CRIMINAL SCIENCE MONOGRAPH N° 3 PERCY GAMBLE KAMMERER THE UNMARK1ED MOTHER. A STUDY OF FIVE HUNDRED CASES THE UNMARRIED MOTHER " Since it is theory, then, which gives to facts their value and significance, it is often very useful even if it is in part untrue; for it throws light on phenomena to which no one had paid attention, it forces us to ex- amine from various angles facts which no one had been studying and impels us to undertake investigations of wider scope, destined to have more fruitful results." Guglielmo Ferrero, " Les Lois Psychologiques du Symbolism#" Paris, 1895. CRIMINAL SCIENCE MONOGRAPH No. 3 Supplement to the Journal of THE AMERICAN INSTITUTE OF CRIMINAL LAW AND CRIMINOLOGY THE UNMARRIED MOTHER A STUDY OF FIVE HUNDRED CASES BY PERCY GAMBLE KAMMERER With an Introduction by WILLIAM HEALY, M.D. BOSTON LITTLE, BROWN, AND COMPANY 1918 Copyright, 1918, By Little, Brown, and Company. AU rights reserved. Published, January, 1918 Nortooob Ipress Set up and electrotyped by J. S. Cushing Co., Norwood, Mass., U.S.A. Presswork by S. J. Parkhill & Co., Boston, Mass., U.S.A. EDITH N. BURLEIGH SUPERINTENDENT OP THE GIRLS* PAROLE BOARD OP THE MASSACHUSETTS TRAINING SCHOOLS EDITORIAL ANNOUNCEMENT The rapid development of criminological research in this country since the organization of the American Institute of Criminal Law and Criminology, has made a place in America for this series of Criminal Science Monographs. Their publica- tion is authorized by the American Institute of Criminal Law and Criminology. They appear as supplements to the Journal of the Institute. We believe the present number will satisfy a real need in America. ROBERT H. GAULT, Editor o/| the Journal of Criminal Law and Criminology. FREDERIC B. CROSSLEY, Northwestern University. JAMES W. GARNER, University of Illinois. HORACE SECRIST, Northwestern University. H. C. STEVENS, University of Chicago. WILLIAM HEALY, Judge Baker Foundation, Boston. •, Committee on Publications of the American In- stitute of Crim- inal Law and Criminology. INTRODUCTION Consideration of the problems of illegitimacy is always important for civilization, but not in many a generation has discussion of the whole subject been so timely as at present. Even before the great war new interest in these problems was being manifested, awakened largely, we may be glad to note, as part of the forward development of common-sense social consciousness. Now the nations will most unwontedly have to face, in a very literal sense, the living issues of unlegiti- matized sexual union. In some countries foreseeable exigencies may even cause such production of offspring to be encouraged. In order better to meet the ordinary situation and also this unusual problem due to military conditions, we particularly need the real facts about illegitimacy as it has existed with us and elsewhere, and to know for comparison the various laws and customs concerning treatment of "illegitimate parents" and their children. One of the best women I know, best in ideals and in family life with her children, has for years been thinking earnestly and well about illegitimacy. She finds that, first of all, the ramifications of the problem must be brought into the full daylight of thoughtful consideration. Who are these un- married mothers; what are they mentally, socially, physically; what becomes of them; what are the traits of their offspring, and how do they flourish, and whither do they tend ? To ful- fill a large part of these requirements for more facts we now have by Mr. Kammerer this study of collected field data. When I saw the great gathering of records that forms the basis of the present volume and from which the five hundred cases for analysis have been selected, it seemed to me that for IX X INTRODUCTION the first time we might have in the literature on illegitimacy a trustworthy statement of personalities and life histories that would go far toward setting us right concerning types and cir- cumstances. It is well enough to have general principles and outlooks, but there is a keen perception of the value of specific knowledge among those who look forward to greater activities in the field of applied ethics, and here was opportunity for a solidly based study of grouped facts. From years of experience during which considerable numbers of illegitimate children have been brought to our attention, I am inclined to strongly discount Mr. Kammerer's modest doubt concerning the entirely representative character of the groups from which his data are obtained. The point that he himself makes, namely, that in other social circles and in other grades of intelligence means are found for preventing unlawful child bearing, sufficiently explains the fact that nearly all the illegitimate children one ever comes to know about anywhere (and professional men learn family secrets pretty thoroughly) have passed through the hands of public and private agencies. Most unwedded mothers, then, may be fairly considered as belonging to just such groups as are studied in this book. Through initiation of the most important of biological pro- cesses, the question of misconduct involved in conception outside the bounds of legal marriage is to be taken up apart from all other forms of delinquency. What may we think of punishment or even of neglect of the unmarried mother when we contemplate the essential fact that, whereas most infrac- tion of laws coincides with destructive results, here we have a law-breaker as a constructive agent, giving as concrete evidence of her "misbehavior" nature's highest product, a human being. She becomes truly an object of great concern for us. But in thinking of the mother as parent let us not for a minute overestimate the part that she plays in the original affair and its outcome. The father's sliding easily out of sight, as he so often readily does, is not flattering to the sense of honor in men, but laws can be made to cope somewhat with that cowardly proceeding. What lovers of fair-minded truth should keep INTRODUCTION XI in mind in deciding moral, apart from legal, responsibility is the part that the man plays in temptation or persuasion. And then even though the father and the father's family be unknown or out of sight, the fact that the father half endows the offspring with mental and physical qualities to be passed on further into posterity is not fairly to be forgotten. Appreciation of variations in regulations concerning illegiti- macy and even in definitions of what constitutes bastardy may be obtained from the many pages of history which show how customs have differed from time to time. Very instruc- tive it is, for example, to read of the conditions in Athens under Pericles when the legitimate child was defined, not only as one born of legally united parents, but also as one born with both parents Athenians. This was one of the laws of Pericles, and we are told that he once ordered five thousand bastards, thus defined, to be sold as slaves. But when it came to the question of his son by Aspasia, who was not his lawful wife, a boy who as a bastard had no right to citizenship, Pericles had the law set aside as an exception. Or in thinking of the stigma that now is attached in great measure to the child born out of ordinary wedlock, let us remember William the Con- queror, who proudly styled himself Willelmus, cognomento Batardus. But, it may be suggested, as a point of interest for those furthering new legal provisions for illegitimate children, that perhaps William could afford to be satisfied with his appel- lation, since he had inherited his father's dominions. So it has gone and undoubtedly will continue to go - there are great divergencies in individual, local, and national con- siderations anent illegitimacy. Grave concern is naturally felt about the egregious maladjustments of our own present slipshod lack of method, but doubts speedily arise in regard to any proposed systematic revisions of the legal code. The thoroughgoing student already spoken of, after becoming acquainted well with conditions here, in France, and in Ger- many, took the trouble to visit Castberg, the originator of the remarkable reform law concerning children born out of wedlock, which went into operation in Norway last year. She asked, XII INTRODUCTION "Are you not lowering the standards of ethics for women and are you not eliminating the family as the unit of society?" "The old Viking shook back his hair and brought his fist down on the table and said to me, 'No, absolutely no. That is nature, the love of the man and the woman to care for their own child - you cannot break that up.'" Notwithstanding its excep- tions which we all know only too well, Castberg trusts a funda- mental law of life that we also must not forget. After all, the one vital fact that is really the greatest concern of society regarding illegitimacy is the illegitimate child: a child that is fashioned the same as the rest of us, that bears no mark of nature's ill favor, that develops according to all the biological and psychological laws that control humanity in general, giving no more and no less response to ill treatment, reacting viciously only according to the same causes that operate in general. A society that does not properly care for this in- dividual, born or unborn, callously sins against its own moral and physical welfare. To prevent the disastrous stigmatization of the so-called illegitimate child or to prevent in the fullest possible measure this anomalous social phenomenon of illegitimacy, when nature and civilization are clearly at outs, we must inevitably turn to the deeper consideration of causes. William Healy. Boston, October, 1917. PREFACE After every period of fruitful effort there comes the moment for thanksgiving. The harvest is gathered and now stands ready for specific use. Blind indeed is that laborer who does not know that he has added but little to the world's life- giving goods, and yet is not grateful to all who have helped him in his task. There lie under my hand to-day cold abstracts of many lives which stress and passion have led to mistaken ends, in which the reader may more readily perceive the element of tragedy than the note of hope. Should the following pages, however, do anything to better the condition of the unmarried mother and her child, it will be due to the help which these unfortunate women have here procured for others of their sex. The most casual reader will recognize my indebtedness to Doctor Healy, without whom this material concerning the unmarried mother could never have been presented in its present form. His inspiration and guidance, particularly in regard to the chapter on "Mental Abnormality", has been a constant help. Most stimulating in their cooperation have been Miss Edith N. Burleigh, Superintendent of the Girls' Parole Board of the Massachusetts Training Schools, and Mrs. Jessie D. Hodder of the Massachusetts Reformatory for Women at Sher- born. My thanks are also due to Doctor C. C. Carstens, General Secretary of the Massachusetts Society for the Preven- tion of Cruelty to Children, to Mr. J. Prentiss Murphy, of the Children's Aid Society of Boston, to Mrs. Ada E. Sheffield, formerly President of the Boston Conference on Illegitimacy, and to many others whose counsel and assistance has been invaluable. XIII XIV PREFACE Particularly should my gratitude to Mrs. Bess L. Russell, formerly of the Massachusetts General Hospital, find expression here. For seven months she was my constant assistant in the preparation of this material and her sympathetic under- standing of the unmarried mother has vitalized the following pages. PERCY G. KAMMERER. St. Stephen's House, Boston. June 15, 1917. contents CHAPTER PAGE Editorial Announcement vii Introduction by William Healy, M.D. . . . ix Preface I Introductory II Working Methods III Bad Environment IV Bad Companions V Recreational Disadvantages 67 VI Educational Disadvantages 77 VII Bad Home Conditions 102 VHI Early Sex Experience 178 IX Heredity .181 X Abnormal Physical Condition 183 XI Sexual Suggestibility 195 XII Sexually Suggestible by One Individual . . 203 XIII Abnormal Sexualism 211 XIV Mental Conflict ....... 215 XV Assault, Incest and Rape 222 XVI Mental Abnormality 229 XVII The Unmarried Mother in Various Communities 265 XVIII Conclusions 284 Appendix "A" Statistics 319 Appendix "B" Suggested Legislation 331 References Index 339 XV THE UNMARRIED MOTHER CHAPTER I Introductory The problem - Distribution by nationality - Comparative tables - Distribution according to religious belief - Comparative tables - Illegitimacy and infant mortality - Illegitimacy and crime - Disposition of illegitimate children - Community responsibility - Conclusions. The Problem. There are two angles from which one may view the problem of the Unmarried Mother. The first deals with those causes both innate and external, as a result of which a girl or woman gives birth to a child outside of lawful wedlock. The second concerns the question of the mother's relationship to her offspring, involving, as it does, her status before the law and the State's interest in the upbringing of her illegitimate child. The greatest part of the following study will deal with the former aspect of the problem in an attempt to estimate by an inductive method those conditions which may be con- sidered as causative factors in the pregnancy of an unmarried woman. To gain perspective, however, it will be necessary to review briefly the nature and the extent of the whole problem of illegitimacy in order to understand the position of the indi- vidual mother in relation to this instance of social maladjust- ment. The word " illegitimacy " is obviously derived from the Latin " illegitimus " meaning " not in accordance with law " and hence born out of lawful wedlock, thus implying the state of being of illegitimate birth. There have been illegitimate 1 2 THE UNMARRIED MOTHER children since there have been marriage laws. This phenom- enon is one which varies to such an extent in different localities that it is extremely doubtful whether or not it may be con- sidered a guide to the sexual morality of the section under consideration. It becomes less possible for us to view the rate of illegitimacy as an indicator of the state of sex ethics when one remembers that an illegitimate birth is the result of an un- lawful sex act, but that many such acts do not result in ille- gitimate births. The rate of illegitimacy in a community is based largely upon births among a more ignorant group of the population, and no accurate estimate can be secured which would indicate the sexual ethics of those who are intelligent enough to rob the sex act of its normal results. A further qualification becomes necessary when one realizes that the illegitimacy rate is rarely ever accurate, particularly in the United States. A certain group of the population, furthermore, is possessed of sufficient means to enable them to secure abortions which again prevent the registration of their illicit sex intercourse from the pages of the birth regis- ter. It would be folly to attempt to compare the situation existing in various countries without a thorough knowledge of the social, climatic, and racial differences existing between those countries, as well as of the distribution of unmarried men and of women capable of bearing children within the various communities investigated. No study has yet been made which would justify any generalizations, and the problem remains so complex that comparison reveals but little from which it is possible to draw conclusions. No matter how difficult the problem is, however, it yet demands solution. Within almost every social group this evidence of the breakdown of the institution of marriage is producing suffering and preventing normal social adjustment. The unmarried mother may be found wherever there are men and women - sometimes ostracized by the community in which she lives and often tolerated. Regardless of the attitude of society towards her, there can be no doubt but that she represents a direct cost to the community, that she is pre- INTRODUCTORY 3 vented from much that the more fortunate woman is enabled to accomplish, and that she constitutes in many instances a source of moral contamination in the environment in which she lives. No one who reads the chapter on " Mental Abnor- mality " can fail to recognize not only the personal tragedies involved in the lives of hundreds of girls and women, but the appalling cost in health and efficiency which the unmarried mother occasions. Of yet greater importance is the problem of the illegitimate child. He is handicapped in life even before birth. Born into a situation made difficult by the attitude of society, his chances of normal development are minimized and his opportunity for physical well-being lessened. Regard- less of the attitude towards the mother, there can be only one sane point of view towards the child. It is manifestly unjust to throw upon any individual the burden which the illegitimate child bears, and it is flagrantly shortsighted for the State to create criminals and prostitutes by its social attitude in a mis- taken attempt to solve the problem of sexual morals in this manner. It is in the belief that enlightened public opinion may in time see fit to modify the community attitude towards the unmarried mother and her child that the following pages are written. Distribution by Nationalities and Cities. In order to present the problem of illegitimacy as it exists in various countries, it will be necessary to draw upon statistical material. The table on the following page is submitted from Professor Ingram's article on " Illegitimacy " in the eleventh edition of the En- cyclopaedia Britannica.1 Professor Ingram further draws attention to the generally accepted idea that the inhabitants of the warmer countries of southern Europe are proverbially more ardent in tempera- ment, with the remark that this is a surmise which finds but little support in the following table, according to which the illegitimacy rate of Sweden and Denmark, for instance, is higher than that of Spain and Italy. 1 Encyclopaedia Britannica, Eleventh Edition. Art. "Illegitimacy." 4 THE UNMARRIED MOTHER Illegitimate Births per 1000 Births (excluding Stillborn) TABLE I 1876- 1880 1881- 1885 1886- 1890 1891- 1895 1896- 1900 1901- 1905 England and Wales 48 48 46 42 41 40 Scotland 85 83 81 74 68 64 Ireland 24 27 28 36 36 26 Denmark 101 100 95 94 96 101 Norway 84 81 75 71 74 - Sweden 100 102 103 105 113 - Finland 73 70 65 65 66 - Russia 28 27 27 27 27 Austria 138 145 147 146 141 - Hungary 73 79 82 85 90 94 Switzerland .... 47 48 47 46 45 - Germany 87 92 92 91 90 84 Netherlands .... 31 30 32 31 27 23 Belgium 74 82 87 88 80 68 France 72 78 83 87 88 88 Portugal - - 123 122 121 - Spain - - - - 49 44 Italy 72 76 74 69 62 56 New So. W'ales . . . 42 44 49 60 69 70 Victoria 43 46 49 60 69 70 Queensland .... 39 41 44 48 59 65 So. Australia .... - 22 25 30 38 41 WT. Australia .... - - - 48 51 42 Tasmania - 44 38 46 57 - New Zealand . . . 23 29 32 38 44 45 Ingram also claims that it is probable that in those countries where the standard of living is low, with resulting early mar- riages, the illegitimate birth rate will be correspondingly low. To this must be added the surprising fact that in those countries in Europe where the elementary education is good, the rate of illegitimacy is high, whereas in the more illiterate sections, such as Ireland and Britanny, it is low. It should be kept in mind, however, that there may be other causes affecting the rate in these latter countries. Statistics for London, furthermore, clearly disprove the belief that poverty is a determining factor in this problem. The figures here given indicate that the poorer INTRODUCTORY 5 parts of London have a lower illegitimacy rate than have other well-to-do sections.1 TABLE II Rate of Illegitimacy per 1000 Births London 1901 1903 1905 1907 Stepney 12 9 18 10 Bethnal Green 13 15 13 11 Mile End Old Town 15 13 16 15 Whitechapel 22 24 19 19 St. George's Hanover Square . . 40 45 45 45 Kensington 48 44 49 54 Fulham 43 42 45 40 Marylebone 182 186 198 182 Returning to the question of distribution by nationality the fluctuation in the number of illegitimate births per thou- sand births may be noted in the following table :2 TABLE III Per 1000 Births 1861-1870 1891-1900 Germany 115 91 Austria 176 145 Hungary 74 88 Italy 55 66 France 78 90 England 61 42 Scotland 98 71 Ireland 33 16 Switzerland 54 47 Belgium 73 84 Netherlands 39 30 Sweden 97 110 Norway 83 73 Denmark 112 96 1 Encyclopaedia Britannica, Eleventh Edition. Art. "Illegitimacy." 2 "Handbuch des Kinderschutzes und der Jugendftirsorge ", Heller-Schiller- Taube. Leipzig, 1911. 6 THE UNMARRIED MOTHER The figures for American cities cover only part of the coun- try, since, owing to our backwardness in the registration of vital statistics, only about two thirds of the United States has anything like an accurate system of birth registration. Mangold and Essex 1 give the following figures for various American States and cities, making, however, no attempt to estimate the ratio of illegitimate births to the number of unmarried women and widows of child-bearing age : TABLE IV Illegitimacy in Various Cities and States Year City or State Total Births Illegitimate Births Total Ratio to All Births 1910 Detroit 12,662 383 3.03 per cent 1912 Milwaukee .... 12,172 303 2.48 1910 2 Cleveland .... 13,596 273 2.01 1911 Washington /p j ° [ Colored 4,943 2,524 105 557 2.1 22.1 1911-1913 Average G. T . /White Colored . 14,234 844 555 143 3.9 16.9 per year 1910 Michigan .... 66,313 1,054 1.6 1912 Wisconsin .... 54,493 841 1.54 1912 2 Ohio 85,679 1,646 1.92 According to an investigation made recently in Boston,3 one finds an interesting indication of the unreliability exist- ing in American statistical methods and a warning against too close a comparison with foreign illegitimacy rates. Here the names of forty-one illegitimate children were found on the death registry which were not included in the registry of births, three of these being cases in which physicians had failed to submit the required information. From the study just quoted it is possible to secure a comparison between Boston and certain other cities in the following table: 1 Mangold and Essex: "Illegitimate Births in St. Louis, No. 4." Reports of Social Investigation. Washington University, St. Louis, 1914. 2 Excluding stillbirths. 8 "Studies of the Boston Conference on Illegitimacy", September, 1914. INTRODUCTORY 7 TABLE V Illegitimacy in Various Cities For Year 1910 City Popula- tion No. OF Births Number of Illegitimate Births Per Cent of Illegitimacy Boston 670,585 17,786 673 3.783 St. Louis 687,029 15,368 Manchester, England . . . - 19,213 764 3.976 For Year 1913 Boston 735,399 19,241 824 4.459 St. Louis 750,000 15,012 712 4.742 Manchester, England . . . - 19,052 769 4.036 According to Moore,1 the situation in Chicago is a grave one as far as the registration of illegitimate births is concerned. After correcting the reports of the Bureau of Vital Statistics the author found that out of a group of 590 cases, 148 had escaped registration in the bureau referred to. Taking into consideration the acknowledged illegitimate births among fifteen institutions, a rough estimate would place the number in Chicago at 1350, to which Moore says must be added those cared for at other hospitals, and those children born to women who, on account of wealth and position, were able to shield them- selves from public knowledge. A careful computation would thus place the annual number of illegitimate births at more than two thousand, and probably nearer to three thousand. From the figures quoted above, it should be possible for the reader to gain an idea of the wide variation in the illegitimacy rates of different countries and of the need of adequate regis- tration in order that it may be possible to recognize the extent of the problem in the United States. Distribution According to Religious Belief. One must be very careful in making an attempt to estimate the influence 1 Moore, Howard : "The Care of Illegitimate Children in Chicago." 8 THE UNMARRIED MOTHER of a particular religious creed upon the number of illegitimate births. It is probable that no definite faith exerts a telling influence when viewed as a causative factor in illegitimacy. The question is less that of determining the belief of a girl or woman, than how closely she is in touch with the religious organization in which she believes. Partisan writers will, of course, seek to prove that their particular faith exerts an influ- ence upon illegitimacy. One Roman Catholic author for instance holds that " the higher the rate of illegitimacy in any given section of Germany, the more exclusively Protestant is that community " 1 and in support of this statement he submits the following table : TABLE VI Out of 1000 Births in Prussia Protestant Mothers Roman Catholic Mothers Other Christians Jewish 1875-1880 10.11 6.33 2.98 2.85 1881-1885 10.81 6.99 3.11 2.81 1886-1890 10.68 7.01 2.73 2.82 1891-1895 10.36 6.78 2.16 3.03 1896-1900 10.54 6.48 2.57 3.60 Rost quotes Theilhaber in commenting on the low figures found among the Jews, as convinced that this is owing to the fact that the Prussian Jews are ordinarily in good economic cir- cumstances, and that their daughters have little to do with fac- tories or domestic service. Furthermore, Jewish women are pro- tected by the custom among Jewish men of seeking Gentile women for acts of illicit intercourse, due to the high respect in which they hold the women of their own race. In further support of the supposed influence of the kind of religious belief on the rate of illegitimacy, Forberger 2 main- 1 Rost: "BeitrSge zur Moralstatistik ", Paderborn, 1913. 2Forberger: "Moralstatistik Stiddeutschlands", Berlin, 1914. INTRODUCTORY 9 tains that the influence of creed is demonstrated in Catholic South Germany where the illegitimate births in relation to the number of the population have decreased by one half since 1871. Guillaume,1 on the other hand, shows that among the 505 inmates of correctional institutions in Berne during the year 1892, the distribution according to religion was practically equal. TABLE VII Religious Distribution among 505 Inmates of Institutions, Berne, 1892 Population Punished Per 10,000 Popu- lation Protestants 466,785 473 10.13 Catholic 67,087 69 10.28 TABLE VIII Educational Qualifications among 100 Convictions in Berne Education Legitimate Illegitimate Good 26 5 Defective 52 74 Bad 21 21 Unknown 1 - The probability is that a statistical study of various com- munities would reveal great changes of the illegitimacy rate in sections of the same religious belief, and that no specific creed can be said to possess a markedly deterrent force upon the illegitimate birth rate. We are here interested merely in the distribution according to religious belief, and we assume no causal relationship whatever between a given birth rate and a particular faith. Illegitimacy and Infant Mortality. The incidence of the problem of illegitimacy becomes apparent when we recognize Guillaume: "Journal de Statistique Suisse", Berne, 1893. 10 THE UNMARRIED MOTHER the unusually high infant mortality to be found everywhere among illegitimate children. Among the various causes, many of them preventable, the attitude of society towards a child born out of wedlock is a potent contributing factor to the high rate of mortality. In Germany a comparison of the mortality rate of the legit- imate and illegitimate children over a period of years reveals the following figures :1 TABLE IX Mortality Rate among Legitimate and Illegitimate Children Legitimate Illegitimate 1901 19.4 33.9 1902 17.3 29.3 1903 19.3 32.7 1904 18.6 31.4 1905 19.4 32.6 1906 17.5 29.4 1907 16.6 28.0 1908 16.8 28.5 1909 16.0 26.8 1910 15.2 25.7 In 1893 there died for every legitimate child which died In Frankfurt 2.33 illegitimate children Hamburg 2.17 Breslau 1.40 Leipzig 1.54 Munchen 1.06 The preponderant death rate among illegitimate children in England is shown by the following table :2 1 "Zeitschrift fiir Sexualwissenschaft", Bonn, October, 1915. 2 Blagg, H. M.: "Statistical Analysis of Infant Mortality and Its Causes in the United Kingdom." INTRODUCTORY 11 TABLE X Deaths per 1000 Births of Each Kind Illegitimate Legitimate Brighton, 1908 202 97 Lester, average 1901-1904 305 158 " " 1905-1908 357 135 The foreign situation is further indicated by Tugendreich,1 who draws attention to the fact that there died TABLE XI Per 100 Births of Each Kind Year Legitimate Illegitimate In Germany 1903 19.3 32.7 1904 18.6 31.4 1905 19.4 32.6 1906 17.5 29.4 In Prussia 18.4 33.7 In Posen 19.7 40.0 According to Tugendreich the deferred and insufficient regulation of the child's diet, the frequent inability on the part of the father to provide the means of support, the not uncommon indifference on the part of the mother, towards her child's welfare, and the necessity on her part of placing the child in cheap care successfully to meet the expense of its support, are the chief causes for the high mortality rates among illegitimate children. That the method of child nurture plays a large part in the death rate is indicated by the fact that in the province of Bavaria the difference in the death rate between legitimate and illegitimate children, when both were artificially nourished, amounted to only 2.4 per cent. 1 Tugendreich: "Die Mutter und Sauglingsfiirsorge ", 1910. 12 THE UNMARRIED MOTHER Referring to the methods in use, Spann1 designates as most unsatisfactory that by which the child is taken care of by strangers, and as the next most unsatisfactory that in which the mother takes care of her child alone. Better than either of these is the situation in which the child remains with its relatives without its mother. The most favorable of all conditions is that in which the mother cares for her child her- self, living at the same time with her relatives. That child who is fortunate enough to be cared for among his own relatives, has the greatest chance of growing up in a stable environment. As a result of a study made in Boston,2 there were, according to the City Registry, 11,832 deaths in Boston during the year 1913, 96 of these being those of illegitimate children born within the year. To this should be added nine infants whose names were not on the Registry of Deaths, but whom agencies knew to have died outside of the State. According to this calcula- tion the deaths among illegitimate children amounted to approximately 12.25 per cent of the number of illegitimates born in 1914. The Boston investigation indicates that the percentage would have been higher had it been computed so as to include December 31, 1914, by which date every child born in the year 1913 would have been at least one year old. The figures here quoted refer only to those children whose death occurred before December 31, 1913, and out of this number of ninety-six none seemed to have reached the age of one year, only one lived to be eight months old, and fifty-six died before the end of their second month. It is worth noting in this con- nection that the relation between illegitimacy and still birth is vital. Mangold and Essex 3 state that in Washington, D.C., illegitimate births are twice as numerous among the still births as among the living births, whereas in Ohio their frequency is about two and one half times as great. According to them the ratio in St. Louis is about two to one. 1 Spann, O.: "Die Unehelichen Mtindel des Vormundschaftsgerichtes in Frankfurt am Main" and "Die Lage und das Schicksal der Unehelichen Kinder." 2 "Studies of the Boston Conference on Illegitimacy", September, 1914. 3 Mangold and Essex: "Illegitimate Births in St. Louis", St. Louis, 1914. INTRODUCTORY 13 From the preceding paragraphs one can deduce a causal con- nection between illegitimacy and infant mortality. The illegit- imate child has less chance of life, not because of any inherent weakness which he may possess but on account of the peculiar social environment into which he and his mother fall. It is evident that the cost of illegitimacy estimated solely in terms of infant mortality constitutes a heavy burden upon the race. Illegitimacy and Crime. Not only does the problem seem particularly grave because of the great wastage due to the high mortality rate among the illegitimate children, but there is evidence that such a child is more likely to become a criminal or a prostitute than is the child born w'ithin marriage. Accord- ing to studies made in Germany by Spann,1 those men and women who are of illegitimate birth show a greater degree of crime. According to his investigations in Frankfurt, 10.9 per cent of the illegitimate born studied at a given time had court records in comparison to 7.7 per cent of the legitimate. It was also noticeable that the sentences of the former were longer. Much has been said in regard to the percentage of crime among those of illegitimate birth which might seem to indicate the existence of some congenital weakness among the illegitimate as such in contradistinction to the rest of the popu- lation. Spann, however, in the work referred to, claims that at birth the illegitimate child has no less opportunity for de- velopment along bodily, mental, or cultural lines, than has the legitimate child, and that its environment is responsible for its frequent later inferiority. The percentage of illegitimate men and women to be found in the criminal population is thus due, not to innate mental or physical weakness, but to the treatment which the illegitimate child gets during its develop- mental period. Spann draws attention to the extremely bad effect of the necessarily frequent change of care (Pflegewechsel), stating that the transfer of an illegitimate child into an environ- ment where it may lead a well-ordered life is analogous to an act of moral regeneration. 1 Spann, O: "Die Uneheliche Bevolkerung in Frankfurt am Main", Dresden, 1912. 14 THE UNMARRIED MOTHER As throwing further light on the nurture which the ille- gitimate children receive, Spann has collected some interesting facts. In Frankfurt about two thirds of the unmarried mothers marry some man not the father of their child before such a child has reached the age of six years. As a result, a " step- father family" is established, and the child thereupon shows no difference either for good or for bad from the legitimate children of its own class and economic conditions. In those instances, however, in which the mothers remain unmarried, considerable degeneration appears. Illegitimate orphans fall into a group which is in less advantageous circumstances than is that of the mothers who have married men not the fathers of their children, but their condition remains better than that of the child whose mother has remained unmarried. The orphans' chance of growing up physically strong and free from criminal tendencies are distinctly better than are the prospects of those whose mothers remain alive but do not marry. Spann thus reaches the interesting conclusion that it is better for an illegitimate child that its mother should die and that the State should have full care of the infant, than that she should continue to live unmarried. Attention has been drawn to the fact that one of the chief causes for the large percentage of crime among those of illegit- imate birth is the frequent change of care which circumstances necessitate. Such a child secures but slight vocational train- ing, thereby swelling the ranks of the unskilled laborers who furnish the largest element in our criminal population. Neu- mann 1 agrees with Spann that the unfortunate conditions under which the illegitimate child develops are chiefly re- sponsible for his frequent participation in crime, such a child necessarily remaining in the lowest walks of life and frequently influenced towards delinquency by the effect of city dwelling. The Disposition of Illegitimate Children. From what meager information it is possible to obtain concerning the disposition of the children in the United States, there appears to be a dis- tinct discrepancy between the number of illegitimate births 1 Neumann, H.: "Die Unehelichen Kinder in Berlin", Jena, 1900. INTRODUCTORY 15 and the total of such children whose whereabouts are known. Moore 1 states that more than one thousand infants are annually lost sight of in Chicago, and raises the pertinent question as to the whereabouts of these children who are known to have been born, but from whom nothing further has been heard. This investigator places the blame for this condition on the lack of method existing in the recording of vital statistics in Chicago, the laxity of institutions and individuals in reporting promptly and fully the items which the law demands, and on the inadequate provision for disposing of children who cannot be kept by their mothers. Mangold and Essex 2 in their investigation of the conditions in St. Louis, manifest the same suspicions as to the disposition of the child in that city. According to them many children are separated from their mothers and given for adoption; such advertisements as the following telling a most significant story: " Ladies received before and during confinement; adoption if desired; part pay in work; strictly confidential." These authors are of the opinion that many mothers never see their infants, and that therefore one of the principal checks on illegitimacy becomes inoperative. The majority of illegitimate children, however, are kept, temporarily at least, with their mothers, in a very small number of cases marriages being brought about and homes established. St. Louis here affords an interesting contrast to Chicago, where fully one third of the bastardy cases handled by the Court of Domestic Relations are settled by marriage. The Boston Conference on Illegitimacy found that out of 266 infants, whose after care was followed, 163 remained with their mothers, while sixty-nine more were boarded by the mother. Nine others were adopted by the families of either the mother or the father, leaving only twenty-five to grow up without relatives.3 Leffingwell,4 in commenting on the illegitimate child's chance of 1 Moore, H.: "The Care of Illegitimate Children in Chicago." 2 Mangold and Essex: "Illegitimate Births in St. Louis," St. Louis, 1914. 8 "Studies of the Boston Conference on Illegitimacy", September, 1914. 4 Leffingwell, A.: "Illegitimacy", London, 1892. 16 THE UNMARRIED MOTHER life, cites a table showing the results of coroners' inquests into the "accidental" drowning, poisoning, death by strangulation, or by being scalded or burned alive. These " accidents " are four times more likely to occur to illegitimate than to legitimate children. Community Responsibility. With so grave a problem it is only to be expected that attempts will be made towards a solu- tion, and much has been done in the hope of alleviating the condition of the unmarried mother and her child. That much remains to be done through social action must be apparent to all who are familiar with the burden which society bears be- cause of this instance of social maladjustment. Unfortu- nately, it is one of those problems which a community would rather ignore and forget than attack. It deals with the most intimate of human relationships and is therefore cloaked with a reticence which is partly natural. The progressive elements in many sections, however, are awakening to the futility of many of the former ways of minimizing the evil of illegitimacy, and this willingness to face conditions as they exist must even- tually bear fruit. With the recognition that illegitimacy is not only a question of individual sin but a problem which involves the whole range of inherent and environmental factors, the community will realize that it has a duty toward the unmarried mother and her child. Many of the European writers, and particularly those in Ger- many, have emphasized the need of proper care for the child, in order that the State may be saved as much loss as possible coincident to an increase of crime and economic incapacity among those born as illegitimate children. In Germany this has resulted in what probably represents the highest develop- ment of state control over the illegitimate child, in the form of a group of professional guardians. The movement was begun by Taube in 1886, and by 1905 there existed ninety-three such professional guardians or " Berufsvormundschafte " in cities of over ten thousand population, whose object in most cases it is to prevent the operation of just those conditions which Spann considers causative of crime and incapacity among that group of the population born outside of marriage. INTRODUCTORY 17 Unfortunately not all of these cities include the care of ille- gitimate children in their guardianship, but the example of Leipzig, where illegitimate children first became automatically the wards of state-appointed guardians, is likely to be followed in other communities.1 Taube himself 2 advocates the further extension of this system of state guardianship, basing its neces- sity upon the mental and emotional condition of most unmarried mothers. According to him such a mother is frequently not possessed of sufficient intelligence to institute the proceedings necessary for securing support for her child, and is very often temperamentally opposed to such a move because of her un- willingness to have anything to do with the man who has been the cause of her misfortune. He believes the average mother of an illegitimate child to be led only by her emotions without any consideration of the future and without the slightest re- sponsibility for the child's welfare. Taube then advocates the establishment of state guardians into whose charge all illegitimate children will be placed automatically, considering it the duty of such guardians to start the necessary proceed- ings for the establishment of paternity, and for support for the child, this support to be paid to the State by the father during the child's minority. The mother's marriage to another than the father of her child should not cause a cessation of the State's oversight over such a child, or the release of the father from his responsibility. The institution of such a system of guardianship in various cities, according to Taube, would have the effect of decreasing rather than of increasing the illegitimate births. A man would thereby be prevented from causing the pregnancy of a woman in one community, and from moving to another there to become the father of a second child. Particularly would this be so if he were made well aware of the fact that the institution of pro- ceedings against him and the establishment of paternity was not to be left in the hands of an incapable and unprotected woman, but was of sufficient importance to be taken up by the 1Klumker: "Zeitschrift fiir Sozialwissenschaft ", Berlin, March, 1906. 2 Taube, M.; "Das Haltekinderwesen", Berlin, 1899. 18 THE UNMARRIED MOTHER State. Neumann, too, is of the opinion that such an interest on the part of the State would minimize rather than increase the number of illegitimate births. Conclusions. There is little doubt but that the situation described above is relatively common in this country, indi- cating a considerable proportion of illegitimate children in each community, of whose fate little is known, or who may be considered to be dead, or living in an inferior environment. The mortality of such children will remain high, and their environment will continue to be productive of crime and im- morality, as long as the supervision of the illegitimate child does not become part of the duty of the State. Such is the extent and the nature of the problem of illegiti- macy indicated by figures relative to the situation both abroad and in the United States. It is evident that a study of the unmarried mother involves a consideration of her past and of her future. This chapter has dealt with the relationship of the unmarried mother to her child, and with that of illegit- imacy itself to crime and delinquency. Enough has been said to show the tremendous cost to society which illegitimacy occasions, and to indicate the personal tragedies involved in the lives of unmarried mothers and those who are of illegitimate birth. Surely no progressive community can afford to remain blind to the extent of this problem. It remains for the twen- tieth century to assist society to function properly by reducing illegitimacy to a minimum. The preceding pages have dealt with results. Instead of at- tempting a survey of the causes which lead girls and women into sexual intercourse outside of marriage, we have dealt with the results of such action as it shows itself in mor- tality and crime. One cannot study illegitimacy without understanding the women who give birth to illegitimate children, and one cannot understand such women until a thorough investigation of those forces inherent and environ- mental which operate as causative factors has been made. There now follows an intensive study of five hundred unmarried girls and women who have given birth to illegitimate children, with a INTRODUCTORY 19 delineation of those factors which may have caused their preg- nancy. The material here included should indicate the posi- tion of the individual woman in relation to society as a whole, and in regard to the problem of illegitimacy in particular. Only by increasing its knowledge of social conditions and of the individual can society hope to effect the changes which enlightened public opinion now demands. CHAPTER II Working Methods A study of case records - Method of case study - Schedules used - Causative factor cards built up inductively - List of causative factors - Summaries illustrating causative factors - Outline for case summaries - Conclusions. A Study of Case Records. This study of the unmarried mother is based upon a thorough analysis of five hundred case records secured from various sources. It would undoubt- edly have been well if it had been possible to interview each girl or woman personally, thus to secure the information from con- tact at first hand, but such a method would require years of observation, as well as facilities not obtainable. It is prob- able, however, that the method pursued affords sufficient ma- terial for an understanding of the personality of each indi- vidual, and that little has been lost which might throw light on the life and character of each unmarried mother. The conclusions reached and the method employed should draw attention to the amount of material which is con- tained in the records of the various private societies and state departments, as well as to their shortcomings. The records were found to include much that was descriptive of the mental habits of the various individuals. Many cases have been read which it was not possible to use in this book, and cases have been included in the total grouping of five hundred, which are not reproduced in summary. This has been necessary either because the case omitted was too brief to throw light upon the psychological side of the problem, although it yet possessed statistical value, or because the point at issue was sufficiently illustrated by other cases which appeared to be more graphic. 20 WORKING METHODS 21 Something over two years ago the writer approached the various private societies in Boston for permission to read their "unmarried mother" records and after studying one hundred cases a definite system of tabulation suggested itself which will be described in a later paragraph. The sources of these records had, of course, a direct influence on the material. Of the five hundred cases included in this investigation, all but one hundred were secured from private societies working in the metropolitan area; the remaining number were secured after considerable effort from one of the Massachusetts state boards. As a result, the material which follows is obviously of a highly selected nature and cannot be considered illustrative of more than one stratum among the group of unmarried mothers in the community. It is drawn from cases concerning either those girls or young women who, through financial or some other necessity, were forced to seek aid from one of the private societies mentioned, or to individuals whose development had become so antisocial as to warrant intervention on the part of the State. Undoubtedly a comprehensive study of the unmarried mother can only be made by including those girls and women of different social and financial status, who are no less given to illicit sexual intercourse, but who through wealth, opportunity, or intelli- gence are enabled to keep their pregnancy secret, or to avoid it altogether. It is not possible to estimate the number of con- finements and abortions in this social stratum in this book, owing to the evident lack of descriptive material available. It is, however, probable that this selection has in no way reduced the value of this investigation as a social study, for it is evident that any attempt to study the burdens which fall upon society and the State for the support of its unfortunate and delinquent individuals must deal primarily with those who represent a direct cost upon the community. In the group considered will be found the girls and women who through mental defect, physical incapacity, or for some other reason, become a charge on the community either themselves or through their offspring. 22 THE UNMARRIED MOTHER Within this number itself a wide variation appears, the sum- maries included in the following pages containing extremely varied types. The age table, for instance, ranges from thirteen to forty years; the list of occupations includes most of the well- known avenues of employment open to women; the nativity table includes 38.2 per cent native-born girls whose parents were native-born, thirty per cent native-born whose parents were foreign born, and thirty per cent who were themselves born abroad. From the point of view, for instance, of the number of pregnancies, the distribution ranges from one mis- carriage to five pregnancies, while under the head of the dis- crepancy between the age of the woman and the father of her child the figures vary from one case in which the woman was twelve years older than the man, to one in which the man was forty-nine years her senior. The Method of Case Study. Considering the novelty of this method of study, it is surprising to note the amount of information which had found its way to the records, which lent itself to our tabulation. The mental attitude of the girl was frequently frankly sought and recorded; again an investi- gator with a sense of the dramatic insisted upon writing into the record as much color as would be consistent with a statement of facts, while often the personality of the girl was unconsciously reproduced because women investigators particularly are often temperamentally interested in the emotional problems of their charges. The ordinary good case record contains a face card upon which are noted the outstanding events of the individual's life, such as the date and place of birth of the girl or woman in question, her family condition, the number of her children, the society by whom the case was referred, and other identifying material. This is frequently supplemented by a chronological history of the society's ac- tions in the case, recorded at considerable length, and includ- ing the findings of the social investigator. Following this there are usually appended copies of letters written by the visitor to the individual who is the subject of the case, and including her replies. It is needless to state that these records WORKING METHODS 23 frequently constitute documents of intense human interest, leading once more to the conviction that " truth is stranger than fiction." After reading over one hundred or more of these cases it was apparent that the information could be transcribed by means of a questionnaire similar to that used by Doctor Healy,1 its form being determined only after it had been submitted to various authorities for criticism. This schedule has been found to include all of the information necessary for the study of the unmarried mother, some sections however being proportion- ally less useful owing to the uniform weakness of case records in certain specific particulars. An attempt has been made to avoid overlapping here, but the chief effort throughout the whole study has been towards inclusiveness rather than exclusiveness. It is less difficult to summarize information than to expand it. The material most often lacking in case records is indicated by the nature of the answers to the questions under " IV, Mental and Moral Development ", where for instance, in answer to question " 3, Were bad companions sought or forced ? " it was almost invariably found that such companions had been sought, as might have been expected in the majority of cases, and under questions 5 and 6 that there was but slight indication of any interest in reading on the part of the girl, or of the development of any special talent. The following is a copy of the schedule: Case No. Referred by Date I. Family History. 