o , H . , W a t an ab e , M . , H o s ak a , H . , & U t s u n o , A . E n v i ro n m en t a lm enstr ual disorders . The Gunma Journal o f Medical Sciences 1965, 14, 1-15.McC l in tock , M. K. M ens t rua l synchrony and suppress ion . Nature 1971, 229, 244-245.

Mo rton , J . H. , A dd i ton , H. , Ad d ison , R . G. , H un t , L . , & Su l l ivan , J . J . A c lin ica l s tudy o f p remens t rua ltens ion . American Journal of Obstetrics and Gynecology 1953, 65, 1182-1191.O 'Co nno r, J . F. , Shelley, E. M., & Stern, L. O. Behavioral rhythm s related to the me nstrua l cycle. In M .Fer in , F . H alberg , R . M. Richar t , & R. L . Vande Wiele (Eds. ), Biorhythms and Human Reproduc-tion. New York: Wiley, 1974.Oleck, H . L. Legal aspects of preme nstrura l [s ic] tension. International Record o f Medicine and G . P.Clinics 1953, 162 , 492-501.Paige, K . E. Effects of oral contraceptives on affective fluctuat ion s associated with the m enstrua l cycle.Psychosomatic Medicine 1971, 33, 515-537.Paige, K. E. W om en learn to s ing the m enstru al blues. Psychology Today 1973, 7 , 41 -47.Parlee, M . The prem enstrua l syndrome. Psychological Bulletin 1973, 80 ,454 -465 .Ruble , D. N. Prem ens t rua l symptoms: A re in terp re ta t ion . Science 1977, 197 , 291-292.Shainess , N . A re-evalua t ion o f some aspects o f femin i ty th rough a s tudy o f mens t rua t ion : A p re l iminaryreport . Comparative Psychiatry 1961, 2, 20-26.

Simon , R . J . The con temporary woman and cr ime. Crime and Delinquency Issues. W ashing ton , D.C. :Nat ional Ins t i tu te o f Menta l Heal th , 1975 .Sm ith, A. J . M ens trua t ion and indus trial efficiency. I . Absenteeism and act ivi ty level . Journal o f Appl iedPsychology 1950a, 34 , 1 -5.Smi th , A . J . M ens t rua t ion and indus t r ia l e f fic iency. I I . Qual i ty and q uan t i ty o f p roduct ion . Journal ofApplied Psychology 1950b, 34, 148-152.Suthe rland, H., & Stewart , I . A crit ical analysis of the prem enstrua l syndrom e. The Lancet Jun e 5, 1965,1 1 8 0 1 1 8 3 .Wallach, A ., & R ubin , L. The pre me nstrual syndrom e and crim inal responsibil i ty . UCLA Law Review1971, 19, 209-312.W ickham , M. The effect of the men strual cycle on test performance. British Journal o f Psychology 1958,49, 34-41.Zeise l, H . , & D iamond , S . S , Con v incing empi r ica l ev idence on the s ix membe r ju ry . The University ofChicago Law Review 1974, 41, 281-295.