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Sixty addicts were studied at Fort McClellan. Forty-one cases were seen because of behavior problems rather than for primary drug addiction. Narcissistic tendencies were dominant in nearly all. 'The common story of these men was that the army failed to understand them, and there was a childish, sullen resentment to regulations and discipline.' There was a remarkably high proportion of Negroes among these soldiers, of whom fifty-one percent came from undesirable home environments. No less than sixty-three percent came from broken homes, in sixty-eight percent the personality of the father was marked by outstandingly undesirable traits, while sixty percent had mothers who imposed strict standards of morality reinforced by severe punishment. The authors suggest that 'parental strife, resulting from the opposing characteristics of father and mother, laid the foundation for inner conflict in their sons'.
Psychopathic traits in childhood were common, as were poor records of school and work adjustment. Delinquent and criminal behavior were prevalent but were attributed to the underlying personalities and not the drug addiction. The addicts preferred the society of their own kind, showing polymorphous perverse sexual activities and recognized each other by a jargon of which interesting samples are given. None of the men had any desire to be cured.