1. Color and nationality. 2. Traits of parents as far back as possible; inheritable and non-inheritable. 3. Fraternity of girl or woman. II. Girl or Woman. 1. Date of birth of girl or woman, place, number of children. 2. Result of mental examination. Date. 3. Result of physical examination. Date. 4. Attitude of girl or woman towards child. 'Healy, William; "The Individual Delinquent", Boston, 1914. 24 THE UNMARRIED MOTHER III. History of Environment. 1. Changes of living through immigration. Other residential changes. 2. Effect of various languages in family. Boarders ? 3. Effect on girl or woman of (a) disordered marital conditions of parents; (6) effect of harmonious condition. 4. (a) Education and mental dispositions of parents and influence on environment of girl or woman. (6) Parents' attitude toward girl or woman and her child. 5. Housing and financial conditions. 6. Recreational facilities. Occupation out of school. 7. Family control and influence of neglect. Girl's mother works or is away. 8. Companionship, good or bad. 9. Religious opportunities and relationship. 10. Institutional life or period spent away from home influence. 11. Former efforts made to assist the individual. 12. If married, history of home life. IV. Mental and Moral Development. 1. School history and individual's reaction to it. (a) duration of attendance. Why left ? (6) grade reached; (c) public, sectarian, private; (d) much absence ? (e) teacher's report; (f) best and worst studies ? (g) girl or woman considered subnormal as child ? 2. Effects of companionship. Good or bad. 3. Were bad companions sought or forced. 4. Character of association with other sex. 5. Kind of reading done. 6. Any special talents developed. 7. Occupation or employment history. 8. Development of girl or woman while at home. 9. General behavior, detailed. 10. Disposition and mental traits. 11. Habits, alcohol, drugs, sex, etc. (Full outline of sex his- tory, adolescent and adult.) 12. Evidence of abnormality not included above. WORKING METHODS 25 V. Father of Child. 1. Age and nationality. 2. Occupation. 3. Personal qualities, physical and mental. 4. Attitude of father towards girl or woman and child. 5. Attitude of girl or woman toward father. 6. Steps taken toward support of child. VI. The Child. 1. Physical examination, results. 2. Disposition of child detailed. (a) Child cared for by mother in old environment. Child placed out by mother in old environment. (6) Child cared for by mother in new environment. Child placed out by mother in new environment. (c) Child cared for by state or private society. (d) Child legitimatized by marriage of girl or woman to father, or to another. VII. Relationship between Girl or Woman and Community. 1. Influence of community standards on girl or woman be- fore pregnancy. 2. Influence of community standards on girl or woman after pregnancy. 3. Reaction of girl or woman towards community before and after pregnancy. VIII. Information worth noting, not classified above. At the risk of going too much into detail in regard to methods, it may be stated that the information on the original record was in each case transcribed on to a sheet of paper approximately 11 X 16 inches in size, upon which the numbers referring to the question on the schedule above had been outlined. A full case filled a sheet of this size comfortably, and it was rarely possible to study more than twenty cases in a week's time, an average of approximately two hours for each case. No attempt at detailed classification of the material was made at this stage, but one day in each week was set aside for a review of the material that had been acquired, and for the purpose of rough classification. This classification was so general, at this time, as to consist merely of an attempt to 26 THE UNMARRIED MOTHER distribute the cases in regard to their major causative factors. At the end of each week, through a card index system, the cases were numbered on the basis of this tentative classifica- tion. After some three hundred and fifty cases had been catalogued in this manner, the more complicated task in- volved in the determination of causative factors began. Causative Factor Cards Built Up Inductively. A literal use of the inductive method was employed in determining the causative factors in these cases of unmarried mothers, and in arranging them in a card index system. It is obvious that such cards could not have been made without the complete analysis of an individual case, and the first step was such a thorough study of the material. The best method of procedure was found to be one in which a considerable number of cases were taken in order, factors which seemed thus to be causative of pregnancy being underlined in red, and in blue those pre- ventive of such a condition. This method has been followed in each summarized case. As a result it was possible, upon rereading a case, to pick by this color scheme those factors operating under each head. As the analysis developed, how- ever, and an attempt was made to group the information under related heads, it was evident that it required a considerable amount of material before any natural groups began to emerge, and as a result what may be called " a picture puzzle method " suggested itself. Each trait or factor working in the girl's environment in a given case, both for good and for bad, was now noted on an individual slip of paper until some sixty or seventy such slips had accumulated from one case. These were then grouped under related heads, such factors as "an unsanitary home", and " father continually out of work ", naturally gravitating towards a nucleus obviously determined by the general heading " Bad Home Conditions." Again, slips bearing the information " left school at 14 in the fifth grade ", and " could not do housework without supervision ", and again " Binet 11 ", grouped themselves by the same process, under the broad heading of " Mental Defect and Peculiarity." By following this method in a number of in- WORKING METHODS 27 dividual cases it was possible to cover a range of data which included all of the information, and to build up group headings on this inductive basis, always retaining sufficient flexibility to establish a new grouping should the ascertained facts demand it. The causative factors were thus evolved in each case, there being usually three or four such factors operative upon every in- dividual, and a total list of fourteen general factors similarly re- sulted from grouping a number of cases under their related heads. Definitions. Here follows a list of these groups of causative factors: Group I. Bad Home Conditions. Under this heading will be considered the various forces operating on the immediate family in which the girl or woman lives. The definition of home here implies more than a place of residence and assumes the existence of a more or less normal family life. Thus a girl or woman living alone in disreputable lodgings is not considered as living in a " Bad Home " but in a " Bad Environment." Group II. Bad Environment. Those forces which are obviously environmental, like con- taminating employment conditions, " vicious neighborhood ", " away from home influence without protection ", will be con- sidered here. Group III. Bad Companions. There is little need of explaining so obvious a phrase as Bad Companions. There has been no limitation as to age or sex. Sometimes the man with whom a woman has cohabited for years is referred to as a " Bad Companion." Group IV. Early Sex Experience. By " Early Sex Experience " is meant a physical contact or strong mental suggestion of a sexual nature, experienced by a girl before the age of 15 years. Group V. Mental Abnormality. The classifications under this head are based on psychological examinations and on well-marked traits of behavior. Group VI. Sexual Suggestibility. That girl or woman has been considered " Sexually Sug- 28 THE UNMARRIED MOTHER gestible " who while mentally and physically normal is yet unable to withstand the advances of various men who are sexually attractive to her, and so accepts such advances with nothing more than a momentary emotional attachment. Group VII. Heredity. Such traits as have appeared in the ancestry of the individual which might throw light on her behavior have here been enumerated for descriptive purposes solely. Group VIII. Recreational Disadvantages. By " Recreational Disadvantages " is meant such a lack of friends or normal opportunities for expression as might lead a girl or woman to impulsive behavior of a sexual nature. Group IX. Educational Disadvantages. Under " Educational Disadvantages " are included such cases as those in which the individual failed to learn the community standards and the common information because of lack of opportunity to do so. Group X. Physical Abnormality. Poor physical condition may be caused by such pathological states as produce either weakness or irritation. Both of these influence behavior. Group XI. Abnormal Sexualism. It has been so difficult to define abnormal sexualism that one case only is included here, one in which an examination reveals a nymphomaniac condition. Group XII. Mental Conflict. A mental conflict is a state of mental tension caused by some emotion-producing experience, usually of a sexual nature. Such states frequently lead to impulsive and antisocial behavior. Group XIII. Sexual Suggestibility by One Individual. That girl or woman has been considered " Sexually Suggestible by One Individual " who while mentally and physically normal has yet been sexually intimate with one man for a protracted period, without being in any sense promiscuous. Group XIV. Assault, Rape, and Incest. Here are included a few cases in which the man has been convicted or the girl's story of assault accepted. WORKING METHODS 29 In order to facilitate the handling of five hundred cases it was further necessary to evolve a card index catalogue with a cross reference system, and it was found advisable to devise this upon the basis of classified prime and major factors. Each causative factor card has thus at its head the title of that group which represents the major influence in the girl's or woman's life, and this is followed by a few words describing the individual situation. Below this appears a similar grouping of those causative factors less determining than the prime factor, in the order of their decreasing importance. In order to simplify the system even further, four main divisions of prime causa- tive factors were adopted, classified by means of different colored cards into " Environment ", " Mentality ", " Sexually Suggestible ", and " Sexually Suggestible by One Individual." A cross reference system was now established upon the basis of our causative factor cards, by listing on green cards the major causative factors under their fourteen possible heads, and on red cards the minor causative factors under their corre- sponding fourteen heads. Thus, if a causative factor card indicated that the prime factor in the life of a certain young woman was " Bad Environment ", and that the minor factors followed in order, " Bad Home Conditions ", " Bad Com- panions ", and " Early Sex Experience ", the first was listed on a green card under its appropriate head, and each of the other three on red cards in their corresponding positions. Upon the completion of this system it was thus possible to refer directly to the green cards in order to find, for instance, in how many cases " Bad Home Conditions ", or " Abnormal Sexualism ", or " Recreational Disadvantages ", had been the major or prime causative factor, and it was also possible at the same time to find by reference to each individual case in what particular manner this factor had been operative in the life of the woman in question. By the same procedure could be ascertained in how many cases and in what manner " Early Sex Experience " had been a factor in the lives of these individuals. This system has been of great help in determining the facts which are included in the appendix on " Statistics." At the bottom of 30 THE UNMARRIED MOTHER each card is indicated the degree of sexual immorality by a system of plus marks, more marks being added as the individual seemed more immoral. Cases of " Incest " are abbreviated as " I " and " Assault " as "A." There is on each card also a note on excessive lying and on stealing, as well as the age of the girl or woman at the time of her first pregnancy. A summary of the card will be found after each case in this book. It may be well at this point to illustrate both the value and the limitations of this causative factor system. Above all is this worth reiterating to impress upon the reader the con- viction that even such a careful method of analysis as has been employed of very necessity fails in precision. In dealing with the unmarried mother one is in touch with the most fundamental impulses of human nature, impulses which defy any method of classification, which are tinged and colored with the mystery of life itself. The chief endeavor has been, not to draw hard and fast lines, or to attempt to divide human nature into prearranged groupings, but merely to indi- cate those forces operating on individuals under given social conditions which may tend to predispose the girl or woman whom they influence to misconduct resulting in unmarried motherhood. It is evident that these forces themselves are extremely complex in their nature, and that they; can never be considered as operative with equal insistence upon each indi- vidual ; they may indeed have had an entirely different effect upon another individual. It is obvious that no life, with its multitudinous impulsions and impressions, can be handled from the basis of one all-determining force. The actual situa- tion is usually a complexity of causative factors. An alcoholic parent, for instance, may be the cause of his daughter's en- feebled constitution, which may itself make it difficult for her to resist the temptations of modern city life; or it may, on the other hand, influence her through social, rather than biological, heredity, causing her to find little opportunity for recreation in her home. Such a girl may be dulled to the standards of right living to such an extent that she accepts without thinking the contaminating advances of certain male acquaintances. WORKING METHODS 31 The question naturally arises as to the method of determining which of the various influences discovered in the life of an in- dividual through the process of analysis was to be termed the major factor. There can be no mathematical method of com- puting the influence of such a force, nor can one say with accuracy that a certain factor must beyond all doubt have been of prime importance. There are cases in which there seems to be but a shade of difference between the value of the prime causative factor and that of the first minor factor. In the majority, however, it was possible to evaluate the causative factors without much difficulty. This is due to the fact that when an analysis of the causative factors was made, some one factor was easily recognizable as dominant. When this was not the case, the judgment of the author and his assistant was the determinant. Such analysis is undoubtedly open to error, but an attempt was made to reduce such a possibility to a minimum by going over each case twice. When the case was originally filed, it was listed solely under a tentative prime causative factor, and months later the same case was consid- ered in greater detail and reclassified if necessary. It is note- worthy that this was imperative in relatively few instances. A further means of checking up the results of analysis was that of cooperation with those who had made the case study and knew the girl or young woman in question. Many of the causative factor cards were submitted to individuals thoroughly familiar with the unmarried mother in question, and in the larger majority of instances the prime causative factor found in this investigation agreed with the conception of the case worker. As a result, although the factors are necessarily of hypothetical value, they approximate a correct analysis of the influences operating upon the individual unmarried mother. Throughout this study, both in the statistical findings and in the delineation of causative factors, the emphasis has been placed on tendencies, often definite and certain in their results, but never accurate and never simple. The study of any aspect of the sex problem must obviously deal with the most funda- mental and far-reaching of human instincts. 32 THE UNMARRIED MOTHER The Summaries Illustrate the Causative Factors. An im- portant part of this work lies in the collection of summaries illustrative of the histories of different girls and women who have become unmarried mothers, affording as it does a means by which social workers may be enabled to meet with a greater perspective the problem of each individual woman. It is in the formation of these summaries that one of the chief difficulties of this study has appeared, because the handling of such varied material, within the reasonable limits of space, has necessitated the condensation of what has often been a very full case to the confines of a few pages of printed matter. A uniform outline has been followed in the development of these histories, each summary being divided into three para- graphs, with each paragraph containing the same division of the subject matter in every case. In certain instances the cases were so long that some paragraphs had to be divided. Outline for Case Summaries I. The Girl or Woman. (A) Status, traits mental and physical. (B) History of inheritance. II. The Environment and Genetic Development. (A) Neighborhood. (B) Home conditions. (C) The family (descriptive). (D) Genetic history of girl or woman. 1. Childhood. (a) Antenatal and postnatal. (5) Childhood diseases. 2. Adolescence. (a) Menstruation and general physical condition. (6) Mental traits including school history. (c) Companionship and recreational opportunities. (d) Habits in general. 8. Adult History. (a) General physical condition. The child. (6) Mental traits and employment history. (c) Habits in general. WORKING METHODS 33 III. Sex History. (A) Early experiences. (B) Circumstances preceding pregnancy, including history of the child's father. (C) Post-confinement history, and disposition of child. In each summary as much emphasis has been placed on the mental state of the individual as seemed consistent with the girl's development as a whole personality. Often the original investigator has been blind to the fact that all action is the result of mental processes and that the individual herself should be the subject of each study. The result has been an overvaluation placed on the environmental history of the girl or young woman in question and a neglect of that side which might indicate her attitude towards the problems of her sexual life. It is certain that in any study involving human beings, an attempt should be made to gauge each individual's attitude towards the various problems which he or she faces. Of value in understanding the sexually delinquent girl is a knowledge of her attitude towards the nature of her sex act. Any fair estimate of the prevailing sex ethics of the factory girl, for instance, is dependent upon a realization of the mental attitude of such a girl toward this side of her emotional life. In social investigations, if the results are to be of any real use, the in- vestigator should place himself in the position of the person whose life he is studying, for only by so doing can he give to his study any degree of reality or any hope of true success. It matters little whether or not social workers dealing with young working girls have the theory that they are possessed of little sex life or sex interest; but it is of great importance to the community as a whole, to know just what these young women consider to be ethical in regard to sex matters, and just how successful they are in squaring their individual sexual needs with the community conscience. It is particularly along this line that the method of investi- gation inaugurated by Doctor Healy is valuable as recognizing the supreme fact that these problems are, indirectly perhaps, the problems of economic well-being and of environmental 34 THE UNMARRIED MOTHER influence, but that they are directly problems of action deter- mined by heredity and environment. Far from being the blind impulses that they seem, they are in each case the result of mental processes. It is a method which deals to an increasing degree with the study of human psychology. Conclusions. Such have been the working methods used in this study of the unmarried mother. Basing the conclusions on an analysis of five hundred case records, which were secured from private societies and from one state board, a method of studying the individual has been evolved. With this has de- veloped a technique by which information upon a large num- ber of girls and young women has been found and classified, leading to the determination of a comprehensive group of causa- tive factors. In warning against the belief that these motive forces are to be viewed as operative singly or accurately in any individual case, it has been stated emphatically that this study deals with human instincts, so varied and so complex as often to defy statistical tabulation. This study is an attempt at an inductive treatment based upon case summaries, carefully disguised so as to avoid identi- fication, with special emphasis placed on the mental attitude of the girl or woman in question. A student of the prob- lem of the unmarried mother can render greatest service by portraying, as far as is possible, the attitude of girls and young women towards sex experience. Any general change in sexual behavior is dependent upon the realization of the fact that each sex act is the result of the forces of heredity and environment flowing through the mind of the individual. To effect actions we must in future comprehend and modify the mental back- ground from which such actions spring. CHAPTER III Bad Environment General statement - Away from home influence without protection - Vicious neighborhood - Living conditions contaminating - Lived with low-standard relatives - Employment conditions contami- nating - Uncongenial surroundings. General Statement. It has been necessary to distinguish between bad home conditions and bad environment, although both might easily be considered as environmental influences. Under the head of " Bad Home Conditions " will be included such situations as those in which there was at least a pretense of family life, whereas the heading " Bad Environment " would apply to such a case as one in which a lodging house, although the residence of the girl or young woman in question, contained nothing that could be called " family life." Again it has been necessary to make a rather fine distinction in regard to questions of employment, there being classified under the head of " Employment Conditions Contaminating ", a case in which a young girl met the father of her child while taking care of her married sister's children during the evening. Be- cause she received a small remuneration for her services, she has been considered as an employee, working under con- taminating conditions. This difficulty of definition should, however, cause but slight confusion. The influence of environmental forces on a girl or young woman must be estimated in terms of character. The impor- tant thing here is not a generalization in regard to the situation itself as much as an evaluation of the influence of such con- 35 36 THE UNMARRIED MOTHER ditions on the mental attitude of the individual. Such an analysis requires a detailed consideration of the environmental background in which the girl or woman lives, it being constantly kept in mind that one is not here dealing with a fixed determi- nant, as is evident when one notes that the behavior of two individuals who have been subjected to the same environmental influences frequently proves to be radically different. The question regarding the relative importance of heredity and en- vironment is not one which can be discussed in this place, but attention should be drawn to the fact that many changes have been effected in the behavior of certain individuals by substituting a new environment for the old one, and that such consequent improvement in behavior has frequently been lasting. In the following cases the mind of the girl or woman in ques- tion has been viewed as the focus point of all forces, both inherent and environmental, and consequently it has frequently been necessary to consider an influence brought to bear upon a girl during a plastic period of her development, sometimes four or five years previous to her pregnancy, as of greater im- portance than some more recent and more spectacular expe- rience. That this should be so will be admitted when one realizes that most habits are formed at an early age during a period of distinct suggestibility to personal and social reactions. Under separate headings will be found such cases as illustrate the various conditions included under the general term of "Bad Environment", grouped according to their relation to this causative factor. Away from Home Influence without Protection. So large a part does the girl who has recently immigrated play in a study of the unmarried mother, that considerable space must be given to cases illustrating her special condition. Obviously the separation of a young girl from her home is in itself a situa- tion dangerous to her welfare; when one adds to this the extra burden of an unassimilated environment, her predicament be- comes even more grave. In support of the belief that such a change of locality is not always accompanied by serious moral danger, it may be said that the girls and young women who BAD ENVIRONMENT 37 emigrate from the English-speaking provinces to the New England States do not find themselves subjected to environ- mental conditions basically different from those to which they have been accustomed at home. At first glance one would expect the largest proportion of unmarried mothers to spring from non-English-speaking countries, because of the extra diffi- culty which unfamiliarity with language and customs generates. Closer investigation, however, reveals the fact that the pre- ponderance of Irish and English-Canadian young women among the unmarried mothers of this study is due to their relatively larger proportional representation in our population. Were the number of non-English-speaking women equal to those who have come to this country from English-speaking communi- ties, one might logically expect to find a greater representation among the unmarried mothers if one were to leave out of con- sideration other elements like custom and culture standards which have a direct bearing upon the results. The mere fact of immigration in itself constitutes a danger to the newly-arrived girl, a danger which is accentuated by the positive exploitation to which such an individual is frequently subjected, not only by her unscrupulous countrymen, but by native Americans. The problem of assimilating foreign-born individuals into the civic and social life of a community is thus rendered doubly difficult. It is then natural that the mind of a young woman who has separated herself from all of those family ties to which she has been accustomed, and who, led on by the hope of high wages, has come to this country at what is often an extremely early age, should be lacking in that stable attitude so necessary for a definite conviction on sexual ques- tions. Not only is she likely to believe that in order to be American she must adopt without question many of the false standards which she sees about her, but being removed from those whose good opinion she has valued, she naturally finds little difficulty in persuading herself that what her new friends do is right. These associates are frequently selected without discrimination, because a perfectly normal desire for friendship and affection has been denied expression through her more or 38 THE UNMARRIED MOTHER less solitary existence, and she thus finds herself a member of a group devoid of standards and of inhibitions. The following summaries should indicate the dangers into which such a girl may drift when away from home influence without protection, irrespective of whether her home was in a foreign country or merely in a neighboring community. Case i. This case concerns an English girl of 24 who has lived nearly all her life in the United States. Her mother died when she was four, and soon after her father married again. The stepmother was a sensible woman who made an excellent mother, and the other children grew up to be respectable men and women. The father was a night watchman and provided a good home. This girl became the mother of two illegitimate children and later married when two months pregnant. Little is known of her development as a child. She went to school until 16 and left in her second year at high school to go to work that she might help her family financially. After this she took a course at evening school and finally decided that she would become a nurse and started training at one of our state hospitals. Here she was considered a good worker and left only because she came to fear insane patients due to an injury inflicted upon her by one of them. Her stepmother said that she had always been considered the " black sheep " of the family and was well known for her untruthful and deceitful traits. Another agency interested in this girl also remarked about her ability to deceive by constant lying. Once while doing private nursing she had been much appreciated by her employer who had said, " I was convalescing after an operation. My daughter had scarlet fever and there was a year-old baby to be looked after, yet this girl undertook the whole responsibility and did remarkably well." In regard to her sex history this girl stated that while employed at the hospital she met the man who became the father of her first child. In a short time she left and went to another insti- tution to work, whither he followed her, declaring that he was sincerely attached to her, a feeling which later she reciprocated. When he learned of her condition his attentions ceased, and he soon eloped with a married woman. Her child, which was premature, was born at the house of her employer and was later taken into the home of her stepmother. In a little over a year, at the age of 23, she again became pregnant. She told the following story about this second experience. She stated BAD ENVIRONMENT 39 that she was out in the rain without an umbrella when a man, happening to see her predicament, persisted in escorting her home. He gave her his card and asked her to call him on the telephone. She refrained from doing so for two weeks. This man had a good position, was married, and had grown children. He arranged to have this girl meet him in the city and go to hotels with him. Their sexual intimacy continued over a period of some months. Detectives employed by the alleged father insisted that this girl had been promiscuous and had solicited on the streets. The man in question, however, made a financial settlement. This girl maintained that she had no desire to harm his wife and children. The second child was born at a private hospital and was later boarded out by another agency. Case No. 1. Causative factors: (a) Bad Environment: Girl worked as nurse in hospital. No supervision. Father of child worked in same place. (6) Bad Companions: man followed girl from one state to another. Deserted her when pregnant. " Picked up " second father in rain storm, (c) Sexually Suggestible: Had relations with second father night she met him. Some question whether girl not promis- cuous. Lies. Sex + + . Age 22. Case 2. We have here the case of an Irish girl who emi- grated to the United States seven years ago. Her mother died when she was 11 years old. When the girl came to this country she left a father and eleven brothers and sisters in Ireland, who were, as far as is known, in good health. Other facts concerning her family or her developmental history are unknown. The girl stated that she went to school in Ireland until she was 15. When she first arrived in Boston she did housework for two years, earning eventually as much as eight dollars a week. For three years she worked in a laundry and two years ago learned to be a manicure. She lived during these latter years in a hall bedroom which was daintily arranged and she showed much pride in displaying her toilet accessories. It was evident that she felt that she had grasped opportunities to better herself since her immigration and was rather proud of her occupation. She was an attractive girl of 22, with a de- cidedly emotional nature. Her employers spoke well of her and said that she was willing, honest, and moral. Apparently she had very few associates, although her intimate friend, with whom she lived, had warned her not to allow the alleged 40 THE UNMARRIED MOTHER father to be too familiar with her. This friend told the visitor that the girl in question had never been lax morally and had never had much to do with men. This girl had known the father only a few months; he had immediately begun to urge her to have intercourse with him. For three months she withstood these demands. When he promised that if she became pregnant he would marry her, she gave her consent. The alleged father admitted that he used some force on the girl at first, but that after this inter- course took place frequently. He was a married man with two children, and his wife was suing him for non-support. He was 24 years old, an electrician, and earned a fair wage. When he heard of the girl's predicament he suggested that she have an abortion performed. Later he disappeared. In explana- tion of her condition this girl said," I must have been crazy. The whole thing seems like a dream. I should die if my family found out about my condition." She appeared to be very proud that she had resisted the temptation to have an abortion performed and looked upon her pregnancy and confinement as a burden that she ought to bear. At the close of the record the child was unborn, and the girl had disappeared. It was rumored that she and the alleged father had eloped. Case No. 2. Causative Factors: (a) Bad Environment: Parents in Ireland. Girl lived in lodgings since 17. (6) Bad Home Conditions: No family control, (c) Bad Com- panions. Man promised marriage. Already married. Deserts. Sex + • Age 22. Vicious Neighborhood. The influence of a vicious neigh- borhood upon a girl or young woman subjected to it is probably apparent to all who have given the matter any consideration. No one would deny the very evident contamination produced upon adolescents by the proximity of saloons, and still more by their contact with the inhabitants of houses of prostitution. In certain localities the youth of the community congregate to watch the arrival and departure of automobiles bearing intoxicated men and women to particularly notorious cafes. There can be little doubt but that the standards of the young people of both sexes are lowered by such examples as they see on the part of people of wealth and of what seems to be social standing. A single center of this sort may become the source of a community's contamination. As has been BAD ENVIRONMENT 41 mentioned, it is not only the fact that the child comes to take the saloon or the brothel for granted as an integral part of life, which is to be deplored, but the positive influence of those individuals who frequent such places must have a distinctly evil effect upon such girls as grow up in the neighborhood. In many instances a floating population of " unemployables " fills the various saloons and makes the near-by streets dan- gerous for girls and young women. The men who form this flotsam are often well-confirmed drug habitues, and under the influence of alcohol less than ever responsible for their actions. There are also, in such a population, many individuals, male and female, who are sexual perverts, ex- hibitionists, and homosexualists. Instances occur in which the approach and the indecent exposure of drunken men must have a distinctly contaminating influence on the minds of adolescent girls. The attitude of the individual is often much influenced by what she sees going on about her, as is illustrated by the fact that morality frequently means merely group consent to certain acts. The result is often similar in the individual's more personal environment. Such things as seem to her an accepted part of the social structure cannot but influence her mental attitude. Any one who has witnessed the emotional shock which a protected young girl ordinarily sustains when she first becomes conscious of the practice of sexual intercourse for the sake of financial gain and of the whole problem of prostitution, will realize that it is impossible for her to retain exactly the same standards in regard to the sex act that she once had. It is not implied that such knowledge must invariably lower the inhibitions of a normally constituted girl, but an attitude towards sex questions is thus begun which frequently proves to be unfortunate. Many of the girls studied in these cases have stated that they felt sexual intercourse to be allowable as long as pregnancy did not follow, or that they considered the only difficulty to arise in case the man refused to marry them should they " get into trouble." Again it is often said, in excuse for youthful promiscuity, " Why, everybody does it." Such an attitude 42 THE UNMARRIED MOTHER is frequently the result of an environment which imposes a false standard upon the minds of those who are subjected to its influence, an attitude which is often the immediate ante- cedent of sexual indulgence on the part of many young girls, who, without the inhibitions produced by good example, find these years particularly difficult and dangerous. For a more detailed consideration of the above conditions one may quote the report of the Chicago Vice Commission in regard to the influence of immorality in a given community upon the children inhabiting such a section. It seems un- necessary to draw attention to the fact that the conditions existing in Chicago are typical of many of our large cities. According to this report: "It is a notorious fact that many children of all ages are compelled by poverty or circumstances to live within or in close proximity to the restricted districts in Chicago. Because of this, these children are subjected to great moral dangers. They become familiar with scenes of debauchery and drunkenness until they are careless and in- different. Their moral standards are lowered to such an extent that it is difficult to fill their minds with wholesome thoughts and high ideals. In addition to the presence of prostitutes near the homes, the children are in danger from vicious men and boys who frequent such districts." 1 This report also draws attention to the results of prostitu- tion in residential sections, to the evil influences of disorderly saloons when in proximity to the schools, and to the contam- inating influence of vicious and degenerate men. In regard to the latter: " The court records show that vicious and de- generate men seek out young boys and girls and fill their minds with filthy and obscene suggestions and teach them lewd and unnatural practices. Some of these men frequent the neigh- borhood of schoolhouses and distribute obscene cards and lit- erature. They go to public parks and take liberties with in- nocent children. . . . Within a period of two weeks the courts tried three men on the charge of perverting the morals of young girls. One offender was seventy-five years of age. He was 1 "The Social Evil in Chicago", Chicago, 1911, p. 237. BAD ENVIRONMENT 43 found guilty of trying to seduce ten or twelve girls between the ages of eight and twelve. One man was in the habit of loitering about the School on the South Side. He drew obscene pictures which he gave to little girls who went to the school. He also offered them money and had ruined four or five girls before he was indicted." The influence of a vicious neighborhood becomes so apparent when one takes into consideration conditions similar to those quoted above, that there is little surprise possible at the fact that many a young girl has been so accustomed to immorality from an early age, both within her home and her immediate neighborhood, that she falls into habits of sexual laxness without having to overcome the standards which more fortunate girls possess. One finds here a striking indication of the subtle influence of example and community ideals, or lack of ideals, upon the minds of adolescent girls. A girl who has been con- scious of the most debasing aspect of human nature since first she began to think at all, can hardly be expected to face the problem of personal behavior with a correct sense of ethical values. That many girls are subjected to this environment and yet prove themselves virtuous is true. Action is always the result of the interplay of environment and inherent traits, and a girl who possesses underlying moral vitality may undergo such evil influences without succumbing. Such a girl, however, often " has her whole moral nature grilled, harrowed and destroyed by tests and strains that are well-nigh overwhelming."'1 The following cases illustrate the conditions to which refer- ence has been made. Case 3. This colored girl gave birth to an illegitimate child at the age of 17, she herself being illegitimate. She is in good physical condition and a mental examination was not considered necessary. Her father died when she was 18 months old, whereupon her mother remarried, her stepfather, a small printer by trade, being considered respectable and kind. The mother is a good sensible woman who finds it necessary to work out during the day. 1 Woods and Kennedy: "Young Working Girls", Boston, 1913, p. 100. 44 THE UNMARRIED MOTHER This family lived in a suburban town until the girl was 12, whereupon they moved nearer the city. The move seems to have been the beginning of the girl's troublesomeness, for from now on we find her associating with a group of loose girls. The home, although in a poor neighborhood, was neat and clean. The chief fact, however, seems to be that the girl quickly outgrew the family control, owing to the necessity of the mother's working out. She soon had little knowledge of where her daughter was. The girl was given a chance in her stepfather's printing office and did some housework, but she seems to have been lazy and unwilling to work long. At home she was unreliable and abused her paralytic half-sister. She was sent to an organization giving institutional care at 17 and was kept there only one month, it being found that she was pregnant. Her child, which was born after she was placed out, lived only a few months, and it is questionable whether its death was not a relief to its mother. From now on until the age of 21 we find the girl doing fairly well, although she is still low-minded. She finally married a widower, although some say she is merely living with him. There is a rumor that she and this man have enticed young girls into an empty tenement for immoral purposes. This girl says that at the age of 15 she figured in a well- known case of abuse by a colored fakir. Since that time she had been promiscuous. It was impossible to establish paternity. Case No. 3. Causative factors : (a) Bad Environment: Came to bad environment at 12. Up to then well behaved. (5) Bad Home Conditions: No control. Girl's father dead. Mother works out. (c) Bad Companions: Associated with bad group of girls at 12. Abused by negro fakir at 15. Sex + + . Age 17. Case 4. In this instance an American girl of 19, healthy and apparently normal, had lived in the country with her par- ents until within the last six months. This community afforded few recreational opportunities, and the girl was often very lonely while failing to use her leisure to good advantage. She had known the alleged father from her childhood, and although the families were friendly her parents did not approve of him and forbade her to associate with him. Hence she met him clandestinely and after six years of friendship had only recently allowed him to have intercourse with her. Her environment was undesirable, as the village became a low-class resort in summer, while throughout the year there were evidences of poverty and general stagnation about the BAD ENVIRONMENT 45 place. The parents were much respected in the community where they had lived for years, and this girl frankly admitted that her parents were in no way to blame for her delinquencies. She had finished grammar school several years ago, graduating with a good record. She did not go to work immediately, but helped her mother at home, reading cheap novels and other sensational literature in her leisure hours. The alleged father seems to have been her only companion. A year and a half ago she was employed at the summer hotel in the village, and after coming to the city worked as a waitress, earning about eight dollars a week, including her meals. When she discovered her pregnancy, she went south to visit her only sister, and the child was born there. Leaving the child with her sister, she returned to the north and boarded with an aunt of poor repu- tation, who lived in questionable surroundings. Within two months the sister's husband tired of having the child in the house, and it was returned to its mother's home. This girl first came to the attention of a charitable society when a south- ern agency applied to them for help in locating the young mother. Her appearance gave one the impression that she was a dis- reputable type, with her painted cheeks and flashy clothes, but she was found to have a surprisingly good point of view. She showed a real sense of shame about her predicament and definitely promised to assume the care of her boy, for whom she had a strong attachment. She was found to be working in a restaurant situated in a poor section of the city and it was felt that with her suggestible temperament and shallow, pleasure- loving tendencies, her present employment was an undesirable influence in her life. At first this girl stated that she was married, but later con- fessed that her schoolboy friend was the father of her child and that during the last six years they had gradually become much attached to each other. She said that she had expected mar- riage until within a few weeks of her confinement, when he had deserted her. She declared that she had never had intercourse with any other man and only with the alleged father for a short time. When interviewed, this young man of 19 admitted the paternity and was willing to marry the girl in question and support the child. At our last report marriage was being con- templated by these young people. Case No. 4. Causative factors : (a) Bad Environment: Moved from lonely section to bad locality in city. (&) Rec- reational Disadvantages: Girl not allowed to bring man to house. Met him clandestinely. Sex + • Age 19. 46 THE UNMARRIED MOTHER Living Conditions Contaminating. All that has been said under the heading of " Vicious Neighborhood " applies with greater emphasis to situations in which a girl grows up under contaminating living conditions, and it is felt that the matter has been dealt with both here and in the chapter on " Bad Home Conditions." It would be needless to go into detail again on this matter, and the following case should suffice as an example of such contamination. Case 5. We have here the case of a woman of American parentage who gave birth to an illegitimate child when 29 years of age. She does not seem to be over-intelligent, but there is no evidence which would lead us to consider her men- tally abnormal. Her father, an employee on a country estate, seems to be perfectly reliable, and her mother has a reputation of being good-hearted and honest. The fraternity includes two sisters and two brothers who are evidently doing well. This family occupy a large and comfortable home on the out- skirts of the city, where they enjoy an enviable reputation. The woman in question has been employed in a shoe shop at a dollar and a quarter a day, and because her health was not good her parents, who were always considerate of her condition, sent her to South Carolina for two months to recuperate. It seemed to them that she was in danger of tuberculosis. While living at a small hotel in the South this woman met a man of 35 who was a nurse in charge of a wealthy invalid. There were very few people in the hotel, and she and this man were thrown together continually, with the result that they had intercourse and that she became pregnant. She showed a peculiar point of view because of the fact that she was un- willing to tell the man in question of her condition for fear that he would consider her " bad." The child died at the end of six months, the woman's father never knowing of its existence. Case No. 5. Causative factors: (a) Bad Environment: Girl left good home and went South for health. In same hotel with man. Lonesome. He was considerate. (5) Physical: Not strong. Weak lungs. Sex +• Age 29. Lived with Low Standard Relatives. In cases where for some reason it has been necessary for a girl to take up her abode with low standard relatives it becomes apparent that she is subjected to influences similar in their effect to those of " Bad BAD ENVIRONMENT 47 Home Conditions." Frequently such a situation is even worse than the one referred to because such relatives are wanting in that element of affection and oversight which exists on the part of almost all parents, if only to a slight degree in some instances. Cases exist in which a father has refused to pay his daughter's board, and she has consequently been shifted from one relative to another, being unwelcome in each place. One can readily imagine that such a condition frequently produces a lack of control and supervision on the part of such relatives, not to mention the more positive effect of abuse and exploitation. The situation appeals to the imagination so readily that it has been thought wise to give only the following case in illus- tration. Case 6. This colored girl had her illegitimate child when she was 14 years of age. She is in extremely good health but shows some mental dullness, although there has been no psy- chological examination. The father, a teamster, is alcoholic and has been arrested for non-support. His wife, who drank and kept bad company, died when the girl in question was 12 and was buried by the Overseers. There is one son described as a prize fighter and a colored " sport " who drinks and takes no interest in the family. The girl was boarded in seven places, only one of which could be called respectable, the homes being poor and ill kept and the various relatives with whom she lived exercising little or no control. Her position in these families was not made easier by the fact that her father frequently refused to pay her board. In one sense she cannot be said to have had a home. Her developmental period includes a history of measles. At 14 she was in very good health and weighed 113 pounds; she was free from gonorrhoea. She had reached the eighth grade in school and had a record for good attendance. It was during these years of constant shifting and poor supervision that we note her unfortunate companionship, which was really a causa- tive factor in her delinquency. She was out on the streets at night and was allowed to do as she pleased, frequenting the moving-picture theaters and being seen with dissolute Greeks at restaurants. At 13 this girl was committed to an organiza- tion giving institutional care on the charge of " lewd and las- civious conduct ", being at the time five months pregnant. 