Harvard, MIT Scientists Blast Boston Study of Male Genes

A group of Harvard and MIT scientists yesterday called for an end to a chromosome study of males born at Boston Lying-In Hospital, conducted by Dr. Stanley Walzer, a child psychiatrist at the Harvard Medical School.

The scientists are protesting the study, which examines males with an extra Y chromosome for behavioral problems, because parents' knowledge of the abnormality may cause them to induce the aggressive or criminal behavior often attributed to the extra chromosome, Jonathan R. Beckwith, professor of microbiology and molecular genetics at Harvard Medical School, said yesterday.

"This study has no potential good," said Beckwith. "To suggest that an extra Y chromosome causes criminal behavior is absurd."

He said the theory first appeared in 1965 when Patricia Jacobs found a higher than expected number of XYY males in a Scotch institution for the criminally insane. He said the idea spread when Richard Speck killed eight student nurses in Chicago in 1966, and the press incorrectly reported that he was XYY.

The number of XYY males in mentalpenal institutions is "a very small number" of the estimated 100,000 XYY males in this country, he said.

Beckwith said Walzer is using "subtle correction" to make parents participate in the study and may be violating HEW guidelines on informed consent in human experimentation. He said the hospital tells parents the the procedure is routine and asks them to sign a consent form. If the child is XYY, the parents receive a letter from Dr. Walzer offering help and Beckwith said "it is difficult for them to refuse."

Social Conditions

Beckwith said environment, social and economic factors affect a person's chances of being institutionalized. He said this study is one of several recent studies that "tries to explain away problems by genes and distract attention from social conditions that cause problems."

The scientists have brought their complaint to the Harvard Medical School Committee on Medical Research, which held a closed hearing on October 4.

Beckwith said he did not know when the committee would make a decision about the complaint.

He said he feels the hospital should temporarily suspend the testing procedure, but, he said, some people may feel that this is a threat to academic freedom.

Walzer was not available for comment yesterday.