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  • Essay / "Jacob syndrome" – Xyy genotype

    Although the XXY karyotype has been associated with certain forms of criminality (Stockholm et al., 2012), most studies have instead focused on individuals carrying the XYY mutation or "supermale", in which males have an extra Y chromosome. In turn, males will possess 47 chromosomes instead of the normal 46, this may be due to inaccuracies during cell division (Robinson & Jacobs, 1999). Affecting 1 in 1,000 male newborns, the XXY genotype is rare and was first reported in 1961, when a man was found to carry the gene after fathering a child with Down syndrome. Following this, there was an increase in reports among men between 1961 and 1965, but only a few were actually reported to carry the gene. Conventionally, these men are very tall (. taller than 6 feet) and suffer from poor coordination, high testosterone levels, severe facial acne, and very low IQ, otherwise they appear normal. Say no to plagiarism. Get a tailor-made essay on "Why Violent Video Games Should Not Be Banned"? Get the original essay In 1966, criminal law gave rise to controversy when it was discovered that Richard Speck, convicted of the murder of eight nurses in Chicago, also had the extra Y chromosome. However, subsequent appeals were not upheld by a court and he was sentenced to death (Horan, 1992). A number of other later cases showed a similar result, because even though they had the XXY carotype and pleaded insanity, this was however not considered admissible in court (Bartholamew and Sunderland, 1966; Saxe, 1970). The most commonly recognized characteristic in the literature is that individuals with the XXY defect have "low" intelligence and have a greater tendency to commit crimes. Another frequently observed characteristic among offenders is that they are always predominantly tall, but this alone cannot be used to explain offender behavior. Thus, combined, they can describe a casual link between offender phenotypes (Horan, 1992). This paints a frightening picture, in which men of larger stature and lower intelligence levels are stereotypically linked to crime and are at higher risk of imprisonment due to bias from law enforcement and perhaps be fear (Hunter, 1966). Jacob syndrome has been widely associated with behavioral problems, leading geneticists to assume that they will lead to a life of aggression, which is not always the case but can be quite common. Studies show that those with behavioral disorders tend to be unstable, care little about their actions, show little emotional response, little empathy and compassion toward others, and outbursts of aggression are frequently observed ( Price & Whatmore, 1967). Furthermore, when socio-economic parameters are taken into account, the characteristics of XYY karyotypes are found to be much closer to those of controls (Stockholm et al., 2012). Although some studies have suggested a link between this genotype and aggression, the majority of studies have refuted this hypothesis, with only mild episodes of antisocial behavior observed in larger populations (Götz, Johnstone and Ratcliffe , 1999). Overall, it can be argued that the majority of demographics viewed are relatively biased, with individuals with certain phenotypic characteristics, for example height and IQ levels, being targeted. Many studies have also not taken into account the instability.