48 THE UNMARRIED MOTHER While here she was untruthful and difficult, remaining only two months. She was placed out at board, and her child was born after normal labor, weighing over eight pounds. One now notes the beginning of improvement on the part of this girl, who became a well-behaved house girl, showing little or no interest in men. She evinced a mixture of childishness and maturity, developing some sense of responsibility. During this time she had an attack of bronchitis which developed into an infection and nearly proved fatal. She is now considered a fairly capable helper. She shows an interest in music and reading. This girl, before commitment at 13, was intimate with a colored boy with whom she frequently spent the noon hour. She also acknowledges relation with many boys whom she did not know. She did not succeed in mentioning any one who could have been the father of her child. Her present good behavior is stimulated by a desire to retain the care of her child. Case No. 6. Causative factors: (a) Bad Environment: Father boarded girl in various poor places. Low-class relatives. (5) Bad Home Conditions: Mother dead. Father alcoholic. No supervision, (c) Bad Companions : Early associates Jbad. (d) Educational Disadvantages: Frequently moved about. Sex + + • Age 14. Employment Conditions Contaminating. Much can be said of the evil influence of certain conditions of employment upon girls and young women in the trades, investigators fre- quently underestimating the complexity of the forces operating upon those engaged in industrial activities. Many of the cases in this study deal with young women who have been em- ployed in candy, cracker, and box factories, who thus represent the lowest paid occupations open to women. Various inves- tigations, such as those of the minimum wage commissions, have taken into consideration the contaminating conditions existing in such low-paid occupations, and studies have been made of the evil influence of fatigue upon girls and women. That there is a connection between long hours and fatigue and a lax standard of morality, is brought out by the Chicago Vice Commission, which emphasizes the general loss of moral restraints, saying: " The dangers attendant upon excessive working hours are shown also by the moral degeneration which BAD ENVIRONMENT 49 results from over-fatigue. Laxity of moral fiber follows physi- cal debility. When the working day is so long that no time is left for a minimum of leisure and recreation, relief from the strain of work is often sought in alcoholic stimulants. In ex- treme cases the moral breakdown leads to mental degeneracy and criminal acts." 1 It will be easily understood that such conditions producing a demand for intense excitement, as a normal contrast to the monotony of the day, make the indi- vidual particularly prone to the need of stimulants. Such indulgence is frequently associated with the beginning of a life of sexual laxity. One must not overlook the direct influence of low-grade operatives upon the young girl just entering industrial life. According to Woods and Kennedy,2 " The men and women with whom the factory operative is brought into touch are a critical factor in determining the fitness of any particular form of work. ... In many places girls work side by side with or in the near vicinity of men. They sometimes become care- less in their conduct, slack in manners and conversation, im- modest in dress, and familiar to a degree that lays them open to danger. In many factories, too, girls of loose or even bad morals work in close association with children just starting their in- dustrial career. Among these there are always some who deliberately endeavor to win others to their own practices." Turning to the conditions which exist in department stores, we find the girl whose days are spent in this employment con- fronted with certain very distinct temptations. According to the Chicago Vice Commission,3 these temptations appear in the following guises : 1. The procuress, who frequently appears before the girl's counter, and complimenting her on her good looks, asks her to come to her flat for dinner or to spend Sunday. 2. The " cadet." This boy or man can be seen any evening near the employees' exit of the department stores, with the 1 "The Social Evil in Chicago ", p. 200. 2 Woods and Kennedy: op. cit., p. 23. 3 "The Social Evil in Chicago ", p. 213. 50 THE UNMARRIED MOTHER avowed purpose of making the acquaintance of some attractive girl. 3. Married men. Married men are among the worst of- fenders against salesgirls. A complaint against their atten- tions by the girl in question is often likely to result in her dismissal. 4. Men employers, salesmen, and women. " A certain floorwalker had been in the habit of taking girls out. He was continually harassing the girls who did not accept his invita- tions." 5. Voluntary. There are, of course, a large number of girls engaged in voluntary prostitution, particularly among those who find their wages insufficient. The following incident is typical of this group. " Paulette (a prostitute), in speaking further of her experience in department stores, says: ' One can't live down-town; that is no district for a girl to live in; she might as well be here. If a girl in a store wears soiled cloth- ing, they will tell her about it. You have to work in a depart- ment store for years and years and years before you get anything. While in the store I heard of a case of a good girl getting $6 a week. She asked for more money. She said she couldn't live on that. The man said, * Can't you get somebody to keep you ? ' " 1 Attention should be drawn to the serious problem connected with employment agencies which sometimes make the practice of sending young girls and women to houses of prostitution, disreputable hotels, and flats, as servants. It will be readily understood that once in such an environment, the next step is not difficult. Office work has its advantages and its disadvantages for girls and young women, because they arc thrown into direct relation with a few people with whom they quickly get on terms of inti- macy, the men often proving themselves "a little too human."2 Among the trades most beset with danger for the young and frequently ignorant girl may be mentioned employment in 1 "The Social Evil in Chicago", p. 213. 2 Woods and Kennedy, op. cit. BAD ENVIRONMENT 51 hotels and restaurants. The Juvenile Protective Association of Chicago made a study in 1912 of girls employed in these occupations.1 Fifty Chicago hotels were investigated, includ- ing those considered first-class, second and third class, as well as twelve very low-class institutions. It was found that in the first-class hotels the chambermaids were Irish and German, in the low-class houses they were colored or indigent Americans, and that in almost all of the hotels, the kitchen and laundry work was done by Poles. These are chosen because they come from strong peasant stock, and are able to do a great deal of hard work, because they are thorough in what they do, or are willing to work for low wages, and are very submissive. Furthermore, they are ignorant of the laws of this country, and are easily imposed upon and never betray their superiors, no matter what they see. The highest wages go to the chambermaids and expert ironers, these girls receiving from $16 to $18 a month in a good hotel, as well as their board and lodging. A laundry or kitchen girl receives from $14 to $18 a month, including her room and meals. Aside from low wages, the accommodations provided for the employees are in many instances of a very inferior quality. The girls are often expected to eat the " come-backs " from the guests' meals, which are only too often served in a room that is poorly ventilated, and under conditions by no means cleanly. Sleeping accommodations of girls working in hotels were almost always inadequate. Most of the hotels violate the city or- dinance which requires four hundred cubic feet of air for each occupant of a room. Only three hotels were found in which the sleeping accommodations could be considered fair. In most instances two girls were made to sleep in the same bed, with poor ventilation and a lack of the bare necessities. In all of the houses visited, the girls complained of the long hours and the constant fatigue, many of them being so tired at the end of the day's work " that they did not take the trouble to undress." This report considers the physical hardships endured by these 1 Bowen, L. deK.; " The Girl Employed in Hotels and Restaurants ", Chicago, 1912. 52 THE UNMARRIED MOTHER girls as infinitely lighter than the moral dangers to which they are exposed. It is evident that a girl entering hotel life is usually moral, but it is equally evident that she does not remain so. Many of the housekeepers of the hotels visited advised the investigator not to allow any young girl to enter this occupa- tion. The bad conduct of the guests is connived at by the man- agement, and of course no oversight is kept over the girl during her off hours. Attractive chambermaids receive all kinds of invitations, and so slight is the opportunity for recreation which most of the girls have that she is frequently dependent on some man for assistance in enjoying what little time she can take from her work. A great grievance is overwork and constant fatigue, a condition which makes a young woman peculiarly liable to temptation. The association which conducted this investigation recom- mends inspection of the employment agencies established by the State, and a staff of workers who will look into the employ- ment conditions under which these girls are working in hotels. The largest proportion of girls whose sexual habits are lax are impelled to such behavior, first because of lack of wholesome recreation ; secondly because of immoral surroundings ; third, because of their lonely condition and the indifference of people toward them, and fourth because their work leaves them so tired that they are willing to take any means of recreation that may be offered. The association also advises a Registration Bureau where girls who come from the country may leave their names, and where they would find individuals willing to give them advice and to look into their employment and rec- reation. A further recommendation is the extension of social service work to hotels by means of Welfare Secretaries whose duty it would be to understand the life and the peculiar temp- tations of these girls and to offer them friendly help and counsel. There can be little doubt but that the conditions which are thus revealed in Chicago are duplicated in many of our larger cities, and that the employment of hotel work itself, because of its very nature, is one which is singularly dangerous to the overworked and ignorant girl. BAD ENVIRONMENT 53 The Association referred to considers employment in a res- taurant almost as difficult as that of a girl who works in a hotel. Seventy-two restaurants in Chicago were visited, and it appears that the majority of waitresses had about the same amount of schooling as has the average working woman, and that they usu- ally live in a furnished room and get their meals in the restaurants where they are employed. These girls became waitresses be- cause it does not require any skill, because they get their meals away from home, and because there is a certain amount of excitement in the work, which brings them in contact with a large number of people. There is the usual complaint that the work is very hard, and that a girl can only stand it for a few years, the constant carrying of heavy trays and the long hours on one's feet causing great fatigue. In only a few cases were women employed in restaurants where liquor was sold, those who are thus engaged being looked down upon by the others. As is usual in various occupations, attractive appearance is a girl's best qualification. Again, it was found in Chicago that many of these girls had had little training at home, and that most of them had left, either because they could not remain without irritation, or because they lived in the country and wanted to come to the city. Frequently they realize their future limitations, and are desirous of enjoying themselves while youth and attractiveness last. These girls may be divided into two groups : those who work all day and are called " three-meal " girls, and those who work part of the day and are called " one- or two-meal " girls. Almost all of the restaurants investigated worked their em- ployees at high tension. A considerable number disregarded the Illinois 10-hour Law, although the majority observed it. The largest number of hours worked by " full-time " waitresses was found to be thirteen; the lowest six. In sixteen out of seventy-two restaurants they were obliged to work on Sundays. The longest period worked by " part-time " girls was five hours, and the shortest three and one-half hours. The striking fact in connection with the living conditions of these girls is the large number who are without homes, although 54 THE UNMARRIED MOTHER many of the " one-meal " girls are married women who take this opportunity of earning extra money while their husbands are away at work. In the seventy-two restaurants investigated, the steady workers were paid wages ranging from $6 to $9 per week and board; twenty-three of the number paid $6 a week, and thirty-six paid $7. The wages paid the part-time workers ranged from $3.50 per week to $5. It is interesting to note that ninety per cent of the waitresses complained of their occupation, chiefly because of bad health brought on from stand- ing for so long a period. Some of them complained of the humiliating position in which they were placed, and of the sug- gestive remarks made to them by men. Many of them become lax morally and rely upon a " gentleman friend " for partial support. Obviously, close contact of this kind between men patrons of the restaurant and the girl waitresses is likely to pro- duce an intimacy which is dangerous. It is further interesting to observe that many of the part- time workers have other occupations besides that of waitress; some study in the evening, either music, stenography, or tel- ephone operating. Some fill two positions by working in one place for lunch and in another for dinner, succeeding in earning more by this means. One manager, for instance, would pay $3.90 a week for services during the lunch hour, and the same for the supper hour, while a girl working in the same place for both these meals would probably only receive $6. Working in two places in one day also breaks the monotony of the long day's work. It is evident that a girl who is employed as a waitress and studies in the evening is away from home for a long period of time. Those girls who do only part-time work and are not married find it very difficult to meet their expenses. One girl when asked how she managed to live, said: " I live on $3.90 ? Well, I don't; and I'm not going to kill myself standing on my feet ten hours a day even to earn more." Frequently the step to open prostitution is not difficult. The Juvenile Protective Association of Chicago also advises the establishment of rest rooms where girls working in restau- rants can recuperate during their off-time, which is usually from BAD ENVIRONMENT 55 two to five in the afternoon. Chicago is planning such a res- taurant, provided with a matron and fitted up wdth couches. In time it is hoped that various classes in domestic science, etc., will be practicable. A further recommendation is the abolition of tips. The following cases should indicate some special details worthy of consideration. Case 7. This is the case of an American girl of 27 who ap- peared to be normal and attractive and applied to a protective agency for help in the support of her child. For years her mother had been ill and the young woman had been left to her own devices, being frequently subjected to many temptations because of her attractive qualities. She earned her living as a news girl at a hotel, so that her daily occupation also brought her many invitations from young men. This girl stated that she had been devoted to her mother, and now realized that the mother's long continued illness had been a decided drawback in her development and that in her occupation the enforced lack of supervision had probably been responsible for her present difficulty. Her mother died when her daughter first became pregnant and never knew of her condition. The girl had attended high school and appeared to be well educated. In the months previous to her pregnancy she had enjoyed many luxuries provided by the men mentioned above. Later it was felt that she had shown much strength of character in giving up these associates and in going to live in a modest suite with a respectable girl friend. With her child for an incentive, she has lived a decent life for a year and a half. This woman worked at a summer hotel through her pregnancy, and when unable to conceal her condition any longer, resorted to a cheap lodging house where she was fortunate enough to find a motherly landlady who cared for and made arrangements for her con- finement at a good hospital. Her attachment for her child was the strongest force that had ever come into her life, and she declared that she would never part with him. A year and a half of struggle and privation left an impression on this woman's life, but she wras found to be breaking down nervously when she made application to the charitable agency for guidance. The alleged father was an attractive man in limited financial circumstances. When he heard of the woman's pregnancy he left home. She was too proud to press her need upon his attention. After more than a year, during which he watched her 56 THE UNMARRIED MOTHER struggles, he willingly married her. Although he had previously associated with disreputable companions and had been some- what addicted to drink, friends felt that the marriage would have a desirable effect upon him. This woman claimed that she had been much attached to this man and that he had ap- peared anxious to be with her and had frequently spoken of marriage to her, although not definitely, because of his small earnings. She had never received money or expensive presents from him and in spite of his temporary desertion had retained her affection for him. At the last report they had married with the intention of moving to another State with their child. Case No. 7. Causative factors: (a) Bad Environment: News girl in hotel. (6) Bad Home Conditions: Mother in sanitarium. No control, (c) Bad Companions: Flashy group of men. Sex. Age 27. Case 8. Among those whose pregnancy resulted from contaminating employment conditions is this woman of 31 who became pregnant by a married man for whom she was keeping house. Her father, who bore an excellent reputation, died some years ago of heart trouble, and his wife succumbed to tuberculosis. The fraternity includes two married sisters and a brother who are doing well. This woman lived in a neighboring State until she reached the age of 12, whereupon the family moved into this] vicinity. They were always in comfortable circumstances and were considered respectable by those who came in touch with them; in fact there are several indications of culture and good taste. The woman in question, who seems to be unusually in- telligent, is described as possessed of " the artistic tempera- ment with its accompanying impracticalities." Physically she is anemic. She attended the district school until she was 12 years old and went as far as the second year of the high school, where she did well in drawing and music and bore an excellent reputation. From there she went to a conservatory, securing a teacher's certificate four years later as a music teacher. From 18 to 28 she supported herself by teaching and became active in church work, being on various committees in her con- gregation. In appearance this woman is of medium height and possessed of an attractive personality. From what can be learned, there is a lack of decision on her part in regard to her plans for the future, with a tendency to follow her own judgment without experience. She is perfectly willing to do all that she can to protect the father of her children from notoriety and her BAD ENVIRONMENT 57 family from disgrace, but refuses to give up her twins, believing that it is her duty to support them at any cost. This woman has known the father of her two children for several years, and when his frivolous wife deserted him and his children she agreed to help him in the emergency and so kept house for him. She claims that his behavior towards her had always been correct until she became an inmate of his home, but that after her arrival here they fell into an intimacy which resulted in her pregnancy. She feels that it would be a mistake for her to marry him, because she is certain that he is still attached to this wife and that no happiness would come to her through marriage. The man in the case, an optician 35 years old, a well-to-do church member, is not willing to do much more than help financially with the children. He expressed himself as willing to pay two dollars and a half a week, the children to be placed in a boarding home. Case No. 8. Causative factors : (a) Bad Environment: Woman lived as housekeeper for man whose wife had deserted him. Sex. Age 31. Uncongenial Surroundings. It is not seldom that mental stress is produced in the mind of a girl or young woman by the fact that her surroundings are inadequate for her needs, and the result is frequently an impulsive attachment to some man which may end in pregnancy. That such might be the case for instance with a girl living in a rural section, deprived of all of the satisfaction to which she had been accustomed during a former life in the city, is easily imaginable. Again there may arise a situation where a girl who has distinct intellectual capacities may find in her surroundings but little opportunity for expression. In both instances there is likely to exist an element of dissatisfaction strong enough to make it probable that the girl will grasp eagerly at the slightest chance of grati- fying her starved interests. This condition often manifests itself in some seemingly unrelated action. A girl may run away from home with no definite intentions, simply because her home conditions are uncongenial. She may again turn to the first person who offers her any affection in order to fill that side of her nature which under certain conditions the family life fails to satisfy. It is under such circumstances that 58 THE UNMARRIED MOTHER normal desires, not being normally expressed, have produced a mental state directly causative of sexual laxness resulting in pregnancy. The following case is illustrative of this condition. Case 9. This American girl was adopted when she was two weeks old by a respectable couple living in a small New England village, who gave her as many advantages as they could. The home was comfortable, although devoid of social opportunities of a normal kind. When about 20 years old she began to re- ceive the attention of several older men, one of them, who was married, becoming the father of her child. Little is known of this girl's family except that she was the youngest of ten children, and that her mother had been in such unfortunate circumstances as to be unable to take care of her daughter. The girl developed normally, was never wayward and was considered obedient and truthful. Her father died when the girl was 17, leaving his wife and daughter in comfortable cir- cumstances. She had attended school regularly and had com- pleted the grammar grades, where she excelled in arithmetic, fail- ing, however, in her entrance examinations to the high school. Her activities in the small town in which she lived centered around the church where she was a leader among the young people. According to her minister, the girl was respected by every one because of her self-sacrificing spirit. She once walked four miles to a funeral, fearing that no one else would go. When this girl became pregnant, she kept her condition secret for four months in an attempt to save her mother the disgrace, and later told a story of assault so vividly that all who were interested in her welfare accepted it as true. She repeated this story a great many times without variation, exhibiting no small amount of cleverness in doing so. Temperamentally this young woman seemed incapable of very deep feeling, manifesting no strong affection for any one save her mother. Her child was born at a private maternity hospital, and the girl, who soon succeeded in overcoming the criticism of the people of the town, refused to give it in adoption. In an effort to reduce the amount of criticism directed against her, she pretended that she had been the victim of an assault. Occasionally it had been her custom to help with the house cleaning of the neighbors and at one time while employed in a schoolhouse she claims that she was assaulted by the janitor, a man of 61. After much pressure the girl broke down and confessed that the father of her child was a married man 40 BAD ENVIRONMENT 59 years of age who had managed her mother's farm since her father's death. The alleged father was a prosperous man of excellent reputation in the community, deliberate and strong- willed, and quite capable of influencing this young girl into illicit relations with him. She had known both him and his wife for a long time, frequently going over his milk route with him, with his wife's consent, and often having intercourse with him on such occasions. The father, however, claimed that she had been promiscuous and named two other men. At the close of this record the question of paternity had not been definitely settled. The girl and her child are reported as do- ing well in her mother's home. It is felt that the background in this case lay in the fact that living as this girl did in a rural section without the normal social life of a more populous com- munity and deprived of any companionship with young men, she was particularly open to the attentions of this married man. Case No. 9. Causative factors : (a) Bad Environment: Girl an adopted child, living in rural community. Few young men friends. (5) Recreational Disadvantages: Little opportunity for normal enjoyment, (c) Physical: Hyster- ical type. Sex -|-. Age 20. CHAPTER IV Bad Companions Bad companions - Contaminating influence of groups - Bad effect of individuals - Ill success of institutional treatment - Age of companions. Bad Companions. It has not been deemed necessary to divide this chapter on " Bad Companions " into different paragraphs descriptive of various kinds of bad associates, and consequently there appear under this general heading all of those cases in which the fact of bad companions seems to be the prime causa- tive factor. It should not be necessary to enumerate the many ways in which one individual may have a formative influence upon another, particularly at an early age. The Contaminating Influence of Groups. The influence of such companions involves the whole question of group psy- chology and the degree to which one individual may be moved by several others with whom he or she is in close contact. Of great importance is the contagious element liberated by collective activity. There are many instances in which a single individual has proved herself so suggestible to her immediate personal environment as to enter into misconduct which would never have suggested itself under ordinary conditions. It is only too evident that this influence operates on boys and girls, causing one individual to " take color " from others with whom he or she associates. A strong personality may dominate such a group, but there are frequently instances to be found in which a girl begins a career of sexual delinquency at the instiga- tion and suggestion of those with whom she associates. Cases appear in which two girls and two young men, for in- 60 BAD COMPANIONS 61 stance, one of the girls perhaps already promiscuous, have started on some holiday or picnic. It is then that the girl already initiated into sexual irregularity, by accepting the advances of her companion, throws the other into a situation where it is difficult for her to refuse consent. Many are un- aware to what extent a false standard of sportsmanship may lead a girl to her undoing. The whole tradition which calls upon each individual to enter into the spirit of the occasion forces many a girl to give in rather than be found uncongenial. Particularly unfortunate is such a situation when the girl her- self finds it difficult enough to withstand the advances of young men without the weakening influence of group association, for it is often just such girls who are then supplied with the extra impetus which their inhibitions now find it impossible to with- stand. In another place attention is drawn to the fact that the sex ethics of communities may be quite different so that a girl may think that action to be right which is accepted by the majority. Many believe, for instance, that a girl is not cul- pable unless she accepts money in return for her consent or has intercourse with different men. Again, the period preceding marriage is often considered one in which sexual intimacy is permissible, and misfortune comes only when a young man refuses to marry the girl who is pregnant by him. The Bad Effect of Individuals. Attention has been drawn to the evil effect which single individuals may exert upon others in relation to sexual delinquency. Such keen interest often exists on the part of an older girl in introducing a younger one into bad sex practices that the conclusion seems warranted that many individuals possess a trait which takes satisfaction in the moral and physical contamination of another. It would be interesting to study the mental processes of a person, for in- stance, who takes delight in teaching a young child the use of morphine or some other drug, removed as is his satisfaction from the field of sense at least. Perhaps less difficult to under- stand is that trait, existing in many, which will not permit inno- cence to continue in its company, and which takes delight in introducing an immature child into the depths of sexual perver- 62 THE UNMARRIED MOTHER sions. It must not be forgotten that this may be related to a sadistic tendency in an older individual which finds satisfaction in the infliction of even such a subtle degree of pain as is involved in robbing a fellow being of his or her moral innocence. In many instances young girls in these cases have suffered an initiation into bad sex practices through older persons of their own sex, a situation which it is difficult to prevent because it is often almost impossible for parents to exercise anything like a strict supervision over their daughter's companions. The Ill Success of Institutional Treatment. The student is frequently brought face to face with the tragic failure of attempts at reformation by the means of institutional care. Many a girl has testified that the first ideas that she has had in regard to bad sex practices have been given her by inmates of an institution where she was sent in order that improvement might be effected in her. Those who are not intimately connected with such organizations are frequently unaware of the danger incurred by a girl, not yet confirmed in habits of delinquency, who is thus forced into the contagion of an ungraded institution. The public has been so blind in regard to this matter that it insists upon sending girls and young women to reformatories where reformation is rendered very difficult because of the State's unwillingness to expend upon this part of our correctional system the financial appropriations which would enable them to be adequately constructed and supervised. Not only is it folly to expect the reformation of a feeble-minded girl, but it is equally unwise to place her in close contact with a girl of normal mentality whose behavior we are attempting to im- prove. The feeble-minded girl may prove to be a positive source of moral and physical contamination, often taking the active part in teaching bad practices to a less vicious com- panion. When one recognizes the tremendous amount of mental imagery suggested by the gossip and conversation, which take place in an institution, coupled with the fact that the girls in such a situation find no normal emotional outlet through dancing and other forms of association with BAD COMPANIONS 63 boys and young men, it is not difficult to imagine the large amount of bad sex practices and homosexual relationships which may go on within such walls. Attention should be drawn to the necessity of separating well-defined groups in institu- tions, as well as to the fact that such an artificial environ- ment can frequently produce but slight improvement in the character of many an individual. Age of Companions. Under the head of " Bad Companions " men of much older age have been frequently included, and in one or two instances a man with whom a woman may have lived for some time outside of marriage is referred to as a " bad com- panion." The histories, however, have led to the belief, as is indicated in the appendix on statistics, that in the majority of cases the difference in ages between the girl and the father of her child is ordinarily consistent with the range involved in sexual selection. Those individuals are drawn to each other who are at an age most suited to each other sexually. There are, however, instances in which an older man has exerted an undeniably evil influence on a young child, and there is at least one case which is indicative of what seems to point to a common fallacy, based on an unwillingness to recog- nize the possibility of erotic desire on the part of young girls who may be just at the beginning of their adolescence. This is frequently the result of one's unreadiness to associate the immature physique of such a girl with the thought of reproduc- tion, and the feeling that there is something almost abnormal in the idea of a thirteen year old girl's giving birth to a child. Yet the fact remains that there are examples of intimacy existing between an uncle and a niece, for instance, in which the uncle had been unsuspicious, until it was too late, that his niece's feelings toward him were far from those ordinarily associated with a relative of such close kin. He misunder- stands the complete nature of a growing girl who is unwilling to face the fact that the awakening of sex desire often precedes not only a girl's full physical development, but that it may be a part of the conscious life of a very young child without deviating from the line of what may be considered normal. 64 THE UNMARRIED MOTHER The other complexities associated with the subject of bad companions will be brought out in some of the cases which are submitted. It should be repeated that the forces which are being considered under this head do not work singly upon the individual. In only a relatively small number of cases has it seemed justifiable to consider this factor as of prime impor- tance, and even in such cases it is almost invariably accompanied by an inherent weakness on the part of the individual girl or by bad home conditions. There is slight doubt, however, but that this cause is a contributing factor of great importance, and this should be clearly shown in this and the other cases which follow. Case io. This case is that of a girl whose parents were Russian Jews. Her child was born when she was 17. She seems fairly intelligent and in good shape physically, and mental examination was considered unnecessary. The father is moral and industrious, although handicapped by his inability to read and write. The mother is equally uneducated, has never worked out of the home, suffering from sore eyes, rheuma- tism, and severe headaches. She has three married daughters and one son, all of whom have good reputations. She lost two children in infancy. The family moved from Russia to London, where they re- mained eight years, and emigrated to this country when the girl in question was 4. They occupy a tenement for which they pay $15 per month in a crowded section near dance halls and saloons. Although there are two boys, the home is orderly and comfortable, and the girl has a room to herself. It cannot be said that the home influence was in any sense degrading. The parents, however, were ignorant of American ways and took little interest in what their daughter did so long as she brought in money. They did not even know which school she attended or who her friends were, and they exercised a good deal of leniency because this girl was the youngest in the family, the child of their old age. She was not taught to work or bear responsibility, and little effort was made to develop her will power or to awaken her ambition. There is nothing of significance in this girl's antenatal history; she was weaned at 18 months and walked at one year, she had measles at 6, mumps at 11, and suffered from sore eyes, defective teeth and vision. During her developmental period she slept poorly BAD COMPANIONS 65 and had little appetite. Her first menstruation occurred at 13 and continued irregularly, sometimes stopping 3 months or a year. She was never told sex facts or instructed in personal hygiene. Her school attendance was irregular, and she was truant in the fifth grade, repeating grades three, four, and five because of illness during these years. Her parents were anx- ious for her to go on with her studies, but she left in the seventh grade at 14 to go to work, having attained her best rank in arithmetic and her lowest in history and geography. Up to this time this girl had been fairly con- tented in her home and thoroughly enjoyed playing games in the evening with other children or going to the moving-picture theaters and entertainments with her parents. She began at this time to seek more freedom and associated with girls of very questionable character, who exerted a formative influence on her whole subsequent life. Comment has been made on the fact that her parents took no trouble to investigate these friends, which accounts for the fact that an intimacy with an immoral girl living in the same building was allowed to grow undis- turbed, this girl frequently visiting the family for two or three days at a time. From her came all that the girl in question knew of sex and immorality, and through her she became un- chaste. From school the subject of this study went to work in a department store for six months, then in a manufacturing company from which she was discharged, then back to a series of department stores, in which she averaged $3.50 a week in pay. The family took the whole of her wages and gave her no allowance. In each place in which she worked she seemed to succeed in attaching herse'f to the most immoral girls. She now began to lie and steal, pawning the articles and giving the money to her girl friends who seemed to have exerted a strong influence over her. During the year previous to her commit- ment, she worked only at intervals, the family never asking questions, and she turned in to them the equivalent of her weekly wages with money made by prostitution. With it all she does not seem to have been vicious, although she enticed a girl whom she met to leave home. Her fault lay in being suggestible to the influence of companions who used her to their own advantage. At 15 this girl pretended to be at work when she was really immoral. In the morning she would meet a girl friend and they would solicit men in a crowded section of the city, from whom they secured one to three dollars each. Her arrest followed her delinquency, when with another girl she spent four days with 66 THE UNMARRIED MOTHER two men. As the girls were both under the age of consent, the men were sentenced to a year each. At the time of her arrest this girl was shockingly filthy, was suffering from pediculosis, gonorrhoea, and was pregnant. She bore an eight and a half pound child in good condition, which her parents took into their home. The experience seems to have had a salutary effect on the girl, who is now much improved in behavior. She says, " I thought because I was the baby of the family, I could do as I wished. I wouldn't mind any one and went with bad girls. That is why I am here. I first began to be bad in the fifth grade, when I played truant with a girl. Later we picked up men. This girl met me every morning and teased me to go with her instead of to work. Sometimes I did. We went to men's rooms, and I got some of the money. This girl told me lots of bad things and was the first to start me wrong. I have had more fellows in the last two days than I can remember." When once away for four days she had intercourse with six different men. Case No. 10. Causative factors: (a) Bad Companions: Taught immorality by girl in same tenement and induced to solicit by girls whom she met at stores. (&) Bad Home Conditions: Family ignorant of American ways. Did not investigate girl's friends. Spoiled because youngest of family. Lies. Stole. Sex + + + • Age 17. CHAPTER V Recreational Disadvantages General consideration - Demoralizing recreation - Methods of Con- trol and reform. General Consideration. In no single instance has it seemed justifiable to consider recreational disadvantages as the main causative factor of a girl's pregnancy, and yet there can be little doubt in regard to the bad effect of a lack of this kind in the life of the normal girl. Any one possessed of slight imagina- tive power will readily understand the connection between an existence devoid of friends or opportunities of social contact, a home too strict, where perhaps the young woman is not al- lowed to entertain her friends, and such impulsive actions as may result in pregnancy. A complicating factor is due to the increased cost of entertainment, resulting as it does in many a young woman's complete reliance upon men for her recrea- tion, a state which frequently places her hopelessly under obligation to him. Little has appeared in the materials handled in this study to lead one to believe that men look upon the giving enjoyment to their partners as sufficient return for money so spent, and only too often they expect some personal return, usually a new degree of intimacy. A further situation arises when we consider the condition of a girl who lives in an isolated community, where she has but slight opportunity of normal association with men, and where the logical result of such unnatural living is the absence of that proper balance and reserve in relation to men which only ex- perience develops. Such a girl quickly finds herself beyond her inhibitory powers should she be accidentally thrown into 67 68 THE UNMARRIED MOTHER intimate relationship with some man who is at all attractive to her, and clever enough to make use of her lack of understanding. Demoralizing Recreation. Of more positive influence are those recreational opportunities which are in themselves demor- alizing, such as unsupervised dance halls and the contaminating influence to be found in some of the motion-picture theaters. The working girl of to-day is frequently employed at such arduous tasks that her energy can find recuperation only through highly intensified and exciting recreation, which is always accompanied by the danger of sexual overstimulation. Of direct bearing on this point is an investigation conducted by the Juvenile Protective Association of Chicago in 1916, which illustrates conditions so typical that it has appeared worth quoting in some detail. For nine years this association has been carefully watching both the physical conditions and the moral influences surround- ing the theaters, dance halls, cabarets, amusement parks, and lake boats in and around Chicago. As a result of their obser- vations a situation has been disclosed which is extremely dan- gerous for the young people in search of recreation. Commenting first on the excursion steamers, this report1 states that there are two distinct types of excursion boats operating on Lake Michigan, a fact that a young girl could hardly be expected to know. One carries the holiday and excursion crowds, and the other the regular passengers and business traffic, the former being patronized by young women who are professional prostitutes, as well as by men who are looking for women recruits. There is another type of young men and women passengers who are already acquainted, but are drifting towards the " lover stage " of intimate relation- ship. These boats " rarely have more than one police officer on board whose duty it is to supervise some 2800 people." Forty trips were made by investigators, covering six different steam- ship lines, and it was found that on most of the boats, roulette 1 Bowen, L. deK.: "The Road to Destruction Made Easy in Chicago", Chicago, 1916. RECREATIONAL DISADVANTAGES 69 wheels were permitted, the dancing was vulgar and indecent, liquor was often sold to minors, couples lay around in compro- mising attitudes, and staterooms were rented indiscriminately to young people, often under 18 years of age. The Chicago Vice Commission, commenting on the condi- tions existing on the lake steamers,1 gives a series of typical instances found, from which may be quoted the following. " September 3rd, 1910, investigator left Chicago on the steam- ship for South Haven, Michigan. In the barroom there were about twenty young girls and boys sitting at tables drinking beer. In stateroom No. 28, two boys and two girls were lying in the berths, and all were under the influence of liquor. In room No. 56 were found two men and two girls; one of the girls appeared to be very drunk. Three boys visited state- room No. 51 during the trip. A young woman was in this room. In stateroom No. 64 a man about sixty-five years old was sitting at the door reading. Later he was seen in the crowd talking very earnestly to a young woman. After a while they went into stateroom No. 64 and locked the door, and did not appear again until the boat arrived in South Haven." The Juvenile Protective Association states that one may naturally assume that an evening spent by young people in the park, from the very fact that it is out-of-doors and fre- quented by people of all ages, would be free from the more open temptation associated with dance halls and cabarets. This organization found, however, that there seems to be no public opinion against the most open familiarity on the grounds of these places, that indecencies are overlooked by a good-na- tured crowd, that young people, after the excitement of the evening, are allowed "to go down the most direct road to de- struction " unchecked. One judge has referred to the prairies around one of Chicago's parks as " the largest house of assigna- tion in the city." An investigation made of one of these parks during six visits revealed many suggestive advertisements and gambling devices, girls of 18 were drinking to excess, and small children with older 1 "The Social Evil in Chicago", p. 215. 70 THE UNMARRIED MOTHER people were drinking beer. As it was Carnival Week, dozens of girls were dressed in men's clothes, thus inviting the indigni- ties which they received. The ground was covered at mid- night. The Chicago Vice Commission reports similar condi- tions, and their investigators submitted data showing the large number of prostitutes that frequented these places, and their distinctly lowering influence on those young people with whom they come in contact. Although the moving-picture theaters are in many cases distinctly educational, and although much has been done by the National Board of Censors to improve the subjects of the films, and by the owners themselves to better the local conditions, there are of course many instances in which demoralizing influ- ences exist. One may look upon the moving picture itself as of distinct value in the educational life of the people, placing good entertainment within reach of those who are only able to pay moderately for it. The chief evils connected with some theaters, however, are due to the physical environment and the lack of supervision, although in many instances the perform- ance itself is also of low order. The Juvenile Protective Asso- ciation, while investigating many of the five and ten-cent theaters in Chicago, in 1915 made frequent visits to fourteen theaters, the results of which were found to be very discourag- ing. In only two of these fourteen theaters was the perform- ance respectable. In eleven out of fourteen children were present in the audience, in seven advertisements were objec- tionable, in one they were indecent. In others the dances were coarse and vulgar, in some of them women posed as living pictures, while in two women danced almost nude. The Vice Commission comments on the coarseness of the vaudeville acts, and states this danger is one that always besets children congregated without proper supervision. The condi- tions surrounding some of these theaters frequently exert an evil influence over young girls, and many men entice girls into the performance and take liberties with them when the place is in total or semi-darkness. Worth mentioning are the immoral features connected with the amateur nights and the RECREATIONAL DISADVANTAGES 71 conditions back of the stage. Many young girls have a dra- matic tendency, and hear of the money that is made so easily by the profession. Often theaters have dressing rooms, and the girls, who will do anything in order to get an opportunity of performing before the public, will spend the night there with the various men connected with the establishment. There are, of course, many cheap burlesque theaters which have a demoralizing influence, where extremely suggestive perform- ances are the rule. Much has been said of dance halls as an incentive to immoral- ity, and many surveys have been made in recent years which tend to confirm the belief that particularly where liquor is sold in connection with public dances, if licenses are given indis- criminately, there are likely to be grave consequences. The Report of the Juvenile Protective Association, quoted above, considers that the majority of young people dependent upon public sources for recreation find it most often in public dance halls. In most of them liquor was sold to young people under an iniquitous law peculiar to Chicago, which provides that a special bar permit can be issued by the mayor to any group of people who call themselves a society organized for " fraternal, educational or charitable purposes ", and who pay $6 for per- mission to sell liquor from three o'clock in the afternoon until three o'clock in the morning. Although such permits are supposedly given only to responsible organizations, the privi- lege has been much abused. In the latter part of 1914, an at- tempt was made to pass an ordinance in the City Council pro- hibiting the sale of liquor in any dance hall, but there was so much objection that a compromise ordinance resulted which provided that great care must be taken in an issuance of special bar permits. Investigation has proved, however, that little effort was made by the police to enforce these provisions. One permit was given in the name of a man who had been dead for several weeks, and many are granted to clubs who have no financial or moral standards, such as " The Merry Whirlers ", the " Put Away Trouble Club ", and the " Girls' Taxi Club." Investigation showed that the public dance halls were largely 72 THE UNMARRIED MOTHER controlled by the saloon and vice interests, many of the halls being owned by the brewery companies. Out of 328 halls, 190 had saloons opening into them, and liquor was sold in 240 of the total. The report describes conditions at various dances which were investigated, showing that general intoxication and indecency, including improper conduct between the women and men present, prevailed. At one dance an agent in livery passed through the hall at three o'clock in the morning, advertis- ing " nice rooms at Hotel." The report of the Chicago Vice Commission handles the dance-hall situation in detail, and reports verbatim conversations with prostitutes in the dance halls visited. That the cabaret seems to be a source of temptation to many a young couple is indicated by the Report of the Juvenile Pro- tective Association. More than half of the Chicago saloons have added entertainments of this kind during the last few years, from one to ten young women being employed to sing and dance in the majority of these establishments. It is not required that there should be much proficiency in either of these accomplishments, for the young women are engaged in order that they may drink with the patrons, that girl being most valuable who is able to induce a customer to order the largest number of drinks. Girls secure these positions through agents who take anywhere from five to ten per cent a week of the salary earned, there being considerable dishonesty among them. The majority of young women who go into this sort of work are from the country and feel that they are making easy money, because the salary, ranging from $18 to $75 a week, seems very large to an unsophisticated girl. The girls, how- ever, are required to wear fashionable clothes, and usually save very little. In some larger places three shifts of girls are em- ployed, one from the afternoon until nine o'clock, one from nine until two in the morning, and the third until sunrise. It goes without saying that under such conditions extremely demoralizing behavior takes place, frequently ending in drunken orgies and actual immorality. The girl employed here faces three perils: first she is interviewed by an agent who is often RECREATIONAL DISADVANTAGES 73 disreputable, and if she succeeds in escaping from his attentions she finds herself in the power of the proprietor of the saloon, who often makes indecent proposals. Finally, she is open to the advances of drunken and disreputable patrons. It seems justifiable to go to such length in describing the conditions existing in Chicago, only because several interesting investigations have been made there, and because the situation repeats itself, perhaps on a smaller scale, in any large city com- munity. In a study of the causative factors operating in the lives of girls and young women, there is found a surprising similarity. All of the conditions which have been cited as existing in the dance halls, amusement parks, and theaters are indications of the exploitation of human passion for commercial purposes, coupled with a lack of supervision over immature and highly- sensed individuals. Both of these forces operate in nearly every modern community. They point to the supreme impor- tance of recreation in the lives of girls and young women, and of the necessity of control over this instinct by an enlightened public opinion. Fortunately much is being done to give to the young people of our cities opportunities of healthful recreation as well as sane mental interests, both extremely important in the sublimation of the sex instinct. Nothing is more conducive to day dreaming and its accompanying state of sexual excite- ment than mental and physical inactivity relieved by no absorb- ing mental interest. It is probable that many of the problems of sex may be solved by supplying just such healthy mental interests for the community, something which at present the best-intentioned parents are frequently unable to do. All of these influences, due to the absence of recreational opportunities or to the presence of positively demoralizing means of enjoy- ment, have the effect of causing girls and young women to satisfy normal desire under abnormal and highly-stimulated conditions. Methods of Control and Reform. That much can be expected from a wise policy of this kind is indicated by Healy, who states,1 " It is safe to say that for any girl who has normal self-control, 1 Healy, William, op. cit., p. 247. 74 THE UNMARRIED MOTHER who is not suffering from mental defect or aberration, activities that interest sufficient to outweigh physiological sex-impulses can be found by skilled and understanding people." In keep- ing with this statement, one finds a promising factor in the use of the school center as an opportunity of recreation for adoles- cent girls. Woods and Kennedy 1 feel that this would do much to provide for the girls who now go to low-grade dance halls as their only recreational resource. The existence of such a center would make it easier, they feel, to secure the more drastic legislation necessary for the regulation of commercial recreation places. They draw attention to the fact, however, that if thorough supervision is lacking in such a center, its influence would be just as unfortunate as is that of a dance hall. Ideally, the girls who attend should come from the same vicinity, and thus find themselves among acquaintances. They would also be in their own neighborhood when they leave even at the end of the evening. The girl who attends such a dance would thus be hedged in by the public opinion of her neighborhood and of her accustomed companions, and the educational bond con- nected with the school would in itself be elevating. Until the school center becomes fully developed, much must of necessity fall upon the settlement houses for solution. In commercialized sections, such an organization can elevate the tone of the recreational establishments in the vicinity, whereas in more residential sections a settlement house may direct the amusement of its local community. Lectures should be given in the public schools, exhibits prepared, and moving-picture demonstrations provided which would set forth some of the dangers associated with improper recreation. Social workers should enlighten the mothers of young girls, and an attempt should be made to build up a neighborhood standard on ques- tions of this sort. Proper laws should be passed. The most important need is supervision of commercial resorts themselves. This should be largely in the hands of women with the neces- sary police authority, and women of this kind should attend all public dances. 1 Woods and Kennedy, op. cit., p. 115. RECREATIONAL DISADVANTAGES 75 Woods and Kennedy discuss the matter of constructive recreation for working girls in an illuminating chapter.1 The testimony among settlement workers seems to be that normal recreational provisions for young working girls should consist of one half-holiday weekly, preferably in the open, one evening devoted to a club, one evening for attendance at a party, theater, or moving-picture show, with an occasional " red letter event " in addition to this average. Under favorable conditions a girl should be encouraged to attend evening school. The consensus of opinion seems to be that girls spend too large a proportion of their wages for commercialized recreation, with- out securing a fair return in pleasure content. It is felt that the average girl should receive at least ten per cent of her wages, and never less than twenty-five cents a week to spend. Among the most popular forms of recreation is dancing, towards which the girls themselves take two attitudes when such parties are held in settlements. Some of them consider them to be " high-toned ", and attend commercial dances rarely. To others, however, settlement dances are " slow ", and there is insufficient freedom in dancing and in the selection of partners. Dramatics are also of great recreational value, affording as they do opportunities for personal expression and achievement. Among other interests may be mentioned ath- letics, group singing, theater parties, and other stimulating methods of recreation. One of the most important develop- ments of modern settlement house work has been the success in securing the interest of the parents in the pleasures of their children. Some settlement houses have organized entertain- ment by the Mothers' Clubs for their daughters, and have assisted the parents in the arrangement of parties and picnics in which the daughter and her friends were the center of inter- est. In a few instances it has been found possible to give Sunday teas for whole families, where a wholesome contact has been established between the family and the settlement worker. The past pages have dealt with the means of providing suit- able recreation for the normal girl, whereas all who have had 1 Woods and Kennedy, op. cit., chap. IX. 76 THE UNMARRIED MOTHER anything to do with the problem realize that there are often indolent and hypersexed girls in the community for whom little can be done. Healy is of the opinion that such individuals " are a menace to the welfare of society, tempters of the opposite sex, purveyors of disease, and spreaders of vicious knowledge among other girls." 1 In recommending segregation and repres- sion for this type, he feels that even though the happiness of some individuals may be sacrificed by a restrictive policy, it is better that this should be so than that society as a whole should suffer. Such is a general discussion of the problem of recreational disadvantages, and of its influence on the behavior of girls and young women. Enough has been said to indicate the importance of healthy mental interests, and of normal methods of recreation and enjoyment. Many cases will be found under other headings in which recreational disadvantages operate as a minor causative factor in misconduct. 1 Healy, William, op. cit., p. 247. CHAPTER VI Educational Disadvantages General statement - Lack of knowledge of sex matters - Infantile sexualism - Freud and the school of psycho-analysis - Sexual enlightenment for adolescent girls - Conclusions. General Statement. Although the influence of educational disadvantages has not appeared as a major factor in any one case of this study, it will be readily appreciated that it is of great importance in determining the behavior of the individual girl or young woman. By noting it as operative in twenty cases as a minor factor, it is not intended to imply that others in the whole group did not suffer from disadvantages of this kind, but rather that it did not seem justifiable to emphasize it in a larger number, because it was impossible to evaluate the determining influence which this handicap caused in such cases. It is obvious that the difficulty attendant upon educational disadvantages may be the direct result of the low intelligence of the parents. Again, the danger attendant upon lack of educa- tion makes itself apparent when one finds an illiterate girl thrown into a difficult situation without the ability to speak English. A lack of this kind may also be occasioned by frequent moving on the part of the family, necessitating irregular school attendance by the daughter. Instances appear in which the girl is backward through no fault of her own, and in which family conditions were such that she was forced to leave school at an early age. Of importance in a study of the unmarried mother must be the success or failure of education from a vocational point of view. The girl who starts out upon life with slight industrial 77 78 THE UNMARRIED MOTHER or commercial aptitude often finds herself unable to retain a situation or to advance in her line of employment. Only too frequently such cases lapse into clandestine or open prostitution. More important still, as affecting the behavior of girls and young women, is the absence of healthy mental interests. It is the type of vacant-minded dreamer who most readily suc- cumbs to temptation and who possesses no capacity for sub- stituting absorbing mental interests for preoccupation with the affairs of sex. Lack of Knowledge on Sex Matters. The largest number of cases in which educational disadvantages was a minor factor, were those in which the young woman claimed that her preg- nancy was the result of lack of instruction on sex matters. Aside from the fact that there may be a tendency on the part of in- dividuals to excuse their misconduct on the basis of innocence, a large number of girls are actually woefully ignorant of the nature and expression of the most dominant instinct in life. Sketching the attitude of the past towards sex matters, Stanley Hall,1 who considers this sphere the most important part of moral education, is of the opinion that modern psychology, in emphasizing the enormous influence of sex in the lives of individuals, has placed before society of to-day a challenge to bring this important matter out of darkness and filth into the light of day. " Every modern expert authority, without one exception that I can find," says Stanley Hall, " agrees that sex is the most imperious and all-pervading instinct in man; that nothing so conditions his individual and social life; that it supplies the strongest motivation to attain eminence, acquire property, found a home; that it makes art, science, altruism, moral, and religious life which cannot be understood without knowing its primary and secondary qualities. It is strongly sexed men and women in their period of maturity and vigor that have done most of the great and good work of the world and done it be- cause they were sexed, since nothing in the soul of man is so 1 Hall, G. Stanley: "Educational Problems", 1911, New York, vol. I, chap. VII. EDUCATIONAL DISADVANTAGES 79 susceptible of transformation or has so many higher psycho- kinetic equivalents. For this reason nothing in us needs educa- tion and guidance in this plastic nascent period so much as this propensity which is most of all denied it." Among other psychologists, one may quote Havelock Ellis,1 who says that "No doubt is any longer possible as to the absolute necessity of taking deliberate and active part in this sexual initiation, instead of leaving it to the chance revelation of ignorant, and perhaps vicious companions or servants. It is becoming more and more widely felt that the risks of ignorant innocence are too great." Particularly important is it to this author that this " ignorant innocence ", when it regards women, is not only too fragile to be worth preservation, but that it is positively mischievous, depriving women of the knowl- edge necessary for intelligent sympathy with others of their sex. Of late years the subject of sex hygiene has been discussed throughout the civilized world, and it is safe to state that the consensus of opinion is in favor of sex instruction, the dis- agreements being occasioned only by the differences in regard to the best methods of such enlightenment. Stanley Hall feels that the child of to-day has inherited a stream of sex informa- tion, correct and erroneous, always vulgar, which has percolated through all ages of society "as by constant seepage." " From it come the obscenities that it is so impossible to eliminate from the environment and from the lives of our children to-day on the streets, in the schools, and back alleys. . . . This ancient lore is rank with contempt for woman, body and soul, and with gross misrepresentation of her very nature. Nearly all of it represents her as at heart sensual, passionate, and lust- ful, but hypocritical. ... It is this idea, then, that is one of the most corruptive derivatives of this noxious, teaming mass of folk-tradition that has survived from the worst ages of the worst nations of ancient and modern times, and which is passed on to our children to-day in direct line of continuity." 1 Ellis, Havelock : "Studies in the Psychology of Sex", VI, "Sex in Relation to Society", Philadelphia, 1911. 80 THE UNMARRIED MOTHER No matter how disillusioning such a review of the past may be, it affords, according to Stanley Hall, an opportunity of realizing the upward movement which decent men and races have achieved by suppression and sublimation. It has been a hard struggle, and probably represents the greatest achievement of culture history. " By struggles, vows, prayers, falling and rising again, defeats and victories . . . man has for untold ages toiled, struggled, fought and battled with his desire, and yearned and striven upward." There is, he says, something sublime in contemplating the [history of a creature like man, who is thus " dowered with the body of death and the soul of light, and who is always lapsing, but always starting on again ", since all the nations which have perished from the world have been those who failed to solve aright the great problems of sex. It is into such a conflict as this that the child enters long before he is aware. Many psychologists are now agreed with Moll1 who says " We have, therefore, to recognize clearly from the first, that in the education of the child the complete exclusion of sexual stimuli is impossible." This author admits that one of the difficulties connected with such education lies in the unenlightened state of many of those who would be educators. Summing up the matter, he states: " The sexual enlightenment of the child is advisable. The biological processes of sex in the vegetable and lower animal world may be taught in school as early as the second period of childhood. A warn- ing against the dangers of venereal infection may be given at school to the senior pupils shortly before they leave, or at some similar suitable opportunity. But for effecting enlightenment regarding the processes of the individual sex life, the school is unsuitable; this matter can best be undertaken by some private person, and above all by the mother. Choice of the time for this last phase of the sexual enlightenment must be guided, in part by the questions of the child, in part by the child's physical maturity, but more especially by the indications of psycho- sexual development." 1 Moll, A.: "The Sexual Life of the Child", chap. IX, New York, 1912. EDUCATIONAL DISADVANTAGES 81 Infantile Sexualism. Modern research has brought to the attention of this generation the fact that the sex instinct mani- fests itself at an early period in the life of the child. Havelock Ellis maintains that auto-erotic manifestations may sometimes be observed even in infants of less than twelve months. Moll, in the work referred to, has given much information which goes to show that sexual excitation and its accompanying physiological manifestations occur at an extremely early age. Further contributions of a valuable kind by S. Freud will be considered later.1 Stanley Hall2 holds that it was formerly believed that it was hardly necessary to consider the sex instinct of children before the age of 10, but that recent investigations have shown this to be a very grave mistake. He refers to Bell, who has collected scores of cases showing sexual life in children under 12, even as young as 5, 3, or even 2 years of age,3 whereas Freud has described a boy of 5 years whose chief interests centered in sex. In his discussion of the manifestation of the sex in- stinct before puberty, this author maintains that the chief evidence of active sex life in young children rests upon the work of Freud, and the psycho-analytical school, which is of such importance in relation to the whole realm of sex that it is felt worthy of more detailed treatment here. Freud and the School of Psycho-analysis. Stanley Hall4 sums up the Freudian school as concluding that nearly all neuroses have their ultimate origin in some lesion or trauma of the vita sexualis before puberty, perhaps averaging about the age of 8 or 9. Many cases begin in some strong sex experience, by which topics of this kind were forced upon the mind of the individual to an excessive degree. Nervous children, es- pecially girls and frequently those who are delicate, are peculiarly liable to these influences. The Freudian concep- tion of sex is that it is a composite of many elements, some 1 Freud, S.: "Three Contributions to the Sexual Theory", New York, 1910. 2 Hall, G. Stan'ey, op. cit., vol. I, p. 443. 3Bell, Sanford, "A Preliminary Study of the Emotion of Love between the Sexes", American Journal of Psychology, July, 1902, vol. 12, pp. 325-354. 4 Hall, G. Stanley, op. cit., p. 445. 82 THE UNMARRIED MOTHER manifest almost from birth, and that these components develop more or less independently at first, all seeking expression until a part are repressed by censure or shame, and fall into disuse. Others are inhibited in their outward manifestations, but possessed frequently with great vigor in the sphere of the unconscious, where they are to all intents and purposes forgotten. The other components in normal development join together at puberty and become what is known as the sexual instinct. In children these components exist in both sexes, and are at that time called sex neuters; later they enter into either sex, although in different proportion. These components have their specific traits, such as sucking, both that of nursing and thumb- sucking, and various auto-erotic manifestations which may later evolve into self-abuse. They also take on more objective forms which Stanley Hall classifies as 1. extreme aggressiveness, which may later sink to sadism or be sublimated and spiritualized into creativeness and originality; 2. abnormal passivity, which may lapse to masochism, or rise to receptivity of high degree; 3. exhibitionism, or the impulse to show off, which has various manifestations. Each of these instincts may become an in- dependent source of pleasure, retaining at once the very best and the very poorest traits of human nature. Hall feels that if this theory is correct, the child is in a sense even more domi- nated by sex components than the adolescent, since there are more of them, because the process of repression has not yet begun to take place, and since they are unconscious and there- fore stronger. To Freud all of the perversions of sex are exag- gerations of tendencies which are only normal in every child, although art, science, and religion represent surrogate satis- factions. The result is that by the time of puberty only part of the original libido factors are used for the purpose of procreation, while the rest are used for some of the most far-reaching activities of human life. Stanley Hall holds that if these views are accepted, it follows that sex pedagogy must not only begin in the cradle, but that it is of prime necessity for the education of the feeling, will, and EDUCATIONAL DISADVANTAGES 83 intellect, and that sex in its larger sense contains the promise and potency of life. From the first moment of birth, nature begins to prepare the infant for future parenthood, all else being secondary. The Freudian school marks the end of the old and the dawn of a new era. According to this author, it is the " most triumphant indication of the genetic mode of conceiving the mind, and marks an epoch in psycho-genesis." From what has been said above, the infantile state of the child is clearly one in which particular care must be taken in order that the sex instinct may not be submitted to traumatic experiences. All erethic states, such as excessive coddling, pattings, and strokings, should be avoided as far as possible, as being possible precedents of later undesirable behavior on the part of the child. In a similar manner the love of being handled may become abnormal, and lead to well-defined perversions. Next to the interest in bodily organs, the child's chief curiosity seems to be connected with the question of its own origin. Hall refers to a letter submitted by Freud, in which a mother- less girl of 11| begs her aunt to write to her fully in regard to the origin of children. This child later became neurotic, and psycho-analysis showed that one of the elements in her neuroses was an intense preoccupation with these unanswered questions. It is probably universal that a craving for knowledge exists. That it is only rarely met is illustrated by an incident in which a teacher in one of the grades found on her desk a letter signed by five of her best girls, ranging from 10 to 12 years of age, which read: " Please explain to us how men originate." In this case the school authorities felt themselves either too timid or unauthorized to give the desired information. Only recently have students come to recognize what a tremendous proportion of energy is absorbed in the solution of the sex question during childhood. Children oscillate for months between the acceptance of fairy tales and the impressions which drift into their consciousness from without, and so severe is the strain of this reconciliation that some of them become neurotic. It is at this time that the shock attendant upon the realization of the true sex processes, coming suddenly into a 84 THE UNMARRIED MOTHER consciousness that is wholly unprepared for its reception, causes unfortunate results. Especially to girls the method of re- production appears to be nauseating, monstrous, and cruel, creating an attitude of mind in which not only the parents who have submitted to this degrading experience seem lowered, but the whole question of sex as well. Weak nervous systems can obviously be injured by a shock of this kind. By the time of school days children accumulate a consider- able amount of misinformation which slowly gives place to knowledge, an incredible amount of mentation going on within this field. Hall draws attention to the fact that we adults forget this because we have submerged its traces. Here again psycho-analysis penetrates into the earliest strata of psychic evolution, and brings this material to light as the bases of many perversions. Most sex aberrations are now being ex- plained by their genesis, as due to arrest or magnification in early life. It is during this ferment that innocent young maidens spin reveries full of flaring absurdities and contradictions, and the whole horizon of consciousness is filled, now by one theory, now by another. On top of this mental unrest begins the physiologi- cal impulse normally productive of a state of tension, and the individual sways between resolution and impulsion, between restraint and the desire for gratification. It is just here, says Stanley Hall, that the strain lies. The result of this strain, due to the opposition of the two elements of the psychic sphere, produces the peculiarity known as the " effective submergence of experience." With every forward step in insight and information, certain impulses and desires must be tabooed. It is obvious that the result must be a clearing of the mind from what has only recently seemed of prime importance. This element is thus forgotten, but by no means lost, for it is repressed into the realm of the uncon- scious, where it continues to determine behavior. In this manner children in their earliest 'teens have forgotten much, and have assigned to oblivion much knowledge which they once had craved. EDUCATIONAL DISADVANTAGES 85 Probably no author has rivaled Stanley Hall in the treatment of adolescent development. Combined with keen psychological insight, he possesses a style full of color and imagery, which nowhere finds better expression than in his descrip- tions of the young girl. So he pictures her at about the age of 12, demure and often absent-minded, silent in the pres- ence of adults. She is unresponsive and imperturbable, lolling, listless, and self-centered. Girls then have no suspicion of what is going on in their souls. " But analyses and neuroses betray their triply guarded secret. They are brooding over great biological questions, of the origin of life, sex, death, their own relation to their parents and brothers, musing about marriage, about how to get at the truth, to both escape and to penetrate the mesh of conventional lies of every sort, culminating with those of sex, with which they are encompassed. . . . How shall they know the truth of the truth, what they most of all want to learn; and how can they do so without asking and being put to shame, or without seeming ignorant when, in fact, perhaps all assume that they do know? They ought and perhaps do sometimes blush in secret to think of these things; but they cannot escape the insistent questionings. How can their elders be so blithe and cheery if the world is as they are beginning to divine it ? How they muse on certain half-inciden- tal words or allusions let fall by the grown-ups, which answer perhaps some of their mute longings; while all the rest of the wiser talk washes over them unnoted and leaving no trace! These pregnant suggestions are pondered in the heart; and thus the girl slowly orients her way to wisdom by them, constantly casting old knowledge once thought precious as rubbish to the void. She will reach the goal in the end; but how vastly much might have been saved her by a little plain, sane teaching betimes? And how this long stage, which is throughout so very vulnerable to shock, might have been shortened and facilitated. Whether they are saved to virtue or lost to vice often depends upon their getting or failing to get the knowledge their whole souls are consciously or unconsciously seeking."1 1 Hall, G. Stanley, op. cit., p. 453. 86 THE UNMARRIED MOTHER It is in consideration of such mental contents as the previous paragraphs have discussed, that the Freudian School of Psycho- Analysis has done much to furnish information in regard to the details of the psychic activities of pre-adolescent children, and to point the way towards a new departure in the pedagogy of sex. One of the best known expositors of Freud's teaching is Doctor Ernest Jones, formerly of the University of Toronto, and now of London. In his " Papers on Psycho-Analysis "1 he discusses the whole range of the Freudian theory, including much that is not of immediate interest in a study of the unmarried mother. Those interested in the problem of education should consult this author. Much opposition has actually been evoked by the significance which Freud attributes to " the psycho-sexual " trend, and a word must be said on this point. Much of this opposition is due to a misunderstanding of the use of the term " sexual " by Freud, his application being much more inclusive than is customary. Freud holds that many psychical manifestations not thought to be derived from the sexual instinct really are developments of this trend. To him the mental processes commonly called sexual are the outcome of a development from a broader group of processes in early life, of which certain ones have been selected and intensified, while others have become suppressed. Those further interested in the theory of psycho-analysis should see the later contribution of Freud 2 and particularly the work of Jung.3 Sexual Enlightenment for Adolescent Girls. Sexual enlighten- ment for adolescent girls, particularly for nervous girls under modern conditions, as the initiation into the facts of sex life, is a critical matter. Stanley Hall4 maintains that the first knowledge of parturition and of the fact of fecundation may come to a girl with a shock provocative of intense 1 Jones, E.: "Papers on Psycho-Analysis", New York, 1913. 2 Freud, S.: "Selected Paper on Hysteria and Other Psychoneuroses", New York, 1912. 3 Jung, C. G.: "The Theory of Psychoanalysis", New York, 1915, and "The Psychology of the Unconscious", New York, 1916. 4 Hall, G. Stanley, op. cit., p. 455. EDUCATIONAL DISADVANTAGES 87 disgust and aversion. To delicate girls in the early teens the physical relation of the sexes may seem bestial and repugnant, so that one finds an abated attachment for their fathers, and frequently a pathetic sympathy for their mothers, who are looked upon as victims of brutality. Some never effect a rec- onciliation with the facts of life. Hall agrees with Freud that psycho-sexual traumata may be the cause of severe later dis- orders, even if they are not always so unconscious, so general, or so early as he thinks. A questionnaire which Hall has propounded has led him to include other sources of disturbance than those which Freud mentions, and he holds as a result that many of the psychic processes of sex occurring just before the age of first menstrua- tion are not at all associated in the girl's mind with specific anatomical or functional changes. To her they are merely strong new tides of sentiment; thus in this period love is idealized in purity and romance and " suffuses life with a golden haze." Hall feels that if this interest focuses in a person it is usually innocent, and if there are occasional acts of endearment they are chaste. But if into this state which Hall terms as " ecstatic paradaisical " there are suddenly forced, by accident or inten- tion, the brutal facts of sex, the results may be described as a " psychic outrage of a vestal or nun." Healthy souls may in time reject such an experience, but weak girls may acquire a " coital or parturition phobia " that, being so opposed to the deep instinct of a woman's nature, may precipitate internal conflicts which may sometimes involve incalculable waste and permanent warping. Hall feels that young working women are generally strong enough to face the truth, and that it should be taught to them without " bated breath " as one of the most interesting and sacred of things. In discussing the indirect methods of controlling and nor- malizing sex, Stanley Hall1 advocates the inculcation of the following ideals. 1. The ideal of physical perfection, training, body-keeping, and health. 1 Hall, G. Stanley, op. cit., p. 471. 88 THE UNMARRIED MOTHER 2. A cultivation of the intelligence. Every intellectual interest is also a sedative or an alterative of sex on its sensuous side. Formal school topics are insufficient, so that education must be vocational. " Sitting without mental interests invites the devil." 3. Puberty is the birthday of the feelings and emotions. This leads to the growth of athletic interests, to the thrill aroused by heroism, and to the religious interests. Stanley Hall feels, however, that we shall never solve the complicated problem of sex education by the methods enumerated above, unless we give to the subject of sex a central position in education. In order to do this he would devise a curriculum which would include, 1. Botany, with a discussion of the processes of certain fertilization. A girl's intense love of flowers affords a unique opportunity for this enlightenment. 2. The same thing should be done in biology, beginning with the lower forms of life. 3. In the field of human development there should be texts that deal with the history of marriage and the family, and later something rather specific concerning the virtues of parenthood. To Hall the future of sex hygiene rests in the hands of women, who, because more generic, intuitive, and conservative, stand closer to the race, and are more interested in holding it to its true destiny. In agreement with what has been said above, one may refer to Havelock Ellis 1 once more, who maintains that the main factor in the sexual and general invalidism of girls and young women, is bad hygiene, manifesting itself in neglect of the menstrual functions and in bad habits generally. With this one cannot forget the disharmony so frequently existing within the emotional sphere of self, owing to the contradictory nature of the traditions impressed upon women. The tendency has been to teach girls that sex is at once a sacred and an abominable thing, and that its manifestations are both beautiful and impure. Ellis draws attention to the grave risks which the innocent young 1 Ellis, Havelock, op. cit., p. 71 ff. EDUCATIONAL DISADVANTAGES 89 woman must run upon marriage. The young girl believes that she possesses a certain character, and marries, whereupon, in a considerable number of cases, she finds herself completely mis- taken both in herself and in her husband. It is possible to convey a certain amount of protection against a condition of this sort, without departing from the most conventional con- ceptions of marriage. Girls should be informed as to the exact nature of the sex relationship, and be safeguarded from shocks and disillusions. Ellis is of the opinion that apart from such scientific informa- tion which might be given in the schools in botany and zoology, the sexual initiation of the child should be the exclusive privilege of the mother. The ordinary teacher of either sex is yet quite incompetent to teach sexual hygiene. Ellis finds that once at least at the period of puberty, there should be an opportunity for a confidential talk with a physician, girls being sent to women doctors. Such talks should be entirely devoid of moral plati- tudes. After puberty comes the natural period for spiritual initiation with its accompanying religious or ethical teaching, such as may indirectly aid the young individual " to escape from sexual danger by harnessing his chariot to a star." He recommends the use of literature and art, particularly the nude, making much of the fact that the simple and direct atti- tude of the child towards nakedness is often so crushed out of him that he is likely to notice only what is obscene. With Holler, Ellis agrees that " he who has once learned to enjoy peacefully nakedness in art, will be able to look on nakedness in nature as on a work of art." Turning from the considerations of youth of Stanley Hall and Havelock Ellis, to the summary of the evidence of the two thousand social workers, edited by Woods and Kennedy,1 one finds an equal insistence upon the necessity of preparation for young womanhood. These authors feel that one should always magnify the importance of the entrance into the status and full responsibility of this period, and that something analo- gous to "a coming-out party " might be developed in the 1 Woods and Kennedy, op. cit., chap. XIII. 90 THE UNMARRIED MOTHER settlement club, as a climax to the home-making courses in the form of a graduation exercise. According to this survey, the adolescent girl spends much time in thoughts about marriage, little of which is serious. Many of them marry before 18, some simply " losing their heads ", the others taking the first offer that comes, with the statement, " I don't wish to work all my life, so I may as well take it." To the average girl marriage is a step towards freedom, and an opportunity to be rid of dis- agreeable work in the factory or home. Others attempt to avoid marriage for fear that it may prevent her from enjoying herself, or out of a recoil against bearing children and the care of the family alike. The romancing girl centers many of her thoughts upon the management of a home, expecting to become competent after marriage. A few are interested in cooking and other duties beforehand, although this is by no means as serious an interest as is the attitude of the boy towards vocational training. Woods and Kennedy feel that not until home conditions are better than those existing in most of the tenement areas will girls possess an incentive to undertake hard work in preparation for marriage. The best means of eliciting such interest is the model apartment, where by " supper clubs " much can be pointed out which will be of later value. As regards sex hygiene, the opinion of this summary is in favor of instruction that should not be predominantly physical, but rather ethical and spiritual. To them the definite problem is that of building up a sound attitude towards life and human nature, of lessening the hardships of living so that boys and girls can realize the best that is in them, and of awakening loyalty to the present and future self, home, and neighborhood. There is a great advantage in beginning this teaching with young children before the age of sex consciousness, and in spreading it out over a considerable time. Mothers should be the ones to discuss these matters with their daughters, but if this cooperation cannot be secured, social workers may initiate the instruction with the consent of the parent. Adolescent girls should be interviewed individually, and the subject EDUCATIONAL DISADVANTAGES 91 should be introduced incidentally. Everything that is pos- sible should be done to ennoble the relation between the sexes, and to purify the tradition of romance through the spread of the great novels. Conclusions. From the preceding discussion it will be gained that educational disadvantages may be of such importance as to be the precedents of sexual misconduct in many girls and young women, which may lead to pregnancy. Primarily it is necessary that the adolescent girl should be afforded healthy mental interests, and that these should contain more than the bald school curriculum. Stanley Hall, in a glowing chapter on " The Budding Girl," 1 asks " What does the girl at this age care in her heart of hearts about the shopworn school studies for their own sake? " She may accept them, but she does not put her whole soul into them. " When I get mad and want to swear," said one, " I say * decimal fractions ! ' for that is the dreadfullest thing I know." When she is interested in her studies, it is frequently because of her desire to excel some boy in the class. " Next term I am going to try German to see what it is like. They say it is as easy as anything you can take; some of the nice boys in the school are going to take it, too." In commenting on this lack of interest in the curriculum, Stanley Hall asserts that in place of the examination knowl- edge which the school seeks, there is little but vague informa- tion, with a few points that have really struck vital root and sprouted. The matter that was thus retained was chiefly concerned with details which threw light upon the sphere of emotional experiences, and it is of interest to note that this author asks which of the two kinds of knowledge is most worth while, these naive, natural reactions to the curriculum, or a collection of details stored away in the recitation memory. " Is it not certain," asks he, " that the former will last longer and is more humanistic and vital ? " The former paragraphs should lead to the belief that those healthy mental interests which it is important that a young girl should possess, far from being connected solely with 1 Hall, G. Stanley, op. cit., vol. II, chap. IX. 92 THE UNMARRIED MOTHER studies as such, should emphasize the relation between all knowledge and life. It is of more value for a young woman to appreciate her functions as an individual called upon to lead a life in adjustment with her fellow-creatures of this age and generation, than it is for her to have a knowledge of Greek roots, unless the latter information is capable of wider interpretation. One finds then the necessity for such mental interests as are stimulated by play and athletic competition, and by the fortifying of the knowledge of life by the means of wide reading. That this is an age of sentimentality should ever be kept in mind, and the parent or adult well-wisher should keep from his conversations with the young girl all that may appear cynical or lead the younger person to feel that she is not taken seriously. What can be more charming than a vision of the recurring hope in the beauty of life, which contact with an adolescent girl reveals, what more refreshing than the idealism of this age, whose importunity the sordidness of life seems scarce able to withstand? Fortunate indeed is that girl whose relatives and associates furnish her with a means of expression for all the crowding hopes and desires which force themselves into her mind. It is those devoid of such friends and lacking in literary and other opportunities, who find themselves thrown for relief into a state of constant day-dreaming, with its accompanying sexual excitation. Such girls are singularly prone to temptation, both from within and without. The discussion of the place of sex in the life of the child and of the adolescent girl, contained in the former pages, has resulted in the conviction that the activity of the sexual impulse makes itself evident at an extremely early age. Freud, developing his theory of infantile sexuality, finds the sources of neuroses in infantile psychic traumata. Jung has somewhat modified this conception, without doing away with the susceptibility to shock, so noticeable during the pre-pubertal stage. Any one who considers the material contained in this book will agree that impressions which must have been disturbing have reached the psychic nature of many of the individuals con- EDUCATIONAL DISADVANTAGES 93 sidered, with an abruptness that must have been, to say the least, emotionally upsetting. Not all sexual misconduct is due to the lack of educational advantages, for overcrowding, the taking of lodgers, the igno- rance of the parents themselves, have in many instances been causative of premature initiation into sex matters, quite capable of producing mental conflicts and neuroses. A further knowl- edge of the individual might reveal illuminating data which would fit in with the Freudian theory, but for the purpose of this study it will be necessary to confine the discussion to general terms. Little has been found which would throw light upon the psychic relationship between the parents and their children, and not sufficient information exists for attributing those cases of incest to such a psychic interdependence. Here again we find that the solution can only be outlined in general terms. The Freudians may have added to our information in regard to the necessity of the early weaning away of the child from the parents towards outside interests, but the value of such an adjustment has long seemed important. The difficulty with the cases here considered lies in the too complete break found between parent and child, so that at an extremely early age, owing to the stimulus of a city life, and to the unattractiveness of the home, a girl finds herself mentally independent. When the pay envelope comes, there is but slight realization in many cases of the old intimacy which once existed between the parent and the child. No matter how general the discussion of the question of education in this chapter has been, there remains much that is capable of definite treatment in the field of sex hygiene. Such will be the purpose of the following paragraphs. It is obvious that while the sex impulse is looked upon as being part of that side of human nature which is inherently gross, and incapable of acting as a channel of the spirit, little can be done towards establishing a system of sex hygiene which will prevent the adolescent girl from falling into many of the pitfalls which are so productive of misery, or from attaining an attitude towards the most important issues of life which may lead to mental conflicts and neuroses. Not until it has been 94 THE UNMARRIED MOTHER possible to ennoble the sex instinct in the mind of society will any far-reaching system of sexual enlightenment prove success- ful. The promulgation of such a system, and the accom- plishment of such an end, is in itself one of the tasks of social hygiene. He who aims to give to young men and women knowl- edge which may lead them to a rational use of the sex function, and to a realization of its proper value, finds himself at the outset subject to misinterpretation and handicapped by the traditions of the past. The old dualistic teaching of the Church, stimu- lated by the fact that the Gospels were written in opposition to customs which condoned sexual license, has hampered the development of a frank discussion of this matter. When how- ever one looks upon the tremendous evils associated with the mis- use of the sex instinct, there appears some excuse for asceticism, and it becomes less difficult to understand the attitude of the early Church towards an instinct which at the time could be viewed with no little justice as the scourge of life. Coupled with this was the Paidine attitude towards marriage, which depreciated the institution because of a firm belief in the end of the world within the lifetime of the disciples. With these allowances, however, it must be said that the emphasis of the Church and State has been to let the taboo on questions of sex remain. Only of late years, and particularly since the writings of Havelock Ellis, Kraft-Ebbing, Moll, Forel, Foerster, Hall, Freud, and Jung, have students realized that not only has the ancient attitude towards matters related to sex been chiefly negative in its results, but that it has been a positive agent in the production of pathological conditions. The majority of these conditions, it must be said, have been caused not so much by sexual abstinence as by the psychic state due to unsublimated impulses. The ascetic may be possessed of a richer emotional life than is the libertine. It is in the sphere of the neuroses that most of the harm appears, a harm due to a misunderstand- ing of one of the most fundamental of all human instincts. Particularly among girls and women has the practice of allowing the taboo to remain upon sex questions been provoca- EDUCATIONAL DISADVANTAGES 95 tive of unfortunate results. Taught that technical virginity is the one virtue of life, she has been forced into a conflict between normal desires and prudish standards. Few parents have realized, until the writings of Freud appeared, the enor- mous influence of sex upon the whole psychic life of the child. Whether one accepts the whole Freudian theory or not, it cannot be gainsaid that the daughter of many a well-informed family has been allowed to grow up in such a state of ignorance that the only information that she has been able to secure in regard to the function which covers so much of woman's emotional activities has been brought to her by the filthy hands of her acquaintances from the race's storehouse of obscenity. Small wonder is it then that girls have grown into adolescence, dominated by an insatiable interest for knowledge on this im- portant matter, with the feeling that their normal impulses were akin to the powers of evil, and that life, far from having in it the beauty that their souls desire, is a morass of bestiality and sexual oppression. Who has not known young women who have been rendered neurotic by the agony of sold which the consciousness of their " wickedness " produced? It is often in the most high-minded families who look upon the sex instinct as something of an un- fortunate necessity to be used solely for the production of children, that a daughter often passes into puberty without preparation, and then lapses into a state of chronic self-depreci- ation because she cannot understand that her new impulsions spring from anything but innate depravity. That something can be done by parents in this field is evident. Many of them remain ignorant of the causes of their daughters' difficulties until it is too late, and unconscious of the environment in which their daughters live, with its heightened capacity for sex stimulation, unattended by any increased opportunity for expression. It may be hoped that through a gradual and well- planned propaganda, parents may recognize the value of meeting the needs of their daughters with positive information, or that they may delegate this duty, which should be a privilege, to more properly qualified individuals. This can be done 96 THE UNMARRIED MOTHER without destroying that new-born sense of shame and modesty which nature spreads over everything sexual at the dawn of puberty, and which Stanley Hall feels that no amount of teaching can replace. According to him 1 " maidenly modesty is a kind of placenta in which virtue grows to the maturity of motherhood. It is not sullied by, but carefully and com- pletely assimilates, all knowledge in the environment that is needful for life." When such a course has been pursued one can hope that a girl may mingle among associates with less fear of a moral contamination whose results may warp her whole life. She will not enter marriage and motherhood with views which may not only prevent her from adjusting herself to her new requirements, but what is equally unfortunate, which may prevent her from expressing herself completely through the channels of her emotions. One of the conclusions which Freud has reached concerns itself with the influence of seduction upon the later life of the child. He holds it to be particularly necessary that parents should shield their children, not only from physical contact of a sexual nature, but that they should be prevented from contact by sight or hearing with the sexual experiences of others. There is undoubtedly much neglect of this kind, as a result of which children are allowed to sleep in the same room with their parents long after they have become conscious of their environ- ment. Many of the girls in this study have been forced through economic necessity to live in overcrowded homes, and to witness intimacies on the part of their parents and of others, which must have developed a precocious contact with sexual life. The community can do much to mitigate this evil by enforcing more stringent laws against overcrowding and against the taking of lodgers in families where young girls are growing up, thus removing one of the chief causes for a later state of shameless- ness due to an early familiarity with sexual actions. Aside from the new attitude which is hoped may some day be adopted by the race towards the sex instinct in general, and from measures which may tend to alleviate the number of girls 1 Hall, G. Stanley, op. oil., p. 495. EDUCATIONAL DISADVANTAGES 97 who have been subjected to pre-pubertal sexual experiences, either through seduction or emotional shock, there yet remains the problem of sex education for the healthy girl in the normal community. Freud and Jung, together with Stanley Hall and Havelock Ellis, have emphasized the need of enlightenment on matters of sex, beginning before puberty when a girl first asks questions spontaneously. Each of these authors agrees upon the necessity of instruction, maintaining that the duty of ini- tiation belongs primarily to the mother. There seems to be a consensus of opinion that during the early years the subject should be approached with the aid of botany, zodlogy, and other allied sciences. At puberty instruction should be given on the attitude needful towards bodily exercise and health. Some- thing should be done to stimulate the emotional appreciation of the girl, although exhausive religious instruction should not pre- cede puberty itself. Finally these authorities believe that during high-school years there should be a more detailed course which would teach the basic facts of human sex life, and of the responsi- bilities for parenthood. By so doing they hope to reduce the number of youth to whom innocence means ignorance, who are thus more handicapped than warned, and what is of great importance, to prevent that state of tension, that wastage of effort, which unenlightenment on this matter frequently pro- duces, and which so often leads to a pathological condition. The Freudian psychology regards the mind from a dynamic point of view, as being composed of a series of desires, trends, wishes, and ambitions which are constantly striving to find ex- pressions and gratification.1 Desire is a fundamental driving force of mental activity. Mental life is seen to constitute a mental chain of activity, and the inherited instincts or their en- vironmental modifications thus constitute the basis of all mental motivation. New desires are not independent occurrences, but depend on the old trends. Consequently the main task of educating a child should not be the mere addition of some new knowledge, but the ordering of the influences that act on him in such a way as to allow the freest scope to the development of 1 Jones, E., op. cit., p. 394 ff. 98 THE UNMARRIED MOTHER those capacities which will make him a useful citizen. Hence education should be a more individual matter, and success is best attained by gradually teaching the child social interests, instead of merely suppressing the primitive ones without prefacing them by others. Jones feels that the way to deprive primitive powers of their harm is not to shun them or to repress them, but to settle them one way or the other. This writer holds that psycho-analysis has established the necessity of developing the human side of the child, and not exclusively the intellectual, and approves of such methods of sex hygiene as have been shown above. Particularly un- fortunate to him seems to be that effect of fairy tales and lies on the part of the parents, which is followed by the child's loss of faith in his father and mother. If a parent tells the child an untruth in regard to facts of sex, it will lower his opinion of that parent when he learns the truth. The first thing, says Jones, which we are called upon to do is to stop doing harm, after which perhaps we can do good. That the attitude of the parent is of prime importance in this field of sexual enlightenment as well as in the whole field of ethics has been made clear by Holt in a recent publication.1 This author has developed the Freudian doctrine until he finds for it a basis for rational living. He illustrates the method by which the wish, or course of action in regard to the environment, may be directed, by the analogy of the child possessed of an innate tendency to put out his hand to touch the fire. If the mother is present, she holds back her child's hand before it reaches the flame. If the mother is always present every time the child wishes to touch the flame, and prevents him from doing so, the child may in time acquire the habit of stopping short before reaching the flame. But the child has learned nothing of the nature of fire, and will be in some measure impeded in its dealings with fire by what one may call a taboo. If, on the other hand, the mother lets the child put out its hand towards the flame, being careful that no accident allows it actually to touch the flame, the child will not be burned, 1 Holt, E. B.: "The Freudian Wish", chap. Ill, New York, 1915. EDUCATIONAL DISADVANTAGES 99 and its own reflex action will cause it to withdraw its hand, not because the mother wished it, but because of the direct action of the heat. Ten years later, says Holt, the first mother will call to her child and tell him not to dare put his hand so near the lamp, whereas the second mother will tell him to get the matches and light the lamp, and put it down on the table. The first child has learned nothing except that when its mother is present it cannot touch the fire; it has learned to fear its mother more than the flame. The second child has learned that the flame is a thing which is not to be touched, and so has ad- justed it to his environment. This, says Holt, is a paradigm of Freudian morals. The first mother suppressed the child's desire to touch the fire, and gave rise to a complex; the second, however, did not put herself in the position of an alien force frustrating the child, and so retained the capacity for sympathy. In another application Holt cites an illustration of a young woman who goes from a rural and pious home to earn her living. Here she makes the acquaintance of other young workers who often go to the theater. This young woman has been taught at home that the theater is a place of all abomination. Shall she now go to the theater or not? Here is a conflict between the desire of youth to see life, and the precept of parents and religion. This young woman may meet this question in three ways. She may resist the temptations, so suppressing her wish for pleasure, usually finding herself later, as Freud thinks, a nervously-diseased spinster. She may, however, suppress the righteous principles learned at home, become a butterfly, live for pleasure, and perhaps die a drunken prostitute. In both cases the suppressed wishes burst forth in side channels of con- duct. The third way is no better, representing a compromise. This individual tries to do both; she is religious on Sunday, and goes to the theater during the week. In each instance there is a conflict, and the young woman does neither of the two things with her whole heart. There is, however, a fourth way, which consists of a free play of both involved tendencies. Suppose a young woman is invited by a man to the theater; suppose that she realizes that 100 THE UNMARRIED MOTHER many people whom she admires frequently go there, and comes to the conclusion by discrimination that some theaters are good and some are bad. If this is the case she tells the young man that she doesn't feel that the play which he has suggested, if it happens to be a poor one, would interest them, but that they might choose another. In this instance her whole nature is participating, for a step of this kind involves not compromise but discrimination. Here the moral conduct is discriminating conduct, for morality is wisdom. From this Holt develops the doctrine that suppressions occur through lack of knowledge, and that there can be no dis- crimination without wisdom. " The right is that conduct ob- tained through discrimination of the fact which fulfills all of a man's wishes at once, suppressing none. The moral sanction is fact." 1 It thus appears that if we take into consideration the Freudian teaching, with the emphasis placed upon the wish, we reach a conclusion which shows that ignorance is a direct handicap in the life of moral action. Undoubtedly this is applicable to those girls and young women who have given birth to illegiti- mate children, and upon whom there has fallen so large a heritage of ignorance. Growing up without healthy mental interests, under conditions extremely likely to stultify their moral develop- ment, and frequently with insufficient parental control or in- terest, these girls have come into adolescence weakened by the possession of minds empty of good, and full of evil influences. Early sex experiences have left their marks in subsequent mental conflicts and predispositions. To those who are familiar with the psychology of sex in the recent contributions of the psycho-analytic school the part of the mind in human be- havior is paramount, containing as it does both innate and environmental stimuli. Educational disadvantages, particu- larly in regard to the elemental facts of life, may thus act as causative factors productive of sexual misconduct. This chapter, by emphasizing the importance of sex during infancy and the necessity of proper enlightenment on the 1 Holt, E. B., op. cit., p. 131. EDUCATIONAL DISADVANTAGES 101 matter at the time of puberty, points the way towards a means of alleviating the difficulty surrounding adolescent girls. Pri- marily, one needs to infuse into the minds of those most sub- jected to temptation, the type which is considered in this study, that the sex function is one which may not be abused, and that it is the source at once of the deepest misery as well as the fullest joy that life contains. In order to give to growing girls an ap- preciation of this fact, a curriculum of sex education, similar to that suggested in this chapter, is needed. Once this has been devised, one may look for a lesser amount of sexual laxness, and for fewer illegitimate children. More than that, it may be hoped that women will be saved much that at present weighs heavily on their minds and bodies, and thus prevents their self-expression. What has been said has indicated plainly the handicap which lies in educational disadvantages. The community is so aroused to the need of a system of sexual hy- giene that the day cannot be far off in which it will be possible to find disease and psychic maladjustment reduced to a mini- mum in a society no longer ashamed or apologetic of that in- stinct which, perhaps more than any other, determines human behavior. It is towards such ends that a rational knowledge of sex hygiene, based upon the investigation of the authors quoted in this chapter, should lead. The sex instinct plays an im- portant part in the lives of children, and colors most of the activities of adults. Once this fact has been understood, there follows the need of understanding and directing this all-important impulse in human life. Much of the misery which the girls and women in this study have endured might have been prevented had they understood themselves and their sexual environment. Cases will be found throughout this book in which educational disadvantages appear as a minor causative factor. CHAPTER VII Bad Home Conditions General statement - Quarreling, abuse, or other irritating conditions - Father alcoholic, immoral, or criminalistic - Mother alcoholic, immoral, or criminalistic - Both parents alcoholic, immoral, or criminalistic - Other members of the family alcoholic, immoral, or criminalistic - Poverty - Lack of parental control - Lack of parental control through ignorance - Lack of parental control through illness - Lack of parental control; father away - Lack of parental control; mother away - Lack of control because of parental inability - Lack of control because family not immi- grated - No supervision through parental neglect - Frequent moving - Immorality in the home - Girl away from home - Low-standard families - Father dead - Mother dead - Parents separated - Parents dead - Husband deserted - Husband dead. General Statement. Of such importance in a study of the unmarried mother are the conditions surrounding the girl or young woman in her home, that sufficient space must be devoted to a consideration of the place of this influence in their lives. That this is second to none in its results is indicated by the causative factor cards, according to which " Bad Home Conditions " operate, as a major factor in 194 cases, and as a minor factor in 158 cases. At the outset, however, warning must be given against an interpretation of this factor which overlooks the evident truth that there are many girls whose home conditions are even more contaminating than those dealt with here, who have never become unmarried mothers. A study of this kind must deal with influences productive of re- sults, and the fact that many girls escape pregnancy although 102 BAD HOME CONDITIONS 103 subjected to demoralizing conditions within their own homes is often explicable on the basis of their underlying moral vitality. The influence of home conditions upon the individual is in many ways obvious because of the importance of an environ- mental influence of this kind upon girls at a peculiarly impres- sionable age. Yet for this very reason it has seemed well to go into some detail concerning the reaction of the girl to the home in question, and its influence upon her behavior. The following discussion is based upon a summary of evidence from two thousand social workers included in the work of Woods and Kennedy.1 According to these authors, once a girl begins to take her place in the industrial world, her personality expands with almost startling rapidity. She assumes a " grown-up " attitude, and affects a spirit of bravado. At this time also she begins to seek intimate attachments with various girl compan- ions, and enters into such free association with men that the delicacy of her moral reserve is often in danger. As might be expected, an entrance into the outer world such as this transi- tion signifies cannot leave the girl with her old attitude towards her home environment. Frequently she becomes discontented and ashamed of her parents, following hitherto forbidden amuse- ments with the excuse " I am now earning my own living, and can do as I please." Of equal importance is the changed atti- tude of the home toward the girl, for where formerly there was restraint, one now finds an unwillingness to interfere with the daughter whose capacity as a wage-earner has suddenly endowed her with a new power. The girl's attitude towards the neighborhood also is likely to undergo transformation. Her new acquaintances are scattered in various portions of the city, so that she often be- comes ashamed of her home environment and looks down on it in her own mind. To be rescued from this dullness, many a girl at this age seeks the companionship of unknown men, the result of which is often demoralizing. This phase, however, does not seem to be of long duration, many workers find- 1 Woods and Kennedy, op. cit., chaps. IV and V. 104 THE UNMARRIED MOTHER ing that after a year or two the girl who has been led away by the novelty of a wider life soon finds herself renewing her old acquaintances in her original environment. The result is thus a reentrance into those conditions most intimately associated with the home, and the subjection of the individual to all that is both good and bad which the home contains. Certain characteristics stand out as of prime impor- tance in determining the effect of a girl's home on her behavior, chief among which may be mentioned that of overcrowding. Congestion has its results in lowered vitality and stunted growth. It breaks down a feeling of privacy, and so brings on a loss of self-respect and of modesty. Its results are seen in family disintegration and in an increased tendency on the part of the children for a life on the streets, accompanied by the danger of forming criminal habits. Viewed from another aspect, the result of overcrowding is equally alarming. It is frequently necessary for several per- sons to share the same sleeping room, and sometimes three or more occupy the same bed. This has its normal results in the dissemination of disease. Equally contaminating is the fact that hardly a married couple in a congested neighborhood is able to have a room for themselves, so that children are often forced to sleep in the same room with their parents up to and within the period of early adolescence. As an indirect conse- quence of their early initiation into the intimacies of married life, many children lose their chastity, and even participate in gross immorality. Here again one is surprised to find that the damage done is not nearly as great as one would expect. The physical vitality of an individual is of such importance in determining her mental attitude that one can easily under- stand that the diet of an adolescent girl is a question which cannot be overlooked. The stores in the neighborhood in which these girls grow up are almost universally poor, and the food is frequently in a condition unfit for consumption. Unfor- tunately the mother is often ignorant in regard to food values, and ways of preparing food so that it may be most easily assim- BAD HOME CONDITIONS 105 ilated. Too much is spent on crude luxury, and much under- nourishment is due to a dietary made up largely of bread and pastry, reenforced with tea and coffee. There is so little about the meals to make them attractive that they are almost always hastily eaten, with consequent ill-effects upon the health of the family. The chief cause of the breakdown of standards in a girl appears to lie in family deterioration, the very heart of this failure centering in the character of the parents. The work- ing-class father often fails in interest and sympathy with his children, his attitude towards them being largely impersonal, with no desire of sharing his daughters' experiences. He is generally a ruler, liking " to boss " and be obeyed. His influ- ence, however, is small compared to that of the mother unless there is a crisis, at which time his words usually prevail. When intoxicated he is frequently cruel to the younger children, exercising a greater restraint towards those who are older, because of their wage-earning capacity. The older girls do not escape neglect or that sort of abuse which lies in forbidding them to entertain their friends at home or prohibiting them from participating in innocent recreation. In some families one finds exploitation of the daughters for family purposes, the theory being that the daughter is a family possession, to be relinquished only at marriage. Girls resent this when they have no part in the family council, but are ordinarily quite willing to cooperate in a plan if their views are taken into consideration. It is felt that the mother is always humanly interested in her children, although frequently unable to master the problems presented by her working daughters. She is frequently inex- perienced in the fundamentals of modern life, and almost al- ways outside of the range of her working daughters' dominant interests. Mothers are thus sometimes incapable of giving the proper advice, or of a desire to sympathize with her in whatever predicament she may find herself. The girl who is not allowed any time for recreation may well be expected to supply it in some manner, even if she is forced to run away 106 THE UNMARRIED MOTHER with some man as her only means of expression. So frequently is the mother absorbed by the necessity of making both ends meet at home, and of acting as an intermediary between her children and their father, that the daughter seeks some outside individual as a source of sympathy. Thus family conditions conduce to those outbursts of homosexuality which constitute a more or less morbid tendency among adolescent girls. The natural result is that the girl is likely to look down upon her mother, taking her heroines from among the women of the busi- ness world, and so often leaving home to board because she feels that her parents belittle her before others. It is to an extent surprising to find that the relationship between a girl and her brother and sisters is often less helpful than might be expected. Where there are not too many chil- dren, and not too great a difference in the ages, one often finds a spirit of teamwork, with the result that the whole stand- ard of the family is raised. But where there is the constant pressure of poverty, the family relationship is often sordid, the girls being forced to work at the earliest possible age, sometimes in order that the boys may spend their time in idleness. It is noteworthy that brothers hardly ever assume a fair share of the responsibility in helping with the younger children, so that many a girl is forced to sacrifice the opportunity of a home of her own because of family duties. The practice of taking boarders is always one beset with evil. Where it is carried out to such an extent that the stranger is herded into the family sleeping rooms, it almost always leads to the breakdown of modesty, and often to immorality. The home situation is sometimes rendered difficult by the fact that the parents insist that their daughters should turn over all of their wages to them, from which they are to receive a certain amount for spending money. The consensus of opinion, however, among social workers, seems to be that this custom is beneficial because the young working girl ordinarily has very vague ideas in regard to the value of money. There is, however, truth in the belief that this habit should be modified when the daughter approaches adult life, and that she should BAD HOME CONDITIONS 107 then be encouraged to take charge of her own wages and to plan her own expenditures. A greater bond of understanding might exist between the mother and her daughter, as well as an opportunity for supervision, if the mother knew more in regard to the conditions under which her daughters worked. Only too often one hears the statement, " I do not know where she works, but I know what she gets a week." When this is recognized it is not surprising to learn that few parents know anything concerning the moral condition surrounding their daughter's life, nor are they at all informed in regard to their daughter's behavior from the time she leaves her work to the time she arrives at home. In a supplementary chapter to Kneeland's " Commercialised Prostitution in New York City ",1 Doctor Katherine B. Davis submits a study of prostitutes at the State Reformatory for Women in New York, in which she draws attention to the influ- ence of size of the family upon this type of delinquency, main- taining that " a very large family on very small means is largely to blame for the downfall of the older daughters." The ma- jority of the girls at Bedford came from families in which the girls were one of three brothers and sisters. The average num- ber of children in such families was 3.99, so that these figures must be considered a qualification of the remark just quoted. Miss Davis admits that since the average number of children per family in the general community in New York is not much smaller than that of families from whom the Bedford girls spring, one can draw no conclusions except that girls go wrong in fami- lies of all sizes. Commenting on the home and living conditions of the un- married mother, the report of the Philadelphia Municipal Court for 1915 indicates that the important place of the home in the lives and character of these women cannot be questioned. In only 31 cases out of 129 did the data recorded merit the appli- cation of the term normal to the home under consideration.2 1 Kneeland, George J.: "Commercialised Prostitution in New York City", p. 169, New York, 1913. 2 Philadelphia Municipal Court Report, 1915. 108 THE UNMARRIED MOTHER In a study of juvenile and other delinquents quoted in the Report of the Vice Commission of Chicago, it was found that in a large proportion of the 2,420 cases under review, the home conditions had contributed to, if they had not caused, the downfall of the daughters or wives. " The perversion of nat- ural sex relationships by incest, by immorality of the mother or guardian, or by the evil example of a brother, sister, or other relative, and by the abuse of the marriage relation in prostitut- ing the wife by and for the benefit of the husband, is the specific source of the ruin of many of these lives. The failure of the parental relation by reason of divorce and desertion, and, in some instances, by the excessive demands upon the mother by the care of a large household without sufficient income or help, is also the occasion for many neglected children going astray. The lack of home instruction in the use and abuse of sex organs and relationships, together with a neglect to safe- guard the leisure time, especially in the evening, and the failure to supervise the reading and the associations of the children, account for much of their demoralization." 1 Again one finds comment on the unfavorable home conditions, " first among these causes should be named unfavorable home conditions and family relationships. Where the parents are drunken, immoral, degraded, the home crowded and filthy, and the child neglected and abused, there is little hope of the girl escaping sex-violation. Such consequences are illustrated by the experience of the girls now in the State Home for Girls at Geneva. Among one hundred and sixty-eight girls in that institution at one time (summer, 1908) thirty were the daughters of drunken fathers, eight had drunken mothers, twenty had fathers of vicious habits, sixteen were children of immoral or vicious mothers. In the families of twelve there were others of criminal or vicious habits; twenty-four were children of fathers who had deserted the family; eleven were illegitimate, and ten were victims of gross cruelty. Twenty-nine of these girls had already been in houses of prostitution, thirteen had sisters who were immoral, thirty-one country girls at Geneva 1 "The Social Evil in Chicago", p. 229. BAD HOME CONDITIONS 109 and sixteen Chicago girls each testified that the companion of her first experience was a member of her own family." Turning to Germany, we learn from Aschaffenburg:1 " The unfortunate position of the children who are of illegiti- mate birth of the product of drunken families and criminal environment, from their earliest years fall victim to mental and moral corruption, has always challenged compassion and energetic action. . . . Almost equally menaced are those children who are the result of marriages which, in consequence of extreme poverty, consist only of an outward living together and the procreation of, usually, numerous progeny, - mar- riages in which the husband is at work in the factory from early till late, and the mother spends her time at the wash-tub, or, as well as her husband, in the factory. No one is there to look after and bring up the children; at best, they are left to the care of some neighbor or to themselves, but often enough they begin at an early age to work too, delivering bread and news- papers, selling flowers and matches. The street supplements the events that take place before the eyes of the children in the overcrowded home. Precocious, and without education or training, the poor little mortals are an easy prey to the temp- tations that surround them on every side." As a further indication of the influence of home conditions upon delinquency, one may quote Bonger, who maintains that the environment is the preponderating influence in deter- mining criminality.2 In his discussion of prostitution, which may well be a treatment of contaminating family environment in general, he quotes Augagneur (" La prostitution des filles mineures ", Arch, d'anthr. crim., II) as follows: " Their moral sense, if such may be called that which no one has ever tried to awaken, is not shocked by their situation; they have prostituted themselves without shame and without regret. They have left normal and respectable society with- out being really aware of its existence, without the desire of ever returning thither. They have lacked the things neces- sary to make them respectable women - instruction in virtue, 1 Aschaffenburg: "Crime and Its Repression", Boston, 1913. 2 Bonger, W, A.: "Criminality and Economic Conditions", p. 333, Boston, 1916, 110 THE UNMARRIED MOTHER the example of their relatives, the suspicious surveillance of their mothers, and material well-being. The daughters of the people are not, at the day of their birth, of a clay inferior to that of the daughters of the bourgeoisie or of the nobility; they are naturally no less intelligent, no more perverse. And yet if you examine the civil status of a hundred prostitutes, you will find that 95 at least have sprung from the lowest strata of society, the existing social inequality, that is to say, is alone responsible for this unequal distribution." Enough should now have been said to indicate the impor- tance of home conditions as causative factors of delinquency in the minds of the authors under consideration. The following cases, subdivided under specific headings, should bring out in detail the influence of bad home conditions on the girls and women in this study who became unmarried mothers. Quarreling, Abuse, or Other Irritating Conditions in the Home. This condition appears to be that most frequently met with as a causative factor under the descriptive heading of " Bad Home Conditions ", occurring as it does sixty-six times in an analysis of this group. It is not difficult to recognize the interrelation of abuse on the part of the parents and a repres- sion which may lead directly to sex delinquency, nor is it hard to understand how continuous " nagging " by the mother may cause a girl to leave home for lodgings where she may be exposed to new temptations. Conditions of this sort in the background of a girl's life have an undoubted effect on the individual whose environment they constitute. In many instances, however, a girl may be completely surrounded by abuse and other irritat- ing conditions, only to retain a spirit of cooperation and self- sacrifice. Such girls, far from falling into the group of un- married mothers, manifest their inherent good qualities as a source of strength in an otherwise impossible home. Certain individuals, on the other hand, seem to be so predisposed to sexual delinquency as to make it difficult to estimate the value of an environment as a causative factor and to make the impos- sibility of isolating a single force doubly evident. With the conditions designated in this paragraph, there un- doubtedly appear such other factors as " one parent dead ", BAD HOME CONDITIONS 111 " lack of control on account of illness of the mother ", etc., as well as the other minor factors which are enumerated on the causative factor cards. The actual cases follow. Case ii. It is not possible, on the basis of this girl's history, to classify her as mentally defective, although she was con- sidered so by some of those who had her in charge. A mental examination would have been of great assistance in such a case. This girl of American parentage gave birth to an ille- gitimate child at the age of 19. Her father, who is dying of tuberculosis in a suburban hospital, was formerly a street-car conductor of temperate habits. The mother, also temperate, is described as a good industrious woman, although somewhat easy-going at home, and works daily at a wage of $5 a week. The fraternity includes four sisters under 19, the oldest of whom has a good reputation; a sister two years younger than the girl in question was committed to an organization giving institutional care at the same time. One child weighed 14 pounds at birth and died at the age of three months. The family life is further complicated by the fact that the mother's sister lives with them; she has been in a hospital for the insane, is immoral, and has had three illegitimate children. Although this family are continually behind with the rent, they yet bear a fair reputation in the crowded neighborhood in which they live. The home is upset and dirty, but the mother seems to be doing all that she can, and the situation is not made easier by the presence of the aunt, a domineering type, or by the fact that the mother confesses that she is never able to " get on " with her daughter. The father has recently added to the difficulties by disappearing from the tuberculosis hospital without permission and by arbitrarily attempting to take charge of the morals of his daughters. This girl suffered from catarrh of the stomach when a child and had frequent fainting spells after which she felt drowsy for some time. Her menstrual periods established themselves regularly, and at the time of her confinement she was in excellent condition, getting out of bed on the eighth day. She left school in the eighth grade at the age of 14, having shown considerable general intelligence and fondness for work, thereupon securing employ- ment in a biscuit factory. At this time she began to roam the streets, staying out late with young men in the park, and finally, in company with a younger sister, she stayed out all night on several occasions. Both girls claimed that they left home because their father was too strict and because they quarreled 112 THE UNMARRIED MOTHER with their aunt. As a result the girl in question was committed to an organization giving institutional care at the age of 16, upon the complaint of her mother, who claimed that she was a " stubborn child." While here she was considered good-tem- pered and fairly industrious, not given to stealing, and possessed of a strong emotional nature. Nearly two years passed before she was placed in a family, where she proved herself nervous, weeping whenever corrected. She was then allowed to go back to her home and to take up work in a laundry, after five or six months of which she lost her position because she kept irregular hours; soon thereafter, upon quarreling with her father, she ran away from home. She was found to be pregnant and gave birth to a child which she is now attempting to support in a new environment. This girl does not seem to have been immoral before the time of her commitment, and her pregnancy was the result of long- continued intimacy with a married man who had a wife and five children. When she became pregnant, he paid her board for her at his sister's house, where he visited her frequently and had sexual relations with her. Nothing has been done towards securing a definite sum for the support of the child. Case No. 11. Causative factors: (a) Bad Home Condi- tions: Upset and dirty home. Father too strict, girl quar- reled with aunt who was immoral. Mother could not get on with girl. No control. (&) Bad Companions: Fre- quented parks with young men. (c) Mentality: Possibly subnormal. No examination. Sex++. Age 19 Father Alcoholic, Immoral, or Criminalistic. It has seemed of interest to give as illustrations of this group several cases in which the behavior of the father may have had such a dis- tinct influence upon the environment of the girl or young wo- man in question as to constitute the prime causative factor in her life. Exhaustive comment under this head is evidently unnecessary, for the relations existing between these charac- teristics on the part of the father and the atmosphere of the home is obvious. Particular emphasis may be laid on conditions which usually accompany alcoholism in the father, varying from indecent language to actual sex assault, and from poverty at home to an ensuing lack of physical stamina in the children, due to under- nourishment. Nor can one forget the influence of the father's BAD HOME CONDITIONS 113 criminalistic habits upon his daughters, who thus are prone to petty thieving and to other delinquencies so frequently connected with sexual irregularity. It is in such homes that one might expect to see the boy arrested for thieving, while the girl engaged in sexual misconduct. Abuse by the father has in many instances been the cause of a daughter's departure from home control and has often produced a mental conflict in the girl's mind which has expressed itself through sexual immoral- ity. This group of characteristics in the father, although operat- ing in relatively few instances as the prime causative factor, is in many instances a minor factor of considerable importance, as is shown in the appendix on " Statistics." An actual case follows. Case 12. We have here the case of an American girl of Irish extraction who had known much abuse from her drunken father, who gave birth to an illegitimate child when she was 17 years of age. Her mother, a conscientious but forceless individual, had been much humiliated by her husband's periodical drink- ing and had done her best to keep the family together. Two other children were considered bright, one having done espe- cially well in school. One child died of meningitis. On ac- count of the frequent disturbances at home the children were not allowed to bring their friends to the house, and therefore when the girl in question became interested in a young teamster she saw him frequently in the park instead, where later sexual intercourse took place. There is no indication that this girl has been promiscuous. This girl's parents had lived in New England for twenty-five years, and her father, a carpenter by trade, had succeeded in providing his family with a modest home in a fair neighbor- hood where the hygienic conditions were very good. They were able to live without the aid of charity, and had the father been able to remain sober for any length of time, the home life might have been happy and harmonious. While drinking, however, he threw his whole family into a state of terror, it often being necessary for them to move out into the back yard in order to escape his abuse. It was because of her husband's shiftlessness that the girl's mother found it necessary to work out by the day in order to increase the family budget. We note throughout this history this woman's eagerness to educate her 114 THE UNMARRIED MOTHER children and to provide for their future welfare. From the developmental point of view we find the girl's attitude towards school to have been one of indifference, and she left in the seventh grade at the age of 15. Her behavior, however, was reported as excellent, and she was good in her studies, excelling in the household arts. For a few months after leaving school she worked in a hair factory and then for the next year did general housework in a small boarding house. Her employer did not consider her bright, yet found her faithful and able to follow directions well. In appearance she was small-framed but well-developed with an expressionless face and easy man- ner. She was an emotional girl, responsive but vacillating and generally lacking in higher intelligence, yet she showed such qualities as keen responsibility toward her family and a deter- mination to rise above her past life. It was felt that she would probably be able to do this in a new environment. At school she had never associated with boys and although friendly with the girls was sometimes unpopular among them, because she was considered rough. Later she associated with factory girls and enjoyed her companionship with the maids at the boarding house. That their influence was not good is evident, for in speaking of these girls in relation to her sexual delinquencies, she remarked, " I didn't feel particularly bad about it at the time, because I knew many other girls were doing the same." Her child was born at a private maternity hospital after a difficult labor, and she was allowed to return to her parents' home with him. Before her child's birth she was sure that she would have little affection for it, but she proved to have a strong maternal instinct and was much affected by its death at the age of four months. She said in a moment of reflection, " I feel I can make a greater success of life with this knowledge and experience as a guide." This girl met the alleged father of her child, a young man of 19, at the home of a friend. He became interested in her and frequently asked her to go to the motion pictures with him. As she was unable to receive him in her home, they spent their leisure time in the park. Here she had intercourse with him very often. She declared, however, that she had never been to his room or accepted money from him and that she believed him when he promised to marry her if she became pregnant. Instead of doing this, he deserted her as soon as he learned of her condition. There is every indication that this girl was sincerely attached to the father of her child and that she had never been promiscuous. In spite of the fact that she was BAD HOME CONDITIONS 115 fully acquainted with the possible results of the sex act, having been warned against such dangers by her mother, she states that she never worried over the chance of her becoming preg- nant until it was too late. Case No. 12. Causative factors : (a) Bad Home Condi- tions: Father alcoholic; abusive. Mother works out. Very demoralizing influence. (6) Heredity: Father alco- holic. Brother died of meningitis. Sex + + . Age 17. Mother Alcoholic, Immoral, or Criminalistic. So much more intimate is the relationship which exists between a mother and her daughter than that which is ordinarily found between a daughter and a father that the situation which has been con- sidered in the foregoing paragraph becomes even more intensi- fied. An alcoholic, immoral, or abusive mother is undoubtedly a more contaminating influence in a home, for her daughter is ordinarily imbued with the feeling that men can do things because they are men. Consequently she makes allowances for her father and older brothers, but has no such attitude toward her mother. The result is that often the prestige of the mother is strong enough to endow her behavior with the color of authority, as a result of which a girl brought up in such an environment cannot but feel such actions to be more or less permissible. The whole force of tradition has been brought to bear upon her to make her think that what her mother does is right. Particularly when we are dealing with questions involving the sex instinct do we find in the mind of the girls brought up in close association with an alcoholic or immoral mother such warped ideas in regard to sex ethics as to make her an easy victim of her own impulses. She secures little assist- ance in her endeavor to lead a balanced life at an age when she is in need of all the help that a good woman could give. The case which follows will draw attention to such details as cannot advantageously be mentioned here. Case 13. We have here the case of a Canadian girl who was handicapped by the instability and immorality of her home life. Her father had looked after himself since he was 12 years old, and had very early fallen into a loose way of living, 116 THE UNMARRIED MOTHER often being drunk. He made a forced marriage with her mother at 17 and divorced her before the birth of her second child because he learned that she had had two illegitimate children before their marriage. The father states that this experi- ence has taught him a lesson, and that he has resolved to settle down and make something better of his life. He has married since, and he and his family enjoy a comfortable home in the West. His attitude toward his daughter was sympathetic, and he was willing to help her as much as he could, although he was not willing to receive her into his home. He blamed himself and her mother for her downfall. The mother con- tinued in her loose way of living throughout the girl's childhood and died of peritonitis a few months previous to her daughter's confinement. It was rumored that this condition was brought about when the girl kicked her mother in the abdomen during a fit of anger. After living promiscuously for a few years, this girl gave birth to an illegitimate child when 18 years of age. Little is known of her earlier life. For about ten years she lived in an institution, and her only brother was sent away to a reform school. He was considered a bright and capable boy, but at one time got into serious difficulty because he stole a school flag. There was very little companionship or home life for these children. At 15 the girl returned to her mother's home and lived with her several years in a house of ill repute. Her mother worked in a shoe shop during the day, which allowed the daughter every opportunity for the bad compan- ionship which her evil environment afforded. Mother and daughter both had violent tempers and never agreed. There was quarreling and abuse at home, and the mother was always suspicious of the girl. Once she stole her mother's diamond ring and pawned it for $45. She felt the offence to have been much less serious because the mother was in the room when she took the ring. For months at a time she lived with cousins in a New England city, where the influence was as degrading as that in her own home. The cousins were immoral and al- coholic, and one of them was at this time involved in the mur- der of an immoral girl. This same cousin also made several ineffectual attempts to have intercourse with her. This girl was considered active and efficient when in a good humor but when crossed in her desires she became sullen and often violent. Once she lost her temper with another girl over a trifle and nearly tore her clothes off before she was restrained. In appearance this girl was strong and possessed of an impulsive manner. She finished the grammar school and determined to BAD HOME CONDITIONS 117 take up dressmaking and millinery, as she seemed to possess a good deal of ability with her needle. After learning the millinery trade, she was able to earn as much as $7 a week. This girl also did factory work, which proved very distasteful to her. When asked about her interests in religious matters she merely said, " I cannot go to church as I have no suitable clothes to wear." She had a passion for moving-picture shows and dances and frequented these places with a group of bad com- panions. She habitually " picked up " men and showed an intense desire to be with them. Shortly after her condition became noticeable she was sent to a private maternity hospital, where her child was born after a normal confinement, there being no indication of any venereal disease. She told the doctor there that she had always been troubled with great irritability at menstruation. She was considered very troublesome at this home, and some of the other girls were much afraid of her. When so inclined she defied everybody and became so impudent and unrestrained that no one could manage her. She always showed, however, a fondness for her child and took good care of him. She showed him to every one with pride and made no attempt to hide the fact that she was not married. When placed out with her child, however, she was not considered satis- factory and was discharged several times, once taking a supply of linen with her. At the end of two years she showed a good deal of improvement in judgment and appreciation, and the visitor interested in her welfare felt that she gave signs of promise. Ada met the alleged father while she was employed in a shoe shop. She gave an address where she had intercourse with him at various times, which upon investigation proved to be a house of prostitution. The man managed a cigar store and disappeared when he learned of her condition. She admits that a year previously she had regularly had intercourse with another man. This girl had undoubtedly been very immoral and had habitually frequented houses of prostitution. Even after the birth of her child she became intimate with young men where she was employed and persisted in staying out at night with them. At our last report she was showing less desire to be with men and had asked the agent to look up the father of her child, as she had decided that she would marry him, if she found that he was at all desirable. The child is now being sup- ported by its mother in a boarding home. Case No. 13. Causative factors : (a) Bad Home Condi- tions: Lived with immoral mother in questionable house. 118 THE UNMARRIED MOTHER Later lived with immoral relatives. (&) Bad Companions: Low standard girl friends; " picks up " men. (c) Men- tality: Defective self-control. Temper. Fights. (d) Heredity: Mother had two illegitimate children. Prosti- tute. Sex + + . Age 18. Both Parents Alcoholic, Immoral, or Criminalistic. It will be readily understood that when the influence attendant upon alcoholism, immorality, or crime in one parent is intensified by the fact that the behavior of both parents is of this nature, the effect on the home environment is doubly pernicious. The following cases illustrate some of the causative factors which have been considered in the preceding paragraphs and indicate how slight the good influences are in a home where both parents are in some way vicious. Case 14. This is the case of a girl whose father was French Canadian and whose mother was Irish, who became pregnant at the age of 17. She passed the mental tests and was consid- ered not defective. Physically she was tall and of an unat- tractive type, with a weak face and a skin eruption, and is suffering from tuberculosis, of recent origin. The father was intemperate and considered subnormal, having made a forced marriage when the mother was three months pregnant. He has a court record for drunkenness and has been in an insane hospital suffering from general paralysis. The mother had an illegitimate child before marriage and is also alcoholic and immoral; she is nervous and hot-headed and in spite of the tests is described as "mentally off." Nothing is known as to the whereabouts of the girl's illegitimate half-brother. The fraternity, furthermore, consists of a sister of 18 who is wild, of a brother of 16 who is tubercular; and there are four other sisters and a brother under 10 years of age. After having made fourteen changes in residence in eighteen years, often living in bad communities, this family now occu- pies an eight-room cottage in an outlying section of a manu- facturing city which they keep in dirt and disorder, the girl and three of her sisters sleeping together in one room. The children were frequently abused by their alcoholic father, who kicked them and swore at them when drunk, and the parents often neglected their family in order to attend the motion-pic- ture theaters, during which time the girl's older sister brought her questionable friends into the house. This girl herself BAD HOME CONDITIONS 119 was never allowed to play with the children of the reputable neighbors nor to have any of her friends visit her in her home. As a result she got into the habit of going around alone on the street and of attending the theaters without the knowledge of her parents. At school she reached the seventh grade and seems to have been good in drawing and poor in history, giving indi- cations of ability without concentration. The girl was con- ceived when the parents were 39 years old, the father having smoked since the age of eight, and the mother drinking exces- sively during her pregnancy. She weighed nine pounds at the time of her birth, which was normal, and was fed at the breast, talking and walking at 14 months. She went through the measles and mumps and began to suffer from enuresis at the age of four. During her developmental period we find her frequently going to school without breakfast and contracting other detrimental habits; her menstrual periods established themselves when she was 14, continuing painless and regular. After leaving school this girl secured employment in an elec- trical company, where she earned ten cents an hour for ten hours a day reading meters, and gave her wages to her mother, who allowed her twenty-five cents for spending money. Her em- ployers considered her smart but inattentive and filthy, as well as lacking in ambition. About this time she began to show dis- tinct delinquent tendencies and became unmanageable, largely through neglect and mistreatment. She lied and stole from her mother, was defiant about her misbehavior, never wept when punished, fought her brothers and sisters and stayed out over night, sleeping in sheds and under bushes. Her lying was always for a purpose, and at one time she conceived the plan of giving her sister a surprise party for which she had tickets printed, selling them for twenty-five cents apiece. On the proceeds of the sale she ran away and was gone for several days. This girl was committed as a " stubborn child " to an organization giving institutional care when just under 15 years of age. In court she was indifferent and hardened and while in the institution she became unpopular. There she mani- fested a talent for drawing and was fond of fancy work. After a year and a half her mother fractured her hip, and the girl was allowed to go home to help with her family. They were evicted for non-payment of rent and succeeded in moving into a better place, where the girl found work to do outside the house. One day she appeared completely battered, with a black eye, and it was found that her parents had discovered that she was two months pregnant and had gotten drunk with the intention 120 THE UNMARRIED MOTHER of killing her. At present she is awaiting confinement in a hospital. This girl began to be sexually immoral at 12 and admitted relations with a neighbor and a few others whom she did not know, at that age. She says that her pregnancy is the result of recent intercourse with one man, although she had been with two or three others in the last six months, and that he told her that he would take precautionary measures, which she believed. Nothing has been done to establish paternity. The young woman claims that her condition is the result of the fact that she was unhappy at home and did not have a fair chance. She says that her runaways and her various delinquencies were due to the fact that she was not treated right, was beaten, once with a rope, and that she was never allowed to have any pretty clothes or to bring her friends to the house. Case No. 14. Causative factors : (a) Bad Home Condi- tions: Parents forced marriage. Mother had illegitimate child. Father alcoholic, abusive. Mother alcoholic, shift- less. Girl's sister wild. Drunken brawls; abuse; neg- lect. (&) Bad Environment: Fourteen changes in 18 years, among bad families, (c) Recreational Disadvantages: No girl or boy friends. Unpopular, (d) Early Sex Experi- ence: Began to be immoral at 12. (e) Heredity: Parents thought subnormal. Father in Insane Asylum. General paralysis. Both alcoholic and immoral. Brother tuber- cular. (J) Physical: Tubercular. Stole. Sex+ + . Age 17. Case 15. Among those cases in which a complexity of factors seems to have been operative is this one of an Ameri- can girl who became pregnant at 17, after having experienced both abuse at home and the contamination of institutional life. She appears to be suffering from tuberculosis and hysteria. The girl's father, who has been a conductor on the railroad for twenty years, earning $21 a week, has been immoral and has indulged in abusive behavior at home. The only good point which he is considered to possess is that he tried to live with his wife, a hard-drinking woman from whom he was later di- vorced. The man remarried, his second wife also being a woman of rather low standards. The fraternity includes a sister who is immoral and committed to an organization giving institutional care, another much given to running away, two brothers, and three other sisters, one of whom succeeded in graduating from the high school, and two children who died in infancy. BAD HOME CONDITIONS 121 When the girl in this case was 7 years old, her father applied to a child-helping society for care for his children, stating that his wife had been drinking heavily, and that she had deserted them. The mother was later sent to a correctional institution for drunkenness, because she had frequently been away from home on various debauches. That the girl's father himself was equally worthless is indicated by the fact that he is reported to have attempted incestuous relations with one of his daughters when she was 10 years of age, as a result of which she did not speak to him for a year. According to this girl's story he suc- ceeded in having intercourse with her sister when she was 16 years old. This sister became completely unmanageable and at the age of 17 was committed to an organization giving insti- tutional care, where she caused a great deal of trouble. It is interesting to note that this sister later returned home and be- came pregnant, securing a forced marriage and later an abor- tion. This sister soon became infatuated with a physician living in a near-by town, and became addicted to the use of drugs. She was extremely attractive physically. She com- mitted suicide by drinking carbolic acid in a railway station, after leaving a note stating that she had taken her life because the physician in question had told her that he was tired of her and would do nothing more for her. The home conditions under which the children were brought up were, physically speaking, good, as the father sometimes earned $40 a week and was able to rent a comfortable apartment. Little control, however, was exercised over his children, and when the girl in question was 14 she was removed to an institution for a period of seven months, where she states that she was much influenced by her contaminating environment, being constantly thrown with girls who had been promiscuous and had had illegitimate children, who indulged in a great deal of obscenity, with the result that this girl began to feel that it was hardly worth while to make an attempt at decency. Upon her return home she began to work as a domestic in various homes, finally return- ing to her father's when nearly 17. This girl has suffered with tubercular glands for some time, having been operated upon for gallstones as well. We also note the presence of hysterical symptoms and of a neurasthenic condition. Her schooling was intermittent, it being necessary for her to change her residence so frequently during the time that she was doing housework that she did not progress beyond the sixth grade. When 14 or 15 years of age she was under observation for traces of mental abnormality, but a psychological examination revealed her to 122 THE UNMARRIED MOTHER be neither feeble-minded nor insane. She is possessed of a quick temper, is successful in expressing herself fluently, and has been somewhat upset ever since she experienced the shock of being the only one of four persons saved from drowning in an accident. This girl is unable to live contentedly with her parents, stating that she has no respect for them. She never took any interest in her work, because she was forced to do housework against her will, it being an unsuitable occupa- tion for a girl of her nature who had never learned to practice self-control. She appeared to have possessed good memory ability and to have shown some keenness in analyzing various situations and her own shortcomings. According to a visitor much interested in her she is anxious to do better but is unsuccessful because of her emotional instability. It appears that this girl has no hesitancy whatever in speak- ing of her personal history, showing a good deal of sophistica- tion and knowledge of life in general. Her pregnancy was the result of an attraction which she felt for a rather dominant type of young man who had taken her to dances and various entertainments and with whom she in time became immoral. When told of her condition he gave her medicine to produce an abortion, which made her ill but failed to bring about the de- sired result. He seems to have had little interest in her predica- ment, claiming that he was about to marry another. This girl blames her mother for her condition, stating that it was on her advice that she began to associate with the man in question. There is no evidence of self-pity on her part, and she is looking forward to her confinement as a logical result of actions for which she is herself also to blame. Case No. 15. Causative factors : (a) Bad Home Condi- tions: Father immoral, abusive. Mother immoral, alco- holic, abusive. Mother led girl to associate with man. Immoral home. Incest. (&) Bad Companions: Much influenced by evil companions while in institution. Sister immoral, suicide, (c) Physical: Tuberculosis. Hysteria, (d) Heredity: Father immoral, alcoholic. Mother im- moral, alcoholic. Sex +. Age 17. Other Members of the Family Alcoholic, Immoral, or Crim- inalistic. The previous three paragraphs draw attention to the influence of alcoholic or immoral parents upon the lives of their daughters. In many cases this constitutes a direct causative factor in their pregnancy. No review of home conditions BAD HOME CONDITIONS 123 would be satisfactory which did not bring to light the condition in which the contaminating influence comes not so much from the parents as from other members of the family. Although such an influence is unaccompanied by the prestige of authority, it may be equally effective because of the con- tinuity which exists in the relationship between one member of the family and an alcoholic or immoral brother or sister. While a parent may cause the lowering of standards in a girl's mind, thus indirectly leading to sexual delinquency, a sister who is herself immoral may be the direct cause of a girl's begin- ning a similar career, through her constant companionship and example. This situation repeats itself under prime causa- tive factors which have proved to be more influential; for in- stance, it may be a minor cause in a case where the prime factor is the girl's subnormal mentality, and consequently will come up frequently in the discussion in other chapters. Here fol- lows a case illustrative of this condition. Case 16. This colored family was well known for its immoral tendencies. The mother was considered immoral, the oldest daughter had had an illegitimate child five years ago, another daughter had three illegitimate children, and two other sisters had a reputation for moral laxity. The subject of this study, a slight, attractive girl of medium height, had had a miscarriage and one child when 20 years of age. This family lived in an extremely bad neighborhood. The father was a steady, hard-working man, a laborer of good repu- tation, but the mother complained bitterly of her husband. She said that he was abusive and used vile language and was altogether too strict with the children. At the time of Ida's second pregnancy the mother had died, and the father appeared to be very kind to her, allowing her to bring her child home after her confinement at a local hospital. There was no informa- tion obtained about this girl's early history except a general statement that there had never been any control exercised by the parents. At school the teacher said that all the children were slow thinking and unruly, with immoral tendencies. This girl did average work for her grade, however, graduating from the grammar school and reaching the second year at high school by the time that she was 17. She then began to work as a domestic, which she continued until her sister, who was keep- 124 THE UNMARRIED MOTHER ing house for her father, ran away, whereupon the girl in ques- tion returned home in order to help him. For some time she had associated with a group of immoral girls. This girl admits that she began to be immoral at 15, stating that she met a colored boy who was a sailor on a ship and had intercourse with him. She also admits having had relation- ships with other men since then. The father of her child is a well-developed young colored man of 19 who bore an excellent reputation and came of a good family, earning about $15 a week in a garage. He seems to have been ambitious and to have attended night school. The girl said that she had known this man for a long time, and that they had been school friends. Meeting him recently she began to associate with him con- stantly, his evident intention being to marry her. When he learned of her condition, he promised that he would provide for her, but she felt that his plan no longer included marriage. The man said that he was afraid to marry the girl, as he knew that she had had a miscarriage by another man two years ago, and that she had received money from him for the expenses incurred. He admitted that he was attached to her and felt an obligation to marry her if he were certain that he was respon- sible for her condition, although he would be decidedly sorry to ally himself with a family bearing a reputation such as hers. The girl finally secured his arrest and he was required to contrib- ute towards the support of the child. She herself is seemingly untouched by her experience. Case No. 16. Causative factors: (a) Bad Home Condi- tions: Mother dead. Father much too strict. Used bad language. One sister had illegitimate child. Two sisters immoral. Mother immoral. Another sister had three illegitimate children. (6) Bad Companions: Promiscuous girls. Sex + + + . Age 17. Poverty. It is not the intention of this study to view the element of poverty as a fixed factor in sexual delinquency, for it is obvious that in many poor homes there is no indication of delinquency of any kind. It is highly probable that the influence of low wages as a cause of sexual immorality, on the part of the girls and women here considered, is in nearly all cases indirect. In not more than a very few instances does the girl become pregnant as a result of intercourse which is indulged in for the sake of profit. This draws attention to a fact often BAD HOME CONDITIONS 125 overlooked, namely the distinction between those girls and young women who give birth to illegitimate children, and those who are prostitutes. It may be that illegitimacy is a condi- tion which frequently leads to prostitution after the birth of a child, but it is evident that the sexual laxness leading to pregnancy is in the large majority of cases to be distinguished clearly from prostitution. Even in the cases where the girl has undoubtedly been promiscuous, one frequently finds that she has not profited thereby, and in many instances the histories show that pregnancy was the result of intercourse with only one man. The conclusion is that poverty operates by intensifying the bad conditions often already existing in the home. From the point of physical development, for instance, one can appreciate that undernourishment may easily weaken a young woman's power of resistance to sex temptation, and one can understand how the lack of spending money operates as a factor, prevent- ing wholesome recreation and normal social life, and so making these girls too dependent on men for their enjoyments. It is not the intention of this study to develop the relation between alcoholism and poverty, or to discuss in detail families where the budget is not capable of meeting the household needs. So frequently does an improvement in the economic condition of the family mean an improvement in the general standards of the home that it requires little comment. Here follows a case illustrating home conditions in which poverty appears to be a determining factor. Case 17. In the case of this colored girl who had an illegiti- mate child at 15, we find that she was brought up in a very bad environment. Her father died of tuberculosis five years ago and before his death the family had known the direst pov- erty. Her mother was well known for her licentious conduct, and three others of the eight children were known to the police for stealing and immorality. The mother reported that her father had died in an insane hospital and that she had been forced to work at the age of 9, knowing nothing but ill-treat- ment and abuse during her earlier days. Her children did not appear to be very robust or strong. One died of rheumatism, 126 THE UNMARRIED MOTHER another was a cripple suffering from curvature of the spine, a third died of erysipelas, and several of the others appeared to be anemic and underfed. When this girl under observation was examined during her pregnancy she was found to be suffer- ing from rheumatism, an infectious arthritis, and gonorrhoea. She had undoubtedly lived a very promiscuous life. The family in this case was considered low-grade and had for years been in such desperate need that it was necessary for them to secure assistance from the town. Until recently they had made their home in a small suburban section where they had been under the constant surveillance of the police. The girl and her two sisters were well known for their habit of solicit- ing sailors and disreputable men on the streets. One of these sisters had been arrested for stealing a considerable sum of money, and the brother stole a watch and was put on probation for three months. The mother told a pathetic story of a hard life, stating that at the time of the birth of one of her children there had been neither food or money in the house and they were forced to dig under the snow for turnip roots to keep them- selves from starving. Some of this poverty was undoubtedly due to dissipation and general shiftlessness, a teacher who visited the home once finding the mother in a compromising position with a man, and it being the statement of the neighbors that there were men around the house at all hours. Owing to the fact that the mother worked, the three older girls were subjected to many temptations to which they succumbed and became prostitutes. At the time of this girl's pregnancy, the family were probably in better financial condition than they had been for years, living in a light and airy tenement but keep- ing their rooms in dirt and disorder. It seems that the girl in question had been wild and uncontrolled since before her thirteenth year. Her teacher said that she had never ob- served any signs of mental deficiency, although a psychological examination was never made. Although this girl evidently enjoyed school, her record for scholarship was poor, and she was absent a great deal for the most trivial reasons. When in the fourth grade she made an effort to improve, but her teacher felt that she was much handicapped by the fact that she did not secure sufficient nourishment at home. The school authorities were constantly hearing of the poverty and loose living in this girl's home. She left at 13 in the seventh grade and went to work to help her mother. After that she did nursery work for two years, where she was considered unusually capable with children, associating at this time with white men and with her BAD HOME CONDITIONS 127 immoral sisters. In regard to interests, this young colored girl appears to have been very fond of outdoor activities, being an excellent swimmer, and when asked about her fondness for reading she stated that she " loved fairy stories." She gave the impression of being a timid, innocent, and exceedingly child- like young colored girl, but investigation proved her to be using her immaturity as a cloak to cover a well-thought-out plan of solicitation. Her employer called her a pleasant, responsive girl with a selfish disposition and a propensity for lying. At one time this girl had charge of four children, and at a time when her employer's mother was dying, she ran away and left her without a helper, although she knew her to be so remotely situ- ated that it would be impossible for her to secure any other help. When confined at a private maternity hospital, this girl showed the same spirit and was lazy as well as lacking in gratitude. When she lost track of the alleged father she applied at the navy yard herself and told her story, insisting that the authori- ties look into the matter. After a normal confinement she became exceedingly fond of her healthy daughter and gave her the most devoted care, her family welcoming them both home, and the mother and sisters trying to outdo each other in their kindness towards them. The physicians at the hospital listened with much sympathy to her story of rape. It furnishes a good example of her ability to shield herself from censure by creating a sympathetic at- mosphere about her. She states that one evening she was accosted by a tall man in naval uniform near an elevated sta- tion. He asked her if she liked candy and also if she would not like to have a nice blouse such as he was wearing. After saying that if she would take a walk with him that he would get these things for her, he took her to a secluded spot and asked her to sit down with him. When she became frightened and refused to do so he threatened her, saying that " she would if she knew what was good for her." She claims that she was afraid to struggle with him and that her weeping was of no avail. He assaulted her, and she ran home and never saw him again, being emphatic in her statement that this was the only time she had ever had intercourse. The police, however, reported that this girl solicited regularly near this particular elevated station and stated that curiously enough she was immoral only with white men. An employer also gave evidence that this girl had been wild for some years, being continually out at night with men and boys and leading a promiscuous life. The prose- cution of the alleged father was abandoned on account of the 128 THE UNMARRIED MOTHER girl's bad reputation. At the last report she was still living at home with her child but had recently asked a protective agency to board her baby, as she and her mother worked, and as she felt that her young and crippled sister could not give her child adequate care. Case No. 17. Causative factors : (a) Bad Home Condi- tions: Mother immoral. Older girls all solicit. Girl im- moral only with white men. Immoral home. Poverty. (&) Bad Companions: Immoral sisters and sailors, (c) Educational Disadvantages: Left school at seventh grade. Worked at 13. Sex + + -1-. Age 15. Lack of Parental Control. Among the factors directly oper- ating towards a breakdown of good standards during the formative period of a girl's life is that of lack of parental control. This manifests itself in many various ways which must be considered under separate heads. Suffice it to say here that nothing can be more dangerous for the moral welfare of the growing girl than lack of control on the part of the parents for any cause whatever. The impulses which force themselves into the consciousness of the adolescent girl are so closely con- nected with the physical changes accompanying them, and with an attendant lack of mental stability, that it becomes obviously necessary that control of some sort be exercised at this critical period. In many cases it is found that such con- trol exists, but is operative only in a negative way. Aside from the restraining influence which parents can ex- ercise upon their growing daughters, there is the positive in- fluence, only too rarely found, through which a mother can in- terpret to her daughter the meaning of the mysterious forces working upon her. She thus acquires a mental attitude to- wards the problem of sex which will be of inestimable value to her, not only during her developmental period but during her whole later life. So many of the problems of married life are problems of sexual maladjustment and conflict that the influence of sane advice at the formative period of adolescence can do much to prevent such lack of understanding. There is also no doubt of the value of such control viewed purely as a protective influence, as is shown by those cases in BAD HOME CONDITIONS 129 which, with the best intentions possible, a young girl has been possessed of insufficient judgment to enable her to escape a situation into which a wiser person would never have allowed her to fall. Such detailed cases will be considered under special paragraph headings. Lack of Parental Control through Ignorance. One of the conditions existing in the home which it is frequently almost impossible to correct is that of parental ignorance in the control of children. Much as one may attempt, through social organ- izations, to bring parents to a realization of the subtleties in- volved in child care, many obstinate cases remain in which nothing can be done. Particularly is this true of families in which the parents are themselves mentally defective or ren- dered incapable of cooperation through bad habits, so that in situations of this sort the only solution lies in breaking up the home. Much, however, can be done through tactful visit- ing, towards changing the attitude of the parents towards their daughters, and towards impressing upon them the necessity of wise supervision. It is to this end that so many of our social agencies are directing efforts which will undoubtedly find re- sponse in many instances. As an example of cases in which the lack of parental control has been due to ignorance, the following may be cited. Case 18. Among those who became unmarried mothers at a relatively early age is the case of this girl of French-Canadian parentage who bore a child when she was 16 years old. She is probably mentally dull, although there is no psychological examination to help in our classification, whereas physically there is nothing of particular interest aside from valvular heart trouble. The father, an intemperate fisherman, who could earn $25 a week if he wished to, deserted his family and has twice been sent to the insane asylum. The mother, ignorant but temperate, speaks no English. There are two brothers and four sisters under 16 in the family. One of the sisters is immoral and at present in a reform school in a neighboring State. Another is under correctional care here. The family occupy a fairly neat tenement in a near-by manu- facturing city which they are able to keep in good condition 130 THE UNMARRIED MOTHER when the father is not with them. The mother seems to care for her children as much as she is capable of, but the difficulties at home are occasioned by the fact that the father became ex- tremely abusive when drunk and at such times turned the whole family out of the house. It is naturally a low-standard home in which the children hear vicious talk around them and where they are allowed to frequent the cheap theaters and dances several evenings of the week. The girl's developmental history shows that she was operated on for appendicitis, and that she was afflicted with scabies and falling of the uterus. In school she went as far as the fourth grade, and through her older sister began to associate with a crowd of tough boys and girls with whom she became delinquent. Being an attractive type, she enjoys associating with her older immoral sister, and after an attempt to support herself by working in a mill, she and her sister were both committed to an organization giving institutional care on the charge of larceny for shoplifting. It was found that she was pregnant and she bore an eight-pound child in good condition. When placed at housework under family care she improved, although she seemed to suffer from heart trouble, and married a neighbor when her child was nine months old. After a brief happiness she ran back to her family, claiming that her husband had been cruel to her and had misused her. There was at this time a suspicion of her being tubercular and she gave evidence of gonorrhoea. She soon began to receive attention from a man evidently de- sirous of marrying her, and she was last heard of in an attempt to secure a divorce in order that she might remarry. She seems to have improved in her habits and to be conscious of the responsibility of her child, really attempting to keep from immorality on its account. There is little doubt but that this girl was immoral before her commitment at 15, for she spent several nights with different boys in a park, once admitting that she had accepted money. When sent to a hospital for appendicitis, she was discharged without notice being given to her guardian, and meeting two men as she left the hospital, she had relations with them and contracted gonorrhoea. She claims that her mother and her aunt had the same disease, and she could see no seriousness in the fact that she had been immoral, claiming that her lapse was due to the effect of the ether, and that she would not have relations with a man unless he were attractive to her. She was unable to give any information as to the paternity of her child. BAD HOME CONDITIONS 131 Case No. 18. Causative factors: (a) Bad Home Con- ditions: Father intemperate; abusive. Possible psy- chosis. Mother ignorant. Brother and sister in correc- tional institutions. (5) Bad Companions: Immoral older sister, (c) Mentality: Dull. Sex + + . Age 16. Lack of Parental Control through Illness. Illness, particu- larly on the part of the mother, is frequently the cause of inade- quate control and supervision over the children. There are other physical handicaps, such as deafness and defective vision, which operate in the same manner, and it is evident that any- thing which lowers the physical capacity of the mother in any way has a direct effect upon her parental control. So obvious is the condition in which illness plays a part that the situation has not been discussed in detail, and the following case is relied upon to give the necessary illustrations. Case 19. This Jewish girl of 19, apparently a normal type, was born in one of our large cities, and for the last two years had been uncontrolled owing to much sickness at home, the sick- ness ending in her mother's becoming mentally unbalanced. The father had been ill for some years with diabetes, and the mother had been forced to take lodgers and go out to do day work, in order to keep her family of three children together. Some time ago the youngest child was killed by a street car, and since that time the mother had shown aberrational tend- encies. Both parents were very kind to their daughter when they learned of her pregnancy, however, and allowed her to be confined at home. Doubtless unlicensed recreation with low associates who frequented cheap dance halls had a de- moralizing effect upon the girl. Even after the birth of her child she persisted in looking upon her past offenses lightly, and exhibited no shame over her predicament, although she dreaded the neighborhood gossip. It was rumored that she had been promiscuous and had received money for her licentious conduct. It was impossible to verify this report. There does not seem to have been any control on the part of the invalid mother. The parents came from Russia 25 years ago and were still unable to speak English with any fluency. They lived in a six-room tenement for which they paid $18 a month, subletting two rooms for $6 a week. The home was situated in a crowded 132 THE UNMARRIED MOTHER Jewish district, but within it was decidedly homelike and con- fortable. The mother paid her bills regularly, and the family bore a good reputation, although we heard that the parents sometimes quarreled. Until within a year or two this girl had associated with quiet and respectable friends and showed no waywardness until she came under the alleged father's influence. She now began to associate with disreputable friends who were her companions at the factory. After her confine- ment she showed a desire to put this life behind her and was heard to say, " When a girl works in a factory she forgets the things higher up and talks about dances, from which no good thing ever comes; and I mean to give them up and my bad friends, too, and lead a decent life." This girl was medium sized, with a nervous, confident man- ner and rather pale in appearance, yet with something of in- terest in her face, and gave the impression of having definite ideas. She felt that she had done well not to have an abortion performed or to go to an institution with the intention of giving up her child, and she thought that she had shown a remarkable amount of stamina in remaining in her own home and facing the neighborhood gossip. This girl finished grammar school and continued through the first year in high school, leaving only because of her father's failing health and because of her mother's inability to earn as much as she had done while in normal physical condition. It is interesting to note that not only was her scholarship good but this girl secured a cer- tificate of credit for favorable effort and behavior. After leav- ing school she went to work in a factory as a clerk at $6 a week and was considered steady, prompt, and efficient. For two winters she was employed in a candy factory, becoming more and more unsatisfactory and associating with the most disrepu- table employees there until she was finally discharged. This girl had known the father of her child, a young machinist of 25, and a Gentile, for some time, and had associated with him for three months before allowing him to be sexually inti- mate with her, finally acquiescing, according to her own story, only after much pleading on his part. She went to his room at a lodging house on two occasions. She insisted that she was infatuated with this man and felt certain that her attachment for him would have increased had he lived up to his responsi- bility for the child. He deserted her when he learned of her condition, having previously asked her to solicit men on the street, which she refused to do. Both families had opposed their marriage on the ground of difference in religious belief. BAD HOME CONDITIONS 133 Case No. 19. Causative factors: (a) Bad Home Con- ditions: Father long ill. Mother mentally unbalanced. Worked out. No control. (6) Bad Companions: Low grade friends, (c) Recreational Disadvantages: Cheap dances. (d) Heredity: Mother mentally unbalanced. Father dia- ' betes. Lies. Sex +. Age 19. Lack of Parental Control; Father Away. In families where the mother is dead or permanently absent from the home for some other reason, the control naturally falls upon the father. Under such conditions the fact that he has been unable to su- pervise his children because of enforced or voluntary absence has often been the direct cause of a daughter's illicit sexual relations. An illustrative case follows. Case 20. This is the case of a capable girl of German-Ameri- can parentage who gave birth to an illegitimate child when she was 21 years of age. Her father, who is a hunchback, averaged $11.50 in a rubber shoe factory, and her mother, who died when the girl was 16 years old after an attack of paralysis, was so attached to her children that she could not be persuaded to go to a hospital. The fraternity includes two sisters and a brother under 17, against whom nothing is known. After the death of this girl's mother, there was absolutely no control in the family. The father left the girl at home alone during the day and was frequently absent two or three evenings a week. He does not seem to have wasted any care whatever on his children, who did just about what they pleased, provid- ing them with no recreation under proper guidance. The girl in question has borne the largest burden in the family, for after the paralysis of her mother, the whole responsibility fell on her at an age when she should have had greater freedom for wTholesome interests. She became discouraged and unhappy, turning very naturally to any manifestation of affection and becoming pregnant by a man who probably represented her sole opportunity for companionship and recreation. The girl's father did not like the man in question and forbade him to come to the house, the result being that he came to see her when her father was out and when she was absolutely with- out supervision. She seems to have been anxious to marry him, but he declined to do so. The case was settled out of court for $150, and the child was taken into its mother's home. The girl herself died one week after confinement. 134 THE UNMARRIED MOTHER Case No. 20. Causative factors: (a) Bad Home Con- ditions: Father hunchback. Mother died when girl was 16. Burden fell on girl. Father away three evenings a week. Young man called when father was away. (6) Bad Com- panions : Young man called against father's wishes, (c) Recreational Disadvantages: Girl worked too hard. Sex +. Age 21. Lack of Parental Control; Mother Away. Of great im- portance in this study has been the influence of the mother's voluntary or enforced absence on the girl in question. Case after case appears in which the existence of homes with no one in charge has been a direct invitation to sexual immorality on the part of the young girls inhabiting them. Particularly in communities where two and three family houses or tenements accustom the neighbors to the frequent visits of strangers is the situation made doubly dangerous by the absence of the mother. It is often easy for a boy or young man to enter a house or a building in which several families live without any one's becoming suspicious or knowing whom he is about to visit, and there are consequently many homes in which a girl has carried on illicit relations with one or more boys over a long period of time. The new development of mothers' pensions is an admission of the importance of keeping the mother at home when she has children to care for, and it is hoped that the following cases will give added emphasis to the necessity of adequate supervision of the adolescent girl by her mother. Rarely does one find that the mother's absence is voluntary, and one is thus led to the conclusion that the cause is generally either the death of the father or his insufficient earning capacity. In such cases there is nothing for the mother to do but to seek employment outside of the home, the economic condition of the family thus becoming a direct factor in the girl's sexual irregularity. The following cases are illustrative of home conditions in which the fact that the mother was away for some reason has placed the girl in a dangerous situation to which she has suc- cumbed. BAD HOME CONDITIONS 135 Case 21. In this instance an American girl of 15, apparently normal and of good reputation, became pregnant while she was left some weeks without supervision because her parents were called to a distant city. They had been indulgent and had rather spoiled this girl at home, and yet their attitude toward outside activities was most conservative and strict, never allowing their daughter to mingle with the young people in the neighborhood. Consequently, when she found herself absolutely free of restraint for a short time, she felt that this was her opportunity to enjoy herself, and went to walk with a young man who lived next door. According to her story she did not realize her condition until she was six months' pregnant, when her mother took her to a physician for anemia. Both the girl and her mother appeared to be greatly shocked at the diagnosis, and the mother said, " I cannot see how my girl, with a good inheritance and upbringing, could so easily have fallen into temptation." On the paternal side the grand- father died of old age, the grandmother of pneumonia, while the father had never been robust. In the maternal history we found that the mother had always been well except for uterine trouble, although her mother had died of cancer. Otherwise the heredity was not significant. This girl was an only child, and there had been no miscarriages. Her mother had suffered with a severe attack of grippe through this pregnancy and had had a long labor, followed by a normal birth. For 12 years this family had lived in the country on a farm and had then moved to the city where the father was employed as a machinist. The mother, an unusually fine type of woman, impressed those who met her with her dignity and refinement. She was anxious to shield her daughter from public opinion and had immediately sent her to another city to live with her aunt, whose home proved to be an acceptable shelter for this girl. The mother showed a certain keenness in analyzing the influ- ence of their home life on her daughter, acknowledging freely her responsibility in so restricting her recreation and providing no normal outlet for her spirits. She said that she had never allowed her to play with boys or to bring her companions to the house or go to evening parties. She had nevertheless had a good deal of outdoor life and had taken some pleasure in the church which she attended regularly. We found that she had developed fairly normally as a child, walking at 14 months, and having some difficulty with her teeth. She had no serious difficulty in passing through the childhood diseases, but was quite ill with pneumonia. Enuresis persisted until her ninth 136 THE UNMARRIED MOTHER year. Menstruation occurred at 13, scanty but regular. For some years this girl had been a restless sleeper, dreaming con- tinually, and walking in her sleep. She left school because of her pregnancy, having reached the eighth grade and expect- ing to graduate in a few months. Although she did not like to study she did well, especially in arithmetic and algebra. She was an exceedingly childish young girl and had only put her dolls away the previous summer and was at this time read- ing such books as " Heidi " and other child stories. She took a lively interest in her home life and even through her pregnancy was usually happy and enthusiastic. Her mother could not determine whether her light-heartedness was due to lack of appreciation of the gravity of the situation or to an optimistic self-control. The visitor interested described her as an immature child with hair hanging in braids down her back, decidedly at- tractive, but lacking in expression and in depth of character. The story of this girl's sex experience was very simple. While her mother was away from home caring for her sick aunt, she often ran into a boarding house next door for the sake of companionship. Here she met a young man whom she had known casually for a year or more, a teamster of rather doubt- ful reputation, who was intelligent enough to command a fairly good wage. On her way from school she met him often with her school chums, and occasionally with these girls she made appointments with him to go walking in the park. Later she went with him alone. She told us that she objected at first to his familiarity, and after his third and last intercourse with her she changed from an attitude of indifference to one of loathing and avoided him whenever she could, never informing him of her pregnancy. Although her mother had told her two years before about sex matters and warned her of such dangers, she said that she had no fear of any consequences resulting from this intimacy. She appreciated that she was doing wrong in allowing the relationship, but never worried about it and had never associated her run-down physical condition with a pos- sible pregnancy. Even her coming confinement aroused no interest or feeling of dread. At our last report the child was unborn, the mother being insistent that it should be adopted, as she felt that a girl of 15 was too young for such a responsi- bility. Her father was willing to bear all the expenses, and neither of the parents were anxious to consider the prosecution of the father. Case No. 21. Causative factors : (a) Bad Home Condi- tions: Mother called away by illness. Father out often. BAD HOME CONDITIONS 137 Home strict. First freedom when girl was 15. (5) Recre- ational Disadvantages: No chance for normal social life. Sex. Age 15. Lack of Control because of Parental Inability. In many of these cases parents who had sought to exercise their powers in attempting to control their unruly daughters found them- selves frankly unable to achieve success, and consequently an incorrigible girl would often have to be sent to an organization giving institutional care upon her parents' complaint. Fre- quently a girl who spent time on the streets at night or ran away from home failed to secure the necessary correctional treatment, and because hopelessly immoral, disappeared entirely from view. Another chapter deals with the qualities inherent in the girls and young women themselves which might cause such conditions, as for instance adolescent instability, so fre- quently at the bottom of such delinquency. In this section attention is given only to those cases in which there is no well- marked mental peculiarity or conflict, and the girl's delinquency is thus viewed from the angle of parental control. It goes without saying that in many instances a change of method on the part of the mother might have resulted in a corresponding change in her daughter's behavior, but one can only base one's findings upon existing conditions. Such cases have been con- sidered as those in which normal parents with a reasonable amount of effort have been unable to prevent the delinquency of daughters who are not mentally deficient. The following cases illustrate the actual conditions. Case 22. This girl of 18, of normal mentality, had never been controlled at home by her mother, and was allowed un- licensed recreation with more than a dozen boys within three years. She had a bad reputation in the neighborhood. Her excuse, in discussing her pregnancy, was based on her ignorance of sex facts and on her unsuspected sexual suggestibility which left her unprepared to control her easily aroused sex desires. Her heredity also is noteworthy. Her father's brother was an inmate of an insane hospital, and her mother's brother, who had been insane for years, had died in an asylum. A maternal sister was also so " queer " as to be called insane, and her mother 138 THE UNMARRIED MOTHER was certainly unbalanced. This mother was garrulous and obsessed by the ideas of poverty and fear. She would never visit in the neighborhood or receive even her own relations for a few days on account of the expense incurred. She had a horror of people seeing her and kept the window shades down, hiding if any one attempted to enter the home. When she learned of the child's existence, she scolded the girl persistently and made such remarks as "I'd like to take that brat and smash him through his father's windows.'' The girl's sister was also considered unruly and overfond of boys' society. This home was situated in a good neighborhood and was a double house which was owned by the father. He had inherited some money which was well invested, and through his wife's ability to save had succeeded in purchasing the home, renting the up-stairs tenement. Their five rooms were attractively furnished in oak and walnut and contained such luxuries as a piano. The father earned $18 a week as a switchman. He was a steady worker, did not drink, and was timid and much afraid of his wife, although quite persistent in his desire to give his children a good education. The younger daughter attended a well-known seminary, and the only son was away at college. This girl had finished high school and had just completed her college entrance examinations when she became pregnant. We learned that she had been a full term, normal child, having been nursed for a year and a half. She had had measles and chicken pox and jaundice, and had been con- tinually troubled with a cough for many winters. As a child she was active, fond of outdoor sports, and called a " tomboy." It was noted that she was unusually truthful. As she grew up, she developed into a girl of good appearance, not pretty but well bred, with a childish expression which betrayed hex shallow, unformed character. She persisted in her love of outdoor sports and was so full of life that she wrestled not only with the members of her own family, but with any one who came to the house. Her desire for enjoyment caused her to seek the theater, dances, church, and opera. To all these entertainments she was constantly escorted by neighborhood boys, and her parents seemingly made no objections to her unchaperoned excursions and appeared to be oblivious to the gossip of the neighborhood concerning their daughter's repu- tation. One finds that she had always preferred boys to girls as companions, but it was interesting to note her defense of an unmarried mother in the neighborhood who had been ban- ished from neighborly pastimes, and her desire to rectify this BAD HOME CONDITIONS 139 injustice by becoming friendly with the girl and by accompany- ing her to church and to other gatherings. Her child was born at a private maternity hospital when this girl was 18. Her affection for her son developed very fast, and she was eager to begin a domestic science course so as to be able to support him more quickly. At this home she was considered a very promising type, and the matron reported that she had found her to be " a delightful girl with splendid spirit and a distinct personality; she likes work and does it well, and has never shown any bad side here, but rather has demonstrated a good development of character and appears not to need close super- vision." Later this matron showed a little less ardor in the following report, " She lacks will power to overcome difficulties and has little backbone; nevertheless, on the whole, she ap- pears to be one of our most hopeful cases." In regard to her sex experiences this girl said that she had cared for the father of her child and that on their many canoe- ing excursions when they had remained out until midnight, the father had urged her to have intercourse with him, long before she had actually succumbed to the temptation. After this it became a common occurrence and continued until her mother discovered her condition in the fifth month of her pregnancy. The alleged father, a young clerk earning only a meager salary, claimed that the girl took the initiative, and denied paternity, saying that both had taken such precautions that her pregnancy by him was impossible. Later he added that she had acknowledged a previous illicit relationship with a boy when she was 16, and that therefore he would rather go to jail than marry her. Nevertheless he paid the confinement expenses and promised to contribute $150 if the child lived more than thirty days. From the girl herself we learned the particulars of her former sex experience; she had gone to keep house for her brother while his wife was ill in the hospital and had received frequent visits from a young man living near by. She did not resist his advances, and because of their isolation it became very easy for their intimacy to grow. Her mother felt that this girl's susceptible nature in an unprotected envi- ronment had been the cause of this experience. This girl's child has been placed at board by a protective agency, and she herself is anxious to continue her studies. Case No. 22. Causative factors: (a) Bad Home Con- ditions: Mother " queer." No control. Allowed girl to go out at night. (5) Sexually suggestible: Easily influ- enced. " Soft." (c) Heredity: Insane ancestry on both 140 THE UNMARRIED MOTHER sides, (d) Educational Disadvantages: Knew little of sex facts, (e) Bad Companions: Group of wayward boys. Sex. Age 18. Case 23. We have here the case of a high school graduate of American parentage who gave birth to an illegitimate child when 22 years of age. The father died of tuberculosis when the girl was six years old and the mother, who married him when three months pregnant, was a weak and nervous woman who died of tuberculosis when the girl was two. The fraternity includes two children who died in infancy. The father's sister is an unusually fine woman, manifesting considerable interest in the girl in question. Everything possible seems to have been done to bring this girl up into decent womanhood. After the death of her mother she lived with her father's mother until her death, whereupon she moved to her aunt's, with whom she remained until she graduated from high school. This woman did all that she could to help her, saying " I have strained every nerve for the last ten years in order to educate and clothe her." After graduating from the high school of a country town she came to Boston to attend a business college. She soon became irregular, however, and was discharged. In the past she had had private lessons in drawing, painting, and dancing and there is some question whether or not the aunt, in her desire to do everything that she could for the girl, did not succeed in giving her the impression that she could behave as she pleased. It is certain that her inability to exert any control over the girl was directly due to her lenience. In stature this girl is small, neat in appearance, and with a refined manner. There is some evidence of affec- tation, and she is frequently thoroughly depressed. For some time after her arrival in the city she found employment at coloring postal cards and later as a dentist's assistant. She does not seem to have possessed much physical strength, hav- ing inherited a frail constitution, and with it she manifested a strong desire for men, many of whom she picked up on the street, in company with a hopelessly immoral girl who had also had a good education. The summer after this girl graduated from the high school she met several young men, all brothers, who were summer boarders near her. After their departure for the city she cor- responded with one of them and in the fall, on the pretense of visiting a friend in a near-by city, she came to Boston and was found by her aunt in the home of these three young BAD HOME CONDITIONS 141 men. She was removed to a good boarding home and soon began to pick up men on the street, taking with her a young country girl, who was living in the same house, in whose company she solicited. The two spent the night at a hotel with two men, and as a result this young child, whom the girl in question led into immorality, became pregnant and contracted syphilis. Soon thereafter she and another girl kept a furnished apartment for the purpose of prostitution, for which they paid a high rental, being supported by men who frequented the place. At this time she was drinking heavily and pregnant. Her aunt, to whom she wrote for help, sent her fifty dollars with which to secure an abortion and then, be- coming frightened, hurried to the city herself and placed the girl in a boarding home. She spent $300 on her care, redeem- ing her pawned jewelry and doing all that she could to help. When the girl proved to be suffering from syphilis, the aunt read up on the subject in order to convince her niece of the necessity of having treatment. Through it all she maintained an affectionate attitude, saying " Perhaps with your tempta- tions I would not have been any better." The father of this girl's child is supposedly a musician 25 years of age for whom she possesses no affection. Her child died when three months old of congenital syphilis. The girl returned to her aunt's in New Hampshire and promised to begin life over again. Case No. 23. Causative factors: (a) Bad Home Con- ditions: Parents dead. Aunt lenient; spoils girl, who comes to city at 19. No supervision, (b) Bad Environ- ment: Disreputable lodgings, (c) Bad Companions: Pro- miscuous before coming to city and also after, (d) Hered- ity: Father died of tuberculosis when girl was six. Mother died of same illness when girl was two. Two children died in infancy. Lies. Sex + + + +. Age 22. Lack of Control because Family not Immigrated. The pre- vious paragraphs have dealt with conditions existing within the home; attention must now be directed to a state of affairs in which the home itself is lacking. Many of these cases are concerned with girls and young women who have emigrated from various foreign countries, and have gone into domestic service here, among whom one would readily expect to find a lack of those restraints which the normal home affords. Al- though one readily understands that the housekeeper is fre- 142 THE UNMARRIED MOTHER quently unable to shoulder the moral responsibility of her employees' actions, there are yet instances in which her con- tact with the servants in her employ is so slight as to produce in the mind of one of these recently immigrated young women the impression that their employer has absolutely no interest in them as long as they do their work. Much could often have been done in such cases by a reasonably frank relation- ship between the employer and her maid which would have prevented not only much loneliness on the part of the latter, but often real misfortune. This is not the place to emphasize the poor facilities which such a girl has for entertaining men, particularly in those homes where she shares the kitchen with other employees. Suffice it to say that much of the laxness in sex matters noticeable among this group is due to the fact that they are often forced to meet men outside of their em- ployer's home, under conditions in which there is no super- vision. For these and other reasons a girl or young woman living under new conditions without the influence of her family is in a dangerous situation. The following case is illustrative of histories in which this factor operates. Case 24. We have here the case of a girl of good mentality and in good physical condition who gave birth to two illegiti- mate children, the first when she was 19 years old. Little is known about her parents, who are Norwegian, save that the mother had buried three husbands, and that her son refuses to remain at home if she marries again. Her influence over her daughter does not seem to have been a very good one, her morals being open to question. The fraternity includes a brother and two sisters about whom nothing is known. This girl came to Boston alone at the age of 17 and was set adrift in the city. Soon after her arrival she secured a position in a second-class hotel. There was some difficulty regarding her permission to land in this country, but when finally allowed to do so she sat on a near-by rock and began to cry; here some sailors from the ship found her and sent her to an immigrants' home, where she remained until all her money had been used up for board. For days she looked for work, often without food, spending the nights in doorways. Once two men spoke BAD HOME CONDITIONS 143 to her and finding her homeless, one of them told her to wait while he brought a box of fruit, and he would take her home to his people. While he was gone, the other man told her that his friend meant her no good and gave her five dollars, telling her to get away as fast as she could. She soon met a Swedish policeman who had seen her wandering about the streets for days, and he secured her a position in the hotel referred to above. This girl is a pleasant-faced, clean, and wholesome type, al- ways laughing, but also possessed of a temper which she fre- quently had difficulty in controlling. Her difficulty lay in not being able to be good and have a good time as well. While doing housework in the hotel she became acquainted with a girl who was little better than a prostitute and through her got into bad habits. The environmental difficulties were made more severe for this girl because she possessed a very emotional nature with a distinct fondness for dances and suppers and a lack of control over herself in regard to pleasure. While working at the hotel, this girl saw a good deal of a young man who was frequently away and was looking forward to marrying him. There had been no sexual intimacy between them. One evening the girl friend referred to invited her to spend the evening with some sailor friends of hers, and after some singing and general boisterousness, she was further pre- vailed upon to spend the night with one of them. The record omits the details of her treatment by this man as being too brutal to repeat. When the girl objected he told her not to mind, that all women were sexually immoral. Since that time this man has asked her to marry him, but she has refused to pay any attention to him. When the girl informed the man to whom she was engaged of the fact that she was pregnant, he was at first obdurate, but after visiting her made extended plans for their marriage, but left her and was never heard from again, the inference being that he changed his mind in a cooler moment. Finally, after much discouragement, the girl went away with a man working on a near-by farm, with an evident desire to secure a father for her child. Unfortunately, how- ever, this man proved to be married. He was arrested and sent to prison for two years for bigamy. The girl gave birth to a second illegitimate child, whereupon it was necessary for her to give the older one to the State. She is now making an attempt to support herself and the youngest. Case No. 24. Causative factors : (a) Bad Home Condi- tions: Mother loose; gave girl no standards. Came to this country at 17. (6) Bad Environment: Alone -at 17. Pov- 144 THE UNMARRIED MOTHER erty. (c) Bad Companions: Led into immorality by pro- miscuous girl, (d) Recreational Disadvantages: No friends. Sex +. Age 19. No Supervision through Parental Neglect. It is impossible to mention all of the various conditions which may be generally called parental neglect, for they are too familiar to require comment. One might consider under this heading cases in which parental neglect was due to sheer inability to understand the needs of their daughters, but it has seemed best to narrow the field to those in which the neglect is willful on the part of the parents. The importance of this group is so great that several histories have been submitted in illustration. Case 25. This is the case of a girl of American parentage whose child was born when she was 19 years old, the girl having had a long career of delinquency. This girl is well developed and well nourished physically and has passed three mental examinations without showing any definite mental defect. Of particular interest is her heredity; her father, who works in the freight department of a railway as an unskilled laborer, has a court record for drunkenness. He had quarreled with his wife, who died when the girl was 12, and for some time had failed to support her. The mother comes from a family who have been paupers and criminals for over one hundred and fifty years; she was deformed and thoroughly immoral, had an illegitimate child before her marriage, contracted syphilis, and died of tuberculosis. This illegitimate child is feeble- minded and now is in an institution. The fraternity includes a sister and half brother who died in infancy. The heredity of this girl has been studied by an investigator from one of our schools for the feeble-minded, and a summary of the report follows. Fraternal Sister died in infancy Half brother feeble-minded, criminal Half brother died in infancy Paternal Father immoral, criminal, alcoholic, probably feeble-minded Grandfather immoral BAD HOME CONDITIONS 145 Great-grandfather and great-grandmother tubercular Grandmother immoral, died, tubercular Great-grandfather alcoholic, feeble-minded Great-uncle and aunt alcoholic Cousin immoral, alcoholic. Cousin feeble-minded Maternal Mother immoral, alcoholic, probably syphilitic Grandmother immoral, probably feeble-minded Great-grandmother immoral Grandfather alcoholic, criminal, immoral Great-grandfather immoral, alcoholic, died, tubercular Great great-grandfather immoral, criminalistic Great-aunt, 18 cousins immoral Great great-uncle, three cousins immoral, criminalistic Aunt, three cousins, immoral, tubercular Great-uncle, 16 cousins tubercular Cousin feeble-minded, criminal Aunt immoral, tubercular, died, cancer Aunt immoral, syphilitic Four uncles and cousin immoral, alcoholic, criminalistic Cousin immoral, confirmed runaway Cousin alcoholic, confirmed runaway Uncle immoral, criminalistic, alcoholic, feeble-minded Three cousins feeble-minded Uncle immoral, criminalistic, alcoholic, tubercular Cousin criminal Uncle, four cousins alcoholic Three cousins alcoholic, criminalistic Three cousins neurotic Cousin tubercular, syphilitic, paralytic Three cousins feeble-minded Great-uncle immoral, alcoholic Great-uncle immoral, alcoholic, tubercular Cousin paralytic, one immoral, gonorrhoea, one tubercular, criminalistic, one cancer, one immoral, alcoholic, criminalistic, paralytic This family lived in one room in a very congested and unde- sirable neighborhood, being poverty-stricken and alcoholic and having no ideas of morality. At times they have been helped by the Overseers of the Poor, and an uncle contributes 146 THE UNMARRIED MOTHER something to the support of the girl, he himself being alcoholic and having had this girl living with him for some time. There was no sort of control exercised during the developmental period ; nothing preventing her from sleeping out at any time she so desired and running the streets at will with her immoral friends. It is noteworthy that after the death of the mother the father married again, and as a result completely changed his mode of life, gave up drinking, and has since been a steady worker in a livery stable. The stepmother, however, did not succeed in exercising an equally reformative influence over the girl, although she made an attempt to do so; in fact, the ad- dition of a new member to the household seems to have caused her to spend more time away from home and to increase her vagrant tendencies. At this time she lived on the streets, sleeping in doorways and parks, and resented any form of dis- cipline. Little is known of this girl's childhood history; at the time of her commitment to an organization giving institu- tional care at the age of 14 she weighed 95 pounds and was five feet tall. She had a repulsive skin eruption and had suf- fered from pneumonia, measles, scabies, malaria, and gonor- rhoea. At 20 she weighed 115 pounds and seemed well devel- oped. This girl has undergone three mental examinations : the first gave her Binet age as 11, and she failed in definitions, in the arrangement of weights, in the names of the months, and in the repetition of words; the second examination showed her to have a mentality of Binet 10 and reported her not feeble- minded, not insane, and not defective. The last and most complete examination made at the age of 18 gave her mental age as Binet 9 and indicated a possible psychosis. In school this girl, whose attendance was very irregular, did not go beyond the third grade, and although she was 14 she was rated with nine and ten-year-old girls. At 15 she could multiply and do long division. During the whole period preceding her com- mitment she ran wild around the town with a group of street- walkers, although now and then she would work for a time as dishwasher or waitress in a local hotel. No companionship could have produced worse results; when arrested for being a runaway at 14 she was a half-starved, diseased, and savage prostitute. Under institutional care she showed herself irritable and dishonest, having previously stolen small articles, and could not live up to the new standards surrounding her. She suffered from spells of depression and bursts of temper during which she " smashed things "; her whole attitude towards life seems summed up in her remark, " I don't care what hap- BAD HOME CONDITIONS 147 pens." She possessed no appreciation of the rules of civilized life. " No one cared what I did, why should they begin to now? " She once succeeded in escaping from the institution but was found the next day. After three years and more of institutional care she was placed out, but proved herself un- satisfactory and stole as well as becoming pregnant, until at the age of 19 she was returned to her family, it being felt that her stepmother's good influence warranted the move. She went from here to a hospital for extended care and was de- livered of a normal child after a normal confinement. This girl has masturbated since earliest childhood, learning the practice in her own home. Her sole interest seemed to lie in sex matters, and she was regularly promiscuous with boys in parks and doorways before 14. She reports incestuous re- lations with her father and with her mother's cousin and seems to have been quite accustomed to a life of immorality. She finds it impossible to remember with how many men she has had intercourse and from whom she has received various amounts. She seems to have been particularly attractive to colored men. While placed out she succeeded in spending the night with a railway flagman, by whom she later became pregnant. He was a young man of fair reputation who absolutely denied having had any criminal relations with the girl. According to him " nothing happened." The girl had " nothing against " the father and was willing to marry him. The approaching con- finement seems to have brought out hidden capacities in this girl, although it is difficult to determine how permanent they will be. While in the hospital she objected to the vulgarities of the other girls, claiming that she had " learned her lesson." " I won't look at the best man living " and " I will live it down," she says. Her visitor maintains that she has never seen a girl feel so remorseful for her actions. The mother and child are still under hospital care, the girl showing great fond- ness for her boy. This girl's career is less surprising when one considers her wretched inheritance and environment. Case No. 25. Causative factors: (a) Bad Home Con- ditions: Father neglectful; alcoholic. Mother dead; was tubercular; very immoral; had illegitimate child. No control. Girl learned immorality at home. (6) Heredity: Mother comes from family of degenerates; deformed; had one feeble-minded child. Two died in infancy, (c) Men- tality: Possible psychosis, (d) Early Sex Experience: Learned immorality at home at early age. Stole. Lies. Sex + + + +1. Age 19. 148 THE UNMARRIED MOTHER Case 26. In this case a girl of American parentage was a bright and attractive type. Her mother had been a prostitute for years and had provided a home in which the standards were so degrading that the courts had given the five other daughters to relatives six years previous. The girl in question was sent to live with a widowed uncle and his two daughters, who wel- comed her to a home of many comforts and interests, but al- lowed at the same time much unsupervised recreational time. During afternoons of leisure she found many opportunities to spend hours in the company of a married man in the neigh- borhood, and a few years later at the age of 16 she gave birth to an illegitimate child. The father died when she was two years old. During the next few years the home life was deplorable. The family suf- fered much through poverty, and the mother was so neglect- ful of her children that the neighbors brought about her arrest. At an early age this girl had witnessed many immoral scenes, and she said that when she was only 8 years old she remembered seeing her mother in bed with a man. It was also reported that she had locked one of the daughters in a room with a man, receiving payment from him for this opportunity. Later this sister became incorrigible and was sent to prison for stealing and streetwalking. After her release she returned to her mother's home and continued to make her living in a question- able manner. As far as known the other sisters were reputable. When this young girl went to live with her uncle and two older cousins in her tenth year, she found an excellent home. The family attended church regularly, and she took an active part in the services. It was noted that after she started an intimacy with the father of her child she failed to speak at the prayer meeting. At school she was considered one of the most promising girls in her class and much above the average in her school work. She reached the sophomore year and left because of her pregnancy. She was associated with a group of good friends and was much enjoyed by her cousins. They had little time to give her, as one attended college and the other held a responsible position in a business house. After school hours she had the afternoon to herself. She was not allowed to go out evenings except when chaperoned by older people. In appearance she was an attractive type, with fresh coloring and a childish, innocent expression. Her uncle stated that she had always been a good girl, was quiet and obedient, and had never showed any tendency to run after the boys. Her child was born at a private maternity home and was healthy BAD HOME CONDITIONS 149 and robust and greatly beloved by the mother, who declared that she would never give her up. Later the child was placed out with the mother and both did extremely well. Her sex history is as follows. She met the father by chance going home from school, when she accidentally ran into him. After this she happened to see him occasionally, and their casual meetings finally terminated in an intimacy. She knew the father three years and had relationships with him in the woods for a year and a half before the birth of her child. This girl said, " When I was 13 there came to me an awful longing for someone to love me and kiss me at night. I thought it was a mother's love I wanted, but when this man talked to me I thought that was what I wanted. I had no wish to do wrong but longed to be loved." For some time this man made love to her and represented himself as her truest friend. He told her that because she was an orphan she needed such a friendship. For many months there was no sexual intimacy between them. Finally he began to ask her questions concerning her menstrual periods and afterwards generally instructed her in sex matters. Following this conversation she frequently had relationships with him and did not learn that he was married until some months later. She declared that she loved and trusted the father of her child, and even after she became pregnant said that she could not regret her sexual relations with him or feel that she had done wrong. The man was 26 years old, came from a good family in the town, and had been well educated. He drank some and was generally considered a worthless lot. Previously he had made a forced marriage, but he promised the girl that he would divorce his wife and marry her. This case was greatly complicated, as the girl was said to have been raped by a man of loose moral character at about the time of her conception. It was rumored that the father of her child connived in these two assaults to substantiate his claim that she had been promiscuous. The first assault was witnessed at a distance by some schoolboys, who spread the story of the relationship throughout the neighborhood. Later this man coaxed the girl to come to a lonely place to talk over the situa- tion created by the gossip. This is her statement regarding her attitude at this time. " He was not wholly to blame, because as soon as a man speaks to me concerning these things I get so aroused that I do not know what I am doing." Both men were arrested, and the judge was unable to establish pater- nity. He gave the father, so called, a suspended sentence of one year and ordered him to support the child. The other man 150 THE UNMARRIED MOTHER was sent to the house of correction for one year. It was inter- esting to note the girl's attitude after confinement. She said, " I wonder if these men who had intercourse with me didn't feel beforehand that it would be an easy thing to do, since my mother had been so bad." Case No. 26. Causative factors: (a) Bad Home Con- ditions: No home life, no control. Mother a prostitute. (6) Bad Companions: Two dissolute lovers. Sex + + . Age 17. Frequent Moving. The former paragraphs have indicated the necessity for control and good standards in the home if one is to expect girls to grow up with ideas which will lead to good behavior. Not only is it necessary for such an influence to exist, but it is important that this influence should be per- manent. In many instances one sees that frequent moving on the part of the family subjects the growing girl to such a varied environment that she is unable to receive that continuous impression which is necessary if her character is to be fixed in the right direction. A few months spent in a bad environment may suffice to counteract the good influence of years, with the result that frequent moving may be considered an actual factor in a girl's delinquency. Not only does this apply to good home standards, but also to school achievement, for many of those girls who are lacking in educational advantages are thus handi- capped because their parents moved so frequently as to neces- sitate a repeated change of school. It will be readily under- stood that this prevents anything like the normal progress through a curriculum of graded courses. One cannot overlook the great influence which this moving has upon the mental attitude of the girl in question, accustom- ing her as it does to a change of scene and associations which tends to breed in her a species of " wanderlust." Many a girl reaches maturity with no " association of place " and feels that she has never had a home with all that a home implies. Particularly in the sphere of the emotions do we need those inhibitions which are built up through the strength of sentiment, and it often happens that the simple thought of the family and her parents gathered in an accustomed place at home is BAD HOME CONDITIONS 151 more influential with a girl during a moment of indecision than are a hundred sermons. It is just this influence which is lacking when the girl in question, through frequent moving, has not had a stable home influence. Often, unfortunately, one finds this to be the case in instances where the death or neglect of the parents has necessitated the child's being given to an agency, with the result that she is " placed " in a series of homes. No matter how great an improvement over the old system of institutional care this may be, one can state that not even the most fervid upholders of the placing-out system would con- sider it the equivalent of a good home. With the best super- vision possible, mistakes will occur, and girls will have to be moved from one home to another. It is under such conditions that one finds the dangers attendant to frequent moving on the part of the family intensified, with the result that again the girl secures no permanent home influence. The following cases illustrate this group. Case 27. Among those girls who lost their mothers at an early age and who afterwards moved about among questionable relatives, there is the case of this girl whose mother died when she was eight. She gave birth to a stillborn child when 15 years of age. The girl's father was employed in a sawmill in a rural town and bore a poor reputation, spending most of his time away from home. T,he fraternity includes three sisters and three brothers who are respectable. The father of this girl has boarded the two younger children, but has supported them up to a few months ago, when as a result of an injury to his hand, he was unable to continue at work. The whole family are in need, but still anxious to pre- vent the fact of this girl's pregnancy from becoming known. For the last eight years she has lived with various families whose influence has been decidedly bad, and this unstable mode of living seems to have produced a corresponding irresponsibility in her, with the result that she gives little evidence of pos- sessing any moral standards. She is, however, not looked upon as wayward in the community in which she lives and may in fact be said to bear a fair reputation. From what the record states, this girl is intelligent and well developed mentally, although her physical history reveals the fact that she has suffered from typhoid and general debility. Her menstrual 152 THE UNMARRIED MOTHER periods established themselves at 14, occurring regularly. This girl graduated from the grammar school in the ninth grade and was ready to enter the high school when she became preg- nant. We note that her development is good for her age and that she is attractive in appearance, but there is evidence that she is surprisingly ignorant in regard to the facts of sex, the cessation of her menstrual periods causing her no alarm w'hatever. This girl claims that one evening about nine o'clock she and several other girls were persuaded to have intercourse with a group of boys, and that they all " took a chance", she being the only one who became pregnant. There is some indication that at about this time her behavior with various boys had been open to criticism. The father of this girl's child, a school- boy of 17, moved west with his family when they learned of her condition, and the girl herself has returned to high school and means to forget her experience and do well. Case No. 27. Causative factors: (a) Bad Home Con- ditions: Mother died when girl was eight. Moved about among questionable families. (6) Bad Companions: Had intercourse in company with group of boys and girls after entertainment. Sex. Age 15. Immorality in the Home. There is little need of indicating in detail the obvious fact that sexual immorality on the part of either parent or of both may be a direct cause for a daughter's sex indulgence and consequent pregnancy. The cases will illustrate the situation, in which, for instance, a mother has engaged in prostitution in the home or has even used her daugh- ters in this way as a source of income. There are instances in which the mother has been sexually intimate with her own son to her daughter's knowledge, and of similar conditions which it is not necessary to mention here. It is probable that among the most contaminating of all experiences which a young girl may go through, short of actual physical intercourse, is that produced by the knowledge and sight of parental im- morality. The mental state consequent to such an experience produces such a conflict that the results are frequently ineradicable, and it is highly probable that much of the morbidness on sex subjects so frequently experienced finds its origin in some sit- uation of this kind. How readily these mental dates produce BAD HOME CONDITIONS 153 physical consequences may be understood when one realizes that only by building up the strongest inhibitions and by ex- erting the greatest care is it possible to prevent many adoles- cent girls from mental and physical contamination. This study contains cases in which it may truly be said that on account of the actions which she has witnessed, a girl has grown into immoral behavior without thought and with practically no realization of its consequences. The following cases are illustrative of this condition. Case 28. This is the case of an American girl of Irish ex- traction who was apparently normal and was brought up in a home of dissipation and drunkenness. She was allowed by her mother to have intercourse with the landlord and with one of her boarders for financial gain, which reverted to the mother. This girl became pregnant when she was 20. Her father had always been a hard drinker and died of tuberculosis. The mother was alcoholic and immoral and had had an illegitimate child. One brother died of a tubercular hip and another of heart trouble. A brother and sister beside this daughter lived at home with their mother. Since her earliest recollection, she could re- member only the most deplorable home conditions, which had included much sickness and death besides poverty and drunken- ness. Her mother was drunk six days out of seven and was often insensible for days at a time. She worked out when she was sober. Often the children became so frightened with the drinking and carousing that they would stay in the yard all night and once barricaded themselves in the attic to escape abuse. They frequently were starved and were constantly aided by the city for over ten years. Despite all these draw- backs, this girl grew to be a cheerful and attractive type, al- though she had always been more or less frail. She did not like school, although she proved to be a fair student. She left because her family needed her to help financially, and went to work in a rubber factory, where she earned $5 a week. By her employers she was considered a faithful worker and gen- erally promising. She finally left home on account of the bad conditions, claiming that it was impossible to go to bed before three o'clock in the morning on account of the drunken crowd constantly invited by her mother to their home. She also claimed that she had often gone to work without her breakfast, and had returned at night finding neither food nor fire. She 154 THE UNMARRIED MOTHER rented a hall bedroom and secured her food from the baker's shop. After this her mother kept house for a negro and was reported to be living with him immorally. This girl was fond of reading and was familiar with some good books. When asked if she read Mary J. Holmes' books, she replied, " Those books are too thin tissue for me." She lacked self-confidence but had an active mind, showing a discerning judgment, and also had the ability to learn quickly. She had decided views and thought out her own problems. She said, for instance, that she did not attend church in certain forms of observance, yet she thought it was wicked to play ball on Sunday. Again we noted that she questioned her right to use the word " Mrs." as a protection to herself. She also felt that the fisherman who had befriended her and saved her from want and hunger had a right to have intercourse with her. When people gossiped about her unmarried state, she generalized thus, " Public opinion means a lot. Why, the things that we do are done for what people think of us." When watched by the foster mother in cleaning a boarder's bedroom, she remonstrated with her for this close supervision. The foster mother replied, " I could not trust you. You know that you have been in trouble once." The girl retaliated with much resentment, saying, "What do you think I am? Common?" She showed a keen insight as she reviewed her past experiences and with a good deal of determination resolved to begin a new life and to do all that she could for her child. She appeared to be willing to win a good reputation at the cost of much patient endeavor. She was able to find enjoyment in the simple things in her environment and to find stimulation in anticipating those problems that were just beyond her reach. Her child was born at a local hospital and was ill of malnutrition for a long time. Her labor was long and difficult, but she made a rapid recovery. Later she worked out with her child as a domestic. When this girl was 15, her mother allowed a fisherman 50 years old and a boarder in their home to have intercourse with her. This man was married but had not lived with his wife for years. He treated this girl kindly and besides paying the mother for this opportunity bought food and clothing for the girl and often gave her a little spending money. She said that she was fond of this man, because he was the first to show her any degree of consideration. After this the landlord, who became the father of the child a few years later, frequently reimbursed the mother for her rent because of his sexual inti- macy with her daughter. When she was 19 she lived in an BAD HOME CONDITIONS 155 apartment with the fisherman for a year, and he declared that she was a good girl for whom he had a sincere attachment. He would have married her had he been free to do so. This girl did not work during this period. Neighbors say that she entertained many men at the apartment. While the fisher- man was away on a sea trip, the alleged father visited her also, and she became pregnant at this time. He was a married man with a family and was considered well-to-do. He endeav- ored to blame the paternity of the child on the other man and thus avoid his responsibility by claiming that the girl had been promiscuous. The fisherman forced him, however, to con- tribute, and these two men paid her expenses through preg- nancy and confinement. The alleged father declared that the mother would have sold the girl to any man for a bottle of rum. He also maintained that with a fair chance she would develop into a promising woman and agreed to pay $5 a week in support of the child. Case No. 28. Causative factors: (a) Bad Home Con- ditions: Mother immoral. Allowed girl to have inter- course at 15 with two men at home, profiting thereby. (6) Bad Environment: Befriended by man when destitute and starving, (c) Heredity: Mother immoral. Has ille- gitimate child. Both sides alcoholic. Father and brother tubercular. Sex 4- +. Age 20. Case 29. As an indication of bad home conditions coupled with bad inheritance may be cited the case of this girl of Ameri- can parentage who had an illegitimate child at the age of 17. There has been no reliable mental examination, and conse- quently one is not justified in considering her to be even sub- normal. Physically she appears to be a very well developed young woman weighing 154 pounds and being five feet four inches tall at the age of 16, at which time she seemed fully 20. This girl's father, an alcoholic simpleton, was employed in a sugar factory in one of the north New England States, and his intelligence is indicated by the fact that when he came to the city to find his daughter he asked the first man whom he met to direct him to a bathing beach and to be kind enough to hold his money for him while he took a bath. The man very natu- rally disappeared. The mother died at the birth of this child, and little is known of her history. There is a married sister who has a very poor reputation, and who was immoral before her marriage. She followed her father to the city in his attempt to locate his daughter, and both were so overcome by the ex- THE UNMARRIED MOTHER 156 citement of metropolitan life that they were arrested together for drunkenness. There was a brother who died of infantile paralysis and another sister who died at an early age. This is another case in which the later delinquency is again traceable to frequent change of residence during the formative period of later childhood and to immorality in the home. The mother being dead and the father a drunkard, an attempt was made to put this girl at board with various relatives. It be- came necessary for her, when two of her aunts died, to go to live with her married sister whom we have already described as immoral, and whose home life was further contaminated by her husband, who was a moral degenerate. It will be readily understood that under such conditions it was only natu- ral that the girl should grow up in the company of immoral friends and possessed of no standards or control, and yet we find that she reached the ninth grade at school before she was 14, and that she had manifested considerable intelligence and reasoning power. This girl began to be immoral at the age of 11, and at the age of 13 ran away from home with an Italian and left him after six weeks, claiming that he was diseased. She states that she knew that he was diseased, because her father was suffering from the same trouble. The man maintains that he contracted the disease from her married sister. After leaving him, she came to the city and " picked up " a marine with whom she went to a hired room. She says that a man came up to them and offered to find them a place to stay overnight. This man was arrested and stated that he had secured rooms for twenty couples that evening, being paid a commission of twenty-five cents on each room rented. The girl was arrested and com- mitted to an organization giving institutional care when still under 14 years of age. She had the appearance of a thorough prostitute at the time of her arrest, although possessed of a beautiful complexion and free from venereal disease. While under institutional care she showed no sign of shame, in fact considered herself something of a heroine. She improved, however, in her care of herself and showed herself agreeable and courteous in her behavior. After a little over two years she was placed in the community at housework, and after three months ran away and married the Italian to whom we have referred above. She maintains that her employers assisted her to escape, supplying her with sufficient money to go to a city somewhat distant, at the same time informing the Italian of her whereabouts. This they BAD HOME CONDITIONS 157 did because she was pregnant by her employer's husband, and because he and his wife had sought this means of covering up his responsibility. She neglected to inform her husband of the fact that she was pregnant at the time of her marriage to him until two months later, whereupon he left her. At about this time the employer's husband also disappeared from home, leaving his wife as sole support for their child. This girl refused to have anything to do with the making of clothes for her unborn child, manifesting absolutely no desire to give birth to it, and insisting that the child be taken from her at birth, to which, strangely enough, those in control agreed. The child was born at the home of the mother, who was immedi- ately moved to the hospital, whereupon, according to agree- ment, the child was taken from her care and died in a little over two weeks of meningitis. The Italian was the only one who seemed to regret its death, because of the fact that he was anxious to use it as a lever for securing money from its father. Incidentally, one may mention that the father in this case was a wholesome countryman of 35 whose habits had been uniformly good. He was expecting to contribute to the child's support and had already paid a hundred dollars when it died. It is interesting to note the dominant qualities possessed by the Ital- ian husband. Although a thief who had served a term in prison for sodomy, he succeeded in dominating both the girl and her employer, and one is of the opinion that his name may yet appear in some other criminal case. At present he and his wife are living together in seeming harmony and the girl's former employer has outgrown her dependence upon him. Case No. 29. Causative factors: (a) Bad Home Con- ditions: Mother died at birth of girl. Sister immoral. Brother delinquent. Father " simpleton." Lived with immoral sister. (6) Bad Environment: Moved about among relatives, (c) Bad Companions: Bad influence of immoral sister, (d) Early Sex Experience: Began intercourse at 11. (e) Heredity: Sister immoral. Brother alcoholic. Two died in infancy. Father alcoholic. Sex + + + + • Age 17. Girl Away from Home. In many instances one is able to trace the causes of a girl's pregnancy to the fact that she is living in lodgings without the control of her family, and fre- quently without the interest of friends. It will be readily understood that such a situation has to do not only with the 158 THE UNMARRIED MOTHER lack of supervision on the part of older people over a girl or young woman, with the lack of companionship and enjoyment which exists in almost every home. It is easy for the girl living in good lodgings to behave as she desires as long as she does not conduct herself improperly in the house itself, and it is natural for such a girl, at a period when she demands strong and intimate attachments, to feel dissatisfied with a life devoid of the companionship of friends under her own roof. Such a condition is often necessitated by a girl's emigration from her home in the hope of finding better means of employ- ment. More frequently, however, girls and young women seek a life in lodgings because their parents have been over- severe, or because they have desired more license than their parents were willing to allow. It is obvious that such a con- dition is one of extreme danger for a young woman, partic- ularly when it accompanies her transition from rural to city life, and one is consequently not surprised to find that in many of these cases the fact that the girl had lived away from home was of great importance in determining her career. The following case is submitted in illustration of this situ- ation. Case 30. We have here the case of a young Swedish girl of 17 who came to America alone. She is reported to have had a comfortable home in Sweden. Her grandfather was a man of some importance in the community, a railroad president. In his youth he had been very wild and later misappropriated funds. Her family life had been harmonious. The father and sister died of tuberculosis, and the remaining sister also in Sweden had suffered with chorea. The mother, a respected and hard-working woman, kept the home together by taking lodgers. When this girl arrived in this country, she went to live with an aunt but soon disagreed with her and thereafter lived an unprotected life in lodgings, supporting herself as a waitress. Within a short time she met a university student, a Jew, and according to her story, became engaged to him. For a long time she had lived morally but finally succumbed to this infatuation. The child was born when the mother was 21. There is some indication that she struggled against temptation for a while after the child's birth, but later it appeared evident that she was promiscuous. There is some question also as to BAD HOME CONDITIONS 159 this girl's mentality, although there seem to be no indications of subnormality or feeble-mindedness. She had always been a delicate child. When she came to America, she was tall, slight, and attractive. There was an unverified report that she had had some kind of " fits " earlier in her history. Because of her frail health she was often unable to work. At 24 she was treated for gonorrhoea. This girl had been well educated, having been through high school and one year at college in Sweden. She spoke German and English fluently and was considered a good pianist. Before preg- nancy little was known of her character, but later the father of her child said that he believed that she was naturally a good woman and had tried for a long time to retain a moral standard. After her confinement she became very frail and was forced to move constantly about from one lodging house to another with her small daughter, often being evicted for nonpayment of rent, and at times being without sufficient food or clothing. Gradually she became neglectful of the child. The alleged father paid the child's board sporadically, and sometimes gave the mother extra money. Several days after her confine- ment, this girl began to receive attentions from many men, allowing them to visit her at all hours at her lodging house. At times she packed her suitcase and was missing for some days, and upon her return was found to be well supplied with clothes. Her landlady felt sure that her salary of ten dollars a week was insufficient to allow of such luxuries, and with her aunt agreed that she was probably a prostitute. During this time she appeared to be discouraged, and was also found to be very untruthful, often threatening suicide and was occasion- ally slightly intemperate. Her improbable story that she had 19 brothers and sisters stone deaf in Sweden aroused some question as to her mentality. Upon application to a charitable society, this girl presented herself as a widow and gave her husband's and guardian's name as if they were by chance the same. She claimed that she had been left with only a small life insurance controlled by her guardian. This story proved to be a tissue of lies, and her guardian was later revealed to be the father of her child; these falsehoods had been fabricated by her to shield him against suspicion. When interviewed, he was found to be a professional man of good reputation and of considerable intelligence, though somewhat unreliable and willing to shirk his responsibilities. He told the following story. While a student he met this girl, who lodged at his boarding house. He paid her attention 160 THE UNMARRIED MOTHER and found her to be a good woman. When he suggested inter- course, she refused, and for a long time he tried to live up to her standards. Suddenly she began to come to his room and became exceedingly affectionate toward him, thus taking the initiative in the sexual intimacy. He maintained that the child was born six months later and could not have been his. Over against this story is that of the girl, in which she claims that she had expected marriage, and under such a consideration was induced to allow this relationship. As far as known, this girl had never indulged in sex relationship with any other man for months before or after this conception. Later the alleged father married a woman of his own faith. This girl confessed that in her adolescent days in Sweden she had had inter- course with young boys. At our last report we heard that this woman was deteriorating rapidly and had become promiscuous. She so neglected her child that the state authorities had been asked to take up the matter, and it was reported that they intended to establish paternity and hold the father to his re- sponsibility. Case No. 30. Causative factors: (a) Bad Home Con- ditions: Immigrated at 17. Quarreled with aunt and moved to lodgings. (&) Bad Companions: Associated with student, (c) Early Sex Experience: Immoral with boy at 12. (d) Heredity: Father dead, tubercular. Sister dead, tuber- cular. Sister chorea. Lies 4-. Sex +. Age 21. Low-standard Families. Under this head are included such families as have seemed to possess standards which must be considered anti-social. Nearly all that has been said under the head of " Bad Home Conditions " might be included here, but it has been found useful to make special mention of condi- tions in which the contaminating influence has not been as severe as, for instance, would have been the case had there been open immorality in the home, or had the father been habitually alcoholic. Of great importance in the forming of character and habit is that dullness to all ethical considerations which one finds so frequently in many homes. Although often ac- companied by ignorance on the part of the parents, there are yet many homes where the low standards were due to an un- willingness on the part of the parents to take the trouble to exert a good influence on their children. It is not necessary BAD HOME CONDITIONS 161 to comment on the fact that frequently a very subtle influence may have a decided effect on a girl's behavior, and that a sordid and vulgar family life may be as important a causative factor as more flagrantly bad environment. Here follow several cases which have been grouped under this head. Case 31. Among those cases in which the woman is con- siderably older than the average is the case of this New England woman 40 years of age. In appearance she was well dressed and respectable. She came from another State, applying to a hospital for an abortion, and was referred to a Children's Society for guidance. She stated that she had maintained a good reputation in a city where she had lived for years, through twenty years of immorality, and could not now bear the dis- grace of having a child. There seemed to be some conflict in this woman's mind about allowing her child to be born, because her father had denied the paternity of her mother's oldest child, and she had seen this child often ill-treated in their home. She also frequently remarked that she had probably inherited her tendency toward immorality from her mother. This woman was one of the older children in a large family. Her brothers and sisters worked in the mill. One brother was a teamster, and another a gardener. As far as known, all bore good reputations. Her mother had been immoral and made a forced marriage. Her father was considered a shiftless and unsuccessful business man. This woman said that for years she had been receiving good wages in various hotels about New England, always making from nine to twelve dollars a week as cook. At application to the society she had $400 in the bank. As a young girl she had been engaged to a young man who died, and with whom she declares she had never had intercourse. At 18 she began to have sexual relations with a traveling man, whom she met whenever he was in her part of the country. This intimacy continued for nearly twenty years. At other times she went with various men. For the last five years she had been inti- mate with the proprietor of the hotel where she worked. She said that after this intimacy had been established, she had ceased her intercourse with the traveling man. This woman maintained that the alleged father had never paid her money, but had given her expensive presents. When she found that she was pregnant, he gave her money to come to the city for an abortion. She was persistent in her idea to have an abor- 162 THE UNMARRIED MOTHER tion, and very reluctantly gave her consent and made plans for her confinement. She admitted that it would be very difficult to break off her intimacy with the father. When interviewed at his hotel, he was very nervous and resented the fact that she had told her story to any one. He was an American man of about 40 and had formerly been a sea captain. He was well known and respected in the community and con- ducted a prosperous hotel. He was very much afraid that his wife would learn of the affair, and maintained that she and the woman in question were good friends. He said that she did not suspect the relationship, because they had been very careful and had met at another hotel in the city. He claimed that his wife had refused to have intercourse with him, and that he had told her that if this decision remained final he would seek a mistress. With some degree of pride he declared that he had never injured a young girl. He admitted intercourse with this woman over a long period of time, but indicated that although he liked her, he had no strong affection for her, and that he had never spent the entire night with her. He called her a promiscuous woman and said that he knew that at one time she had been sexually intimate with three men. He was willing, however, to pay her expenses but would assume no responsibility for the child and urged an abortion. The woman's family doctor was interviewed and stated that he could only say good concerning her. He had known her for ten years and had always considered her a good woman and an efficient worker and was greatly surprised to learn of her mode of living. This history was unexpectedly brought to a close when she wrote to the society, stating that she had suc- ceeded in having an abortion performed in her own city. Case No. 31. Causative factors: (a) Bad Home Con- ditions: Parents had forced marriage. Father denied paternity of first child. Low standards. Shiftless. (6) Bad Companions: Many low men friends. Promiscuous since 18. Sex + + + . Age 40. Case 32. This girl, who comes from New England stock, had an illegitimate child at the age of 18. As a result of a psychological examination, we find her to be neither feeble- minded nor insane. Physically she is fairly well developed and well nourished. At 14 she weighed 128 pounds and was four feet nine inches tall. Her father has nothing against him, excepting that he served a term in jail for falsifying his daughter's age. The mother, whose second marriage this is, BAD HOME CONDITIONS 163 has alcoholic tendencies and seems to be well meaning but weak willed. The fraternity includes two brothers, one of whom is low-minded and shiftless, and two sisters under ten years. Another brother and a sister died in infancy. The family live in a very poor section of a near-by manu- facturing city, occupying four rooms which they maintain in dirty condition, and relying upon the city and other charita- ble agencies for financial assistance. The neighbors consider the parents to be of degenerate stock, and the whole family is looked upon as shiftless and lazy and unwilling to be anything but paupers. They are described as " professional dependents." It is not hard to understand that under such conditions there can be little disciplinary control or standard of morals in the family. The parents frequently quarrel among themselves and often send the girl out to beg. All of the children are dirty and show extreme neglect. In school this girl, whose attendance was irregular, had reached the fifth grade at the age of 14, when she left to go to work. She attempted for a while to work in a mill but was so slow and inattentive that she never succeeded in keeping one place for any length of time. At this time she associated with a low class of men and par- ticularly with an older girl of immoral character. At the age of 14 her father falsified her age, and she married, living with her husband for only a few days at that time. She left him and began to be promiscuous, coming to the city, where she was arrested and committed to an organization giving institu- tional care for idle and disorderly conduct. After two years, during which'time she had shown herself to be good-natured and tractable, she was placed at housework, where she soon attempted suicide, being found unconscious, with the gas turned on. After meeting a man, she seemed in far better spirits, although she was hardly able to control her desire for mascu- line society. She succeeded in becoming pregnant and was delivered of a stillborn child. When placed at housework once more, she again attempted suicide by inhaling gas and was violent. A psychological investigation at this time gave her Binet age as 12. Her developmental history shows evidence of frequent nosebleeds, measles, whooping cough, scarlet fever, pneumonia, and painful and irregular menstruation. She was not considered committable and after being given a position at housework, she ran away again and was found living with the man whom she had married five years before. This girl admits having been immoral at the age of 14 and of becoming so infatuated with the man that the family consented 164 THE UNMARRIED MOTHER to the marriage. While placed out, she admitted having had relations with a conductor on the street car; also, when a run- away, she spent two nights with her husband. She was evi- dently a promiscuous type. From last accounts this girl and her husband have moved to another State where they seem to be living happily. Case No. 32. Causative factors: (a) Bad Home Con- ditions: Father alcoholic. Prison for falsifying age, allow- ing daughter to marry at 14. She lived with him only a few days; a degenerate. Mother alcoholic. Professional dependents. (5) Bad Companions: Left husband for low associates, (c) Educational Disadvantages: Left at 14 in fifth grade. Sex + + + . Age 18. Father Dead. Although in most instances one finds the in- fluence of the mother to be of great importance in forming the character of a girl, there are yet cases in which the death of the father may be considered the most direct cause in her moral breakdown. Not only does this mean an increased financial hardship, often necessitating the mother's absence from home at work, but at times a situation exists in which the father is the only controlling influence in the home, and it can be readily understood that under such conditions his death is a real calamity. The difficulty here concerns not so much those economic questions which are the indirect results of the death of the father, such as poverty and bad housing, but the situation in which the family loses the controlling force itself. Here follows a case in illustration of this situation. Case 33. In this instance a colored girl of American parent- age became an unmarried mother when 17 years of age. Al- though there does not seem to have been a psychological ex- amination, no traits appear which would indicate mental defect. Physically the girl is in good condition. Her father died when she was 12 years old and seems to have been the main source of control in a rather easy-going family. The mother is some- what slack and described as " not all a woman should be." The fraternity includes five brothers and two married sisters. Two of the boys are in the care of a neighboring State. The youngest sister is a cripple, and the youngest brother has spent three years in the first grade of school. BAD HOME CONDITIONS 165 This family lives with an aunt in a poor neighborhood of a near-by city, occupying a six-room tenement for which the rent is ten dollars per month. The mother succeeds in keeping the home in good condition, despite the fact that she goes out to work and is likely to neglect her children while visiting relatives. It is evident that the death of the father removed the one steadying influence from the family life, resulting in an increasing lack of control on the part of the mother over the children. The family history as well as the developmental history contains nothing of significance. One notes a disturb- ing element in the girl's life, due to the fact that upon the death of her father when she was 12 she was sent to an aunt in New York, where she spent three months before being transferred to the home of another relative in New Jersey. She left school in order to make these visits and did not succeed in progressing beyond the fourth grade. Coincident with the lack of a stable home appears the fact that at the time when she was in New York this girl went with a group which had a reputation for immorality. At this time she attempted to do a little house- work in her own town and also was employed in a bakery for three weeks, where she gained a reputation for dishonesty. She began to stay out overnight, to swear and to steal, with the result that at 16 she was sent to jail for a week " to think things over " and because of her defiant attitude was committed to an organization giving institutional care. She was found to be pregnant and to be suffering from gonorrhoea. The child, a girl, was born after a normal confinement, suffering with an infected eye, but improving under treatment. After the birth of the child, its mother was placed in a wage home where she did not prove successful in pleasing her employer. It became necessary to return her to an institution for medical care on account of her old infection, and later on when again placed out she had to undergo several minor operations. This did not increase her good nature, and the result has been that the mother is at present anxious to turn the child over to state care, feeling that she is unable to bear the burden of its support. This girl's sex history indicates that she possessed no idea of any moral standards, for which the lack of home training was probably somewhat responsible. While living with her rela- tives and also during the months just previous to her commit- ment she seems to have been sexually promiscuous. She takes the whole situation casually, maintaining, however, that the child is not going to be brought up as she was. There is no clue as to the paternity of the child. 166 THE UNMARRIED MOTHER Case No. 33. Causative factors: (a) Bad Home Con- ditions: Father who had the control died. Mother easy- going. (6) Bad Environment: Moved about among rela- tives. (c) Bad Companions: Associated with immoral group. Stole. Sex + + . Age 17. Mother Dead. All that has been said as regards the un- happy situation arising in a family through the death of the father applies more particularly to such conditions as arise when the mother is dead. Of paramount importance in the development of the adolescent girl is the influence which a wise mother may exert in molding her attitude towards life and the correction and guidance which she uses in the home. As a result, the girl who loses her mother during adolescence is like a ship without a rudder, dependent as she is on her mother, if not for the interpretation of what she sees in life about her, at least for the right estimate of such facts. Furthermore, owing to the fact that the father is of necessity often absent during the day, the supervision which a young girl should have is ordinarily lacking, and she thus becomes the prey of bad companions. So obvious is the bad influence of such a situation that it is illustrated with only two cases. Case 34. This case deals with a girl of Irish parentage who gave birth to an illegitimate child at the age of 20. Her father is a good worker, and occasional indulgence in alcohol does not seem to have interfered with his livelihood; her mother died of a complication of diseases when the girl was 16 years of age. She had exerted a considerable amount of control over the fraternity, which consisted of five sisters and three brothers, of whom all but one sister bore a good reputation. The death of the mother represents the turning point in this girl's life. Her father, who now began to drink more than he had formerly done, was able to exert no supervision over his children, with the result that they grew up on the streets with- out teaching, and without any warning of the dangers involved. Our evidence is that this girl, who behaved herself well, spending her spare time at home before her mother's death, now became extremely uncontrolled, and associated with a low-standard group of friends. She left school at 15 in the eighth grade, and BAD HOME CONDITIONS 167 immediately went to work in a factory where she earned $7 a week. In appearance this young woman is distinctly un- attractive, with a prominent lower jaw and a poor complexion. She is a weak and ignorant representative of somewhat poor stock, being mentally a rather inferior type. Her health, how- ever, has always been extremely good. This girl met the father of her child some three years before its birth, and says that she would have married him had he asked her to. He showed her some attention, taking her to the movies, but she did not become intimate with him until a year before the birth of her child, at which time she began to have sexual relations with him. She claims that he forced her the first time, and had persuaded her on three other occasions to go with him to a hotel, as a result of which she became preg- nant. When she told him of her condition, he stated that he could not marry her as he was only earning $7 a week, but he gave her some medicine to produce a miscarriage. This proving unsuccessful, she sought to have an abortion performed by a physician, but he refused to accommodate her. This girl, who had never received much attention from men, was never im- moral with any one else, and as a result it was impossible for the father, when arrested, to escape the payment of her con- finement expenses. The child lived only three days, and the girl feels that she has learned her lesson and that she will hereafter be able to avoid a similar situation. Case No. 34. Causative factors: (a) Bad Home Condi- tions: Father alcoholic. Mother died when girl was 16 years old. No control since. No standards. (5) Bad Companions: Low-class friends. Sex +. Age 20. Case 35. In this case we have the history of a young woman who gave birth to an illegitimate child at 18, who knew nothing of her parentage, having been adopted by foster parents at an early age. Little is known of them except that her foster mother, who had exerted some influence over her, died when she was 15 years of age, after which her foster father found himself incapable of controlling her. The foster father seems to have made several attempts at supervision, but with poor results, for one notes that soon after his wife's death, the girl began to stay away all night and to associate with an immoral girl friend. She left high school in her second year in order to keep house for her father, and it was at this time that her delinquency began. She appears to have been a girl of peculiar disposition, showing such traits as the 168 THE UNMARRIED MOTHER following: when 14 she bleached her hair and then, becoming tired of it, cut it off, remaining in seclusion for a year and a half while it was growing back in its natural color. When she became pregnant she laid her plans carefully, telling her father several weeks ahead that she intended to leave after Christmas in order to go on the stage. She later confessed that she had remained at home until after Christmas because she thought that she might just as well enjoy a Christmas dinner before leaving. There is no indication of her mental defect, and from all reports she is in good physical condition, very attractive in appearance, although much painted, with the appearance of a streetwalker. This girl claims that she was assaulted when 14 by two men one evening on the street. Two years later she went with a girl friend to a garage where she claims she was again assaulted. The man who assaulted her apologized several months after- wards for his behavior, whereupon she allowed him to take her upon various automobile trips, having intercourse with him several times within a few months. When she left home in a pregnant condition, she took rooms in a lodging house where she received a man, whom she told her landlady was her cousin, every afternoon. She frequented a garage in the neighborhood, sometimes going there at two o'clock in the morning, and several of the men employed were willing to state that they had been sexually intimate with her. One of them, a married man, admits having intercourse with her, but denies paternity. The girl claimed that he took her to his house during his wife's absence, and that he gave her $32 for a wrist watch and pendant. There is every reason to believe that this girl is promiscuous. She is at present anxious to board her child in order that she may return to her foster father, and excuses her behavior on the ground that it was the result of an assault which she was unable to prevent. Case No. 35. Causative factors : (a) Bad Home Condi- tions: Foster mother died when girl was 15. Foster father incapable of control. (6) Bad Companions: Girl friend who was immoral. Sex + + + • Age 18. Parents Separated. As may be readily understood, a condi- tion in which the parents are separated may be practically analogous to that in which one parent is dead. All that has been said in the former paragraph applies to this group with equal emphasis, and the separation of parents must certainly be considered of prime importance in the life of a growing BAD HOME CONDITIONS 169 daughter. There is, however, one element which this group possesses which is not found in most instances where the situa- tion is simply one in which one parent is dead, for the mental state of a girl is influenced by a separation in a different way. There are cases in which such a situation may produce in the mind of a daughter something of a conflict over the fact that she feels disgraced because of her parent's action, particularly when the separation is the result of some notorious bad behavior on the part of either parent. Again, her whole attitude toward the question of marriage may be warped by the abuse which she hears one parent heap upon the other, with the result that such a girl frequently grows up with a distorted view of life. There is also a certain further source of danger in the fact that fre- quently the parent with whom the girl lives is in the anomalous position of being neither married nor single, with the result that often illicit sexual relationships occur which come to the knowledge of the girl with bad effect. For these reasons it has seemed well to include this factor as of real importance in this study. Here follows a case in illustration. Case 36. In this case the girl's home has always been an unhappy one. Her parents had quarreled and had separated when she was 8 years old, and for some years she had lived with her mother in Nova Scotia, helping her to manage the farm which was their main support. At 15 she came to the United States and kept house for her father, who was a carpenter. He drank and was hard to get along with, but provided a well- furnished home in a respectable neighborhood. The eight brothers and sisters were all of good reputation and quite able to take care of themselves. It was reported that there was no feeble-mindedness or insanity in the family on either side. There had been no psychological examination, but her own family and other people competent to judge felt that she was below par mentally. From many points of view she seemed to be subnormal and exhibited some extreme traits. She smoked, drank, used morphine and cocaine, posed as " The Queen of the Yeggs ", and had indulged in the most revolting immorality. At 23 she had become the mother of two illegitimate children. Since childhood this girl had been physically frail, having had 170 THE UNMARRIED MOTHER convulsions in infancy. She was thought to have weak lungs and was later known to have had a hemorrhage. At the time of this history she was found to be suffering from gonorrhoea and probably from syphilis. Her school history was not obtained. As early as 16 she became familiar with men on the street, associating constantly with a group of low companions, and often visited cheap hotels and houses of ill fame with them. In appearance she was a tall, slight girl with a certain aggressive- ness of manner which indicated a familiarity with street life. She was shallow, with but little thought for anything except clothes. Her quick temper and vindictive brooding, coupled with dishonesty and lying and with a suggestible type of mind, allowed this girl to get into many difficulties, and at 16 she was arrested and sent to a penal institution for a year for disorderly conduct. Her first child was born at the expense of the State, and while under their care she was reported to have been the most difficult girl that they had ever had to manage. She kept her child for a while but constantly ill used it and finally gave it for adoption. This girl worked as a waitress and in candy and box factories. Only one employer spoke satis- factorily of her work. When she applied for help during her second pregnancy, she was keeping house for her father and brothers, and she begged that the agency would not tell them of her condition as they had been so bitter about her first child. It is quite evident from the history that this girl had been promiscuous over a long period of time. She stated that she met the first father only once, when she was visiting a friend. She told the following story. Two men came to the house and without consulting their wishes locked the door and kept these two girls with them all night. She claimed that she had known the second father six months, and had had no other sex relation- ships with men during this time. She was introduced to him on the street by a friend and later saw a great deal of him. It was her custom to meet him at the wharf and then go to a room with him, sometimes staying the entire night. She said, " We very often went to one of those regular houses." She declared that she was much infatuated with him, and that she feared because he had once found her in the parlor drinking beer with a group of men and girls that he would protest that she had been untrue to him. The father was interviewed and found to be a sailor of about 22, with an unusually frank and generous disposition. He said that he had lived a loose life, never thinking of conse- quences, and that the saloon had been the source of all his BAD HOME CONDITIONS 171 troubles. He did not deny intercourse with this girl, but de- clared that she had forced him while he was drunk, and that she was positively revolting in her sex desires. He, however, showed a certain fondness for her and after due deliberation married her. It was later reported that this man had given up drink and that they had established a happy home life. Case No. 36. Causative factors, (a) Bad Home Condi- tions: Broken home. Parents separated. Kept house for father. Girl's father alcoholic. (&) Mentality: Perhaps subnormal, (c) Bad Companions: Girl sought low asso- ciates. (d) Physical: Always sickly. Suspected weak lungs. Convulsions. Girl alcoholic. Uses drugs. Lies. Sex + + ++. Age 20. Parents Dead. The death of both parents at an early age is in most cases one of the most dangerous occurrences that could happen to an adolescent girl. The result with the girls who are being considered is ordinarily nothing short of an up- heaval, and one frequently finds a complete change of environ- ment and standards which does much to prevent a stable development on the part of the girl in question. There are cases in which nothing remains but to break up the family and to turn the children over to public or private care, with the result that they are frequently placed in separate homes and lose all contact with each other. It will be readily seen that it is thus impossible for a girl to grow up with the same feeling of attachment to her foster parents which she would ordinarily have felt towards her own parents under normal conditions, and it is doubtful if the influence and interest of the best of foster parents can be compared with that brought to bear by the parents upon their own children in a good home. In those cases where both parents have been dead, it has usually been found the main factor in a girl's delinquency. Two cases follow in illustration of this group. Case 37. In this case the girl's father died during her in- fancy, and her mother about seven years ago. During her last illness the mother worried about her daughter, fearing that she might be " led astray " and repeatedly said that she wished that she could have married before she died. The daughter 172 THE UNMARRIED MOTHER was attractive in appearance and 26 years of age. After her mother's death she went to live with an aunt, who found her very difficult to control and was never able to gain any influence over her. When she learned of her pregnancy, she condemned her in no uncertain terms, yet she was the one person who seemed to retain any real affection for her. This aunt stated that the parents were respectable, and that the home life had been harmonious. Her only brother held a good position and was said to be doing well. The child was born at a hospital for dependents, and while there it was discovered that the girl had gonorrhoea and syphilis. The child was also infected, and both remained for some months for treatment. Before con- finement she gladly anticipated the coming of her child and was much attached to it after its birth. The doctor in charge said that he could find no evidence of deficiency in this girl. Her school history showed that she had been backward, and she did not leave the grammar school until her 16th year. After this she went to work in a factory, where she earned from six to eight dollars a week. In her last place of employment she bore an excellent reputation and was considered efficient and ambi- tious. Other employers, however, referred to her as being lazy, selfish, and untruthful. After confinement she showed an excellent spirit and was heard to remark, " I'm getting my pay now for my actions, but I am going to take it quietly." This girl said she first began to have intercourse with men at 17. She tells this story. A traveling salesman, canvassing for a directory, came to her home about noontime, and her mother invited him to come to lunch. Later she saw him a few times, and she said, " I fell very easily. I seemed to have a blind affection for him." She stated that after her mother's death other men tempted her after this, and during the next eight or nine years she had intercourse with men at least once a month. She said that at first she felt very badly but later became hardened and only feared her aunt's detection. She met the alleged father three years ago, and two weeks after their first meeting had intercourse with him. He called regu- larly at her aunt's house on Sunday afternoon. When she had known him five months, he told her that he was married. She stated that she had never received money from him and did not go with any other man during this time. Efforts to locate the alleged father were unsuccessful. Case No. 37. Causative factors: (a) Bad Home Condi- tions: Mother encouraged attention of man when girl was 17, without supervision. Parents dead when girl was 19. BAD HOME CONDITIONS 173 Father died during her infancy. Little sympathy between mother and girl, (b) Bad Companions: Only low-standard men. Sex + + + . Age 26. Case 38. This is the case of a girl of French-Canadian parentage who had an illegitimate child at the age of 18. Her father, a stone mason of good physical condition, has been dead for some years, having remarried after the death of his wife, which was due to cancer, when the children were all young. This girl's mentality seems normal as a result of an examination, and she is attractive, although somewhat over- developed. At 14 she weighed 129 pounds and was four feet ten inches tall. Upon the death of the mother this girl, with a sister and two brothers, were placed in various homes under state care, the girl herself being then 11 years old. Until this time she had lived in a good home in a good neighborhood, but began to go with a group of questionable friends when she was put into her new environment. She had a long record of truancy in school. She now began to show a desire to stay out late and ran away when 14 in order to be with her friends. She was then com- mitted to an organization giving institutional care, where she showed herself fond of reading but quarrelsome and anxious for excitement. She lied and wrote obscene letters. She could do good work when she desired to. Twice she ran from the institution and was not found for a considerable period of time. After nearly two years, she was placed out and imme- diately tried to run away, was returned to an institution for three months, and when put into the community again she once more ran away, this time taking some of her employer's articles with her. Placed once more, she absconded with $20 and a suitcase full of clothes and escaped detection for two months. She was found to be three months pregnant and gave birth to a girl who died when four months old from causes that seemed purely accidental. The girl was returned to an institution, and when one more attempt was made to place her in the community, she ran away again and has not been located since. One notes here a marked instability maintaining itself throughout adolescence. This girl was grossly immoral before her commitment at the age of 14 and continually obsessed by a desire for men, being immoral whenever the occasion presented itself. When a run- away at 17 she met a man in a house of prostitution, who told her it was no place for her and took her to live with him. She 174 THE UNMARRIED MOTHER became pregnant by him, although she admits intercourse with any number of men. Case No. 38. Causative factors : (a) Bad Home Condi- tions: Parents dead. Children all placed by state. (&) Bad Companions: Associated with bad group when placed. Ran away, (c) Mentality: Probable " Adolescent In- stability." Ran away frequently and was immoral. Stole. Sex + + + • Age 18. Husband Deserted. In those cases where a woman has been married, one finds the desertion of her husband to have been of such importance in determining her later life that it is frequently connected with her giving birth to an illegitimate child. Undoubtedly the situation is usually not simply that of the desertion by the husband, and is often complicated by inherent mental and moral weaknesses on the part of the woman in question, but we have here again one of those un- fortunate situations in which a woman who has been accustomed to the sexual life attendant upon marriage finds herself deprived of a husband and yet not able to remarry. The very natural result of such a condition is often illicit sex intercourse, resulting in pregnancy. Again it may be said that many a woman who is deserted by her husband devotes herself in a most self- sacrificing spirit to the welfare of her children alone, but such a situation is manifestly abnormal for the young woman whose sex nature has been aroused by married life. Here follows a case in illustration of the condition in which the desertion of the husband seems to have been the main factor in causing the woman to give birth to an illegitimate child. Case 39. In this case a woman of American parentage, upon being deserted by her husband, gave birth to an illegitimate child at the age of 33. She appears to be distinctly normal in intelligence and in good physical condition. Her father seems to have been industrious and capable, and her mother, who suffers from heart trouble, is sympathetic. The fraternity includes two brothers and a sister whose history is negative. The home atmosphere in which this woman grew up seems to have been one of refinement and comfort. The parents are BAD HOME CONDITIONS 175 evidently in good financial standing and did all they could to help their daughter in her predicament. This woman, who went through high school, had no particular training which would enable her to support herself, and consequently became a ticket seller on the elevated railway. This occupation, how- ever, did not take place until the family had had some financial reverses, and they succeeded in keeping their daughter at home throughout her youth. At the age of 24 this woman married a man who was alcoholic and abusive, by whom she had two children, and who deserted her when she was 30 years of age. She then began to work in a drug store and to associate with a saleswoman who had been married, and who was at the time keeping a young Jew in her apartment and receiving calls from many men. As a result of her association with this woman, we find that the woman under consideration began to frequent cafes and hotels with various men. In appearance she is tall, stylishly dressed, with a bold manner, and shows herself to be a glib talker. She was unwilling to give much informa- tion about herself. According to this woman's mother, her abuse by her husband was the cause of her condition. She soon found that it was impossible for her to accept the attentions of men without giving something in return, and the result was that the double attraction of gay cafe life and sexual indulgence proved too much for her. After the birth of her child, one hears of her being asked to vacate an apartment because of the frequency with which she entertained men in her room. Nothing is known of the father of this woman's child, who was a traveling salesman, a married man. The child is at present being boarded by its mother. Case No. 39. Causative factors: (a) Bad Home Condi- tions: Married woman abused and deserted by husband. (&) Bad Companions: Intimate with immoral woman friend, (c) Bad Environment: Employed in place where she met father of her child. Sex + + • Age 33. Husband Dead. Less important in its influence upon sexual irregularity and consequent pregnancy is the fact of the hus- band's death, for the evident reason that it is always possible for such a woman to marry again if the opportunity exists. There are instances, however, in which the situation of the married woman without a husband is somewhat analogous to that of the young girl, and in many ways more difficult. The 176 THE UNMARRIED MOTHER preceding paragraph has drawn attention to the fact that several years of married life make it difficult for a woman to be contented without many of those intimacies which are ordinarily to be found within marriage, and for this reason a married woman may be more susceptible to masculine approach. There is frequently absent from the mind of a married woman the feeling that a sex act after marriage is as important, con- sidered ethically, as one occurring before. Whether it be because the woman who has never been married is anxious to preserve her physical virginity in her desire to go into marriage without the evidence of defloration, or whether there is in the mind of such a woman a natural desire for continence, there is no gainsaying the fact that it is an attitude of mind which the married woman frequently does not possess. Very often one finds married women who look upon sexual intercourse from an entirely different point of view, once they have lost their physical virginity, a point of view which may be partially due to the fact that many of them have accustomed themselves to the use of contraceptive methods and therefore have partially dis- associated the thought of the sex act from its consequences. The married woman whose husband has deserted her or is dead is thus in a particularly precarious situation, one which the following case should illustrate. Case 40. This is an instance of an English widow of 36 who was left with her three children to support. Several years after the death of her husband she had two children by a negro. Her lack of race prejudice and her attitude toward this man are interesting, and may be accounted for by her foreign point of view, as she had never seen a negro until she came to America. This woman was born in England and came to the United States twelve years ago and worked out as a domestic. Her family lived on a large farm and had a comfortable home. Her father, an iron molder, had worked for forty years in the same foundry and was able to provide well for his family. There were ten children, nine of whom lived to grow up. Her father was ambitious for his children and sent several of them to the polytechnic school. This woman went through the seventh grade. In appearance she was a strong, stocky woman and appeared to be intelligent. Two years after she came to this BAD HOME CONDITIONS 177 country she married her husband, a mulatto, who had been a coachman for a family for 15 years. This was a forced marriage. After her husband's death, the fraternal order to which he belonged took up a collection, and the alleged father brought the money to her home. He was a negro 55 years old, a bricklayer by trade, and gave music lessons at odd times. He attended one of the leading institutions of music and conducted several church choirs. He had evidently lived harmoniously with his wife, a high-grade colored woman. When the alleged father first visited this woman, he helped her about the home repairs, and after a short time they became sexually intimate. After the birth of the first child she felt that she was friendless and so turned to the father again as the only one who would have any sympathy for her, and consequently a child was born two years later. When they realized that another child was coming, they decided that they could not keep it. Therefore this man made a bargain with her that he should pay a hundred dollars for the child and would then induce his wife to adopt it as a foundling. During the pregnancy he paid her $80 on the bill, and after the birth explained the project to his wife; later he appeared at this woman's house with a blanket for the child's transfer. Her attachment for the child proved to be too strong, and she refused to part with it. Several times the father convinced her of the desirability of the plan, but each time he returned to his wife with the empty blanket. After these unsuccessful attempts, the wife became suspicious, and finally learned the whereabouts of this woman's home. She visited her, and though realizing that she had two illegitimate children, did not at this time appreciate that her husband was responsible. A subsequent visit disclosed the real situation, and she magnani- mously volunteered to take the two children into her own home, stating that she did not object to her husband's bringing the children home, but that " she certainly did not like the way he got them." A year later the charitable society which was supervising the children reported that this wife cared for them as if they were her own, and that they were developing into robust children. As far as known, the intimacy between this woman and the alleged father was broken off after this dis- closure. Case No. 40. Causative factors : (a) Bad Home Condi- tions: Husband dead. Woman dependent on outside help. Colored man assisted her. Sex +. Age 34. CHAPTER VIII Early Sex Experience General consideration - Sex experience by suggestion or contact. General Consideration. Although it has not seemed justi- fiable to consider early sex experience of any sort to be the main causative factor in the life of an individual in this study, one reaches the conclusion that a misfortune of this kind ranks as of almost equal importance with any other in the life of the girl. Doctor Healy has drawn attention to the fact that such experi- ences often leave " an ineradicable stain ", and that the men- tal content of the individual is thus forever poisoned. Com- menting on the statement that such a seed must have fallen on fallow ground in order that it might produce such a per- manent result, he states that almost all people possess a sus- ceptibility which would have caused them to develop in a similar manner, had they been exposed to the same pernicious influence. Speaking of the degrading effect of immoral prac- tices existing in the home, he says, " There seems to be little reason for the individual pursuing any paths of rectitude, when the most intimate relations of life are morally awry." 1 Sex Experience by Suggestion or Contact. This study con- tains instances in which sexual intercourse began at the age of nine, and numerous cases in which it began between nine and 14, and it may be stated that there are not included in this chapter any experiences which may have occurred later than the girl's fourteenth year. There are a few cases in which a girl has been sexually promiscuous before 14. Not of least importance in this section is the influence of older people on 1 Healy, William, op cit., p. 410. 178 EARLY SEX EXPERIENCE 179 the girl in question, for although it is hard to agree with the popular attitude which looks upon the young girl who becomes an unmarried mother as invariably the prey of some older and designing male, one reaches the conclusion that a small per- centage have been led into immoral practices before the age of 15 by some older individual, although this individual is not always a member of the opposite sex. This study contains nine cases in which the girl was intro- duced into illicit sexual relations before the age of 15 by a par- ent or some other relative, an experience which requires little comment in regard to its influence on a girl's later develop- ment. Undoubtedly an initiation of this kind normally pro- duces such an antipathy towards anything possessing a sexual connotation that there is danger that the individual may never regain that mental poise necessary for a proper evaluation of the place of this function in life. The mental imagery con- jured up by such early practices, even when they are not connected with incestuous relationships, is intensified by the fact that they soon become habitual. There is little room in the mind of an adolescent girl for those ideas, practical and unromantic, which are necessary if her mental background is not to be one of continuous sexual stimulation. Such is the result in instances where an early sex experience has colored the thought of an individual whose powers of con- trol are not yet strong enough to prevent such an experience from absorbing the whole field of consciousness. There are two cases in which excessive masturbation appeared to exist to a degree worthy of notice, although one should ordinarily be careful about regarding it as a causative factor. The con- sensus of opinion seems to be that it is much more frequently the accompaniment of a mental defect or of a lack of self-con- trol than the cause of either. Its influence on girls in par- ticular is relatively slight, not because of its infrequency, but chiefly because there has never been a campaign waged against the practice among them. Possibly it has seemed indelicate to discuss such a subject with girls. No matter for what reason this may have been, the results of this absence of teach' 180 THE UNMARRIED MOTHER ing among girls has been beneficial, and women have thus been deprived of the chief bad effect of masturbation. This comes from a weakening of the will, and from the fear caused by the erroneous belief that this habit condemns the individual to insanity or a neurosis. As usual in those cases in which the cause under discussion does not enter as a major factor, the cases illustrative of the conditions which we have been discussing in this paragraph will be found distributed through the various chapters of this book. CHAPTER IX Heredity General consideration-Insufficient data. General Consideration. Important as is the study of the heredity of various individuals forming a group of delinquents, it is yet the least conclusive section of this investigation. Many of the records which have been studied possess little or no information on the question of heredity, and even the data which can be found is frequently vague and not open to verifi- cation. The result has been that in every case where it has been possible, all of the information which could be gained on the subject of the ancestry of the individual under consideration has been noted, with the intention of submitting it as a single descriptive factor in an attempt to portray the mental and physical state of the girl or young woman in question. Never has it been found justifiable to consider heredity as a major factor, although there are cases in which a fairly full history of the inheritance is given. Insufficient Data. The limitations of a study of this kind are so obvious that it has been felt wise to place heredity last among the minor factors in nearly all of the cases where the data has been sufficient to warrant any conclusions whatever. Not only on account of a paucity of material, however, has it been difficult to attribute to heredity a prime position as a determinant of action, but also because of the relatively un- settled state of mind among scientists themselves in regard to the comparative influence of heredity and environment upon human action. Eugenists cannot yet speak with precision. The temptation to consider a girl's sexual behavior as being 181 182 THE UNMARRIED MOTHER due to the fact that her father and mother were both sexually immoral has thus been avoided, and it has been consistently kept in mind that environmental influences alone may have been operative. The transmission of ethical qualities or the lack of ethical qualities by biological means is generally discounted, the majority of such traits being absorbed through the social environment in which the child grows up, which of course re- moves it from the realm of biology. One notes a tendency on the part of some social workers to solve the complexities of human motivation by the easy method of throwing the re- sponsibility upon the ancestors, and the result is often fallacious reasoning, resulting as it does in assumptions for which there is no real scientific foundation. A trait in an ancestor may have had no influence whatever upon the individual under con- sideration, no matter how definite one feels such a trait should have been, as a cause of certain behavior in the offspring. There have been placed under the head of heredity, on the causative factor cards, many of those traits - physical and mental - which are ordinarily looked upon as possibly trans- mittable. The information upon which this is done is ad- mittedly meager. It is hoped, however, that the material in- dicated in the various cases may be sufficiently descriptive to lead to a more detailed study of the influence of heredity upon those girls and young women who become unmarried mothers - an influence whose importance no student can deny. The cases in which heredity operates as a minor factor will be found distributed under their appropriate heads throughout the various chapters. CHAPTER X Abnormal Physical Conditions General statement - Conditions causing weakness or irritation - Epilepsy - Probable epilepsy - Tubercular and cancerous hip. General Statement. According to Healy, abnormal devel- opmental conditions and their consequent physical results " are to be regarded as causes of delinquency only inasmuch as they do produce discoverable effects or peculiarities; they can never be in any way regarded as directly responsible for delinquency. From this it may easily be seen why, although we would not in any way undervalue this group of causes, in our classification such antecedents never emerged as major factors." This author states that the old age of the father at the time of conception, for instance, should not be considered as having any relationship to delinquency unless the offspring is mentally or physically inferior. Referring to the bodily characteristics of criminals taken as a class, Healy holds that we should expect them to show anom- alies of brain and skull, and says that " the large, well sub- stantiated correlations that should at once be grasped by the student of criminalistic genetics, are first, that the mentally weak readily become members of the chronic offender class, and second, that innate mental weakness is very often ac- companied by signs of physical defect or anomaly." The gist of the matter, he feels, is expressed by Goring (" The English Convict, A Statistical Study ", page 370), who says, " The physical and mental constitution of both criminal and law- abiding persons, of the same age, stature, class and intelligence, are identical."1 1 Healy, William, op. cit., p. 214 ff. 183 184 THE UNMARRIED MOTHER Conditions Causing Weakness or Irritation. The physical conditions most directly concerned with delinquency may be divided into two classes, those which cause weakness and those which cause irritation, both of these having a direct effect upon the behavior of a girl or young woman under con- sideration. Any physical condition which weakens the bodily functioning at the same time weakens the powers of resist- ance to suggestion, and renders the individual more subject to influence from both without and within. Those con- ditions which cause irritation produce an identical effect by different methods, causing the individual to manifest traits of character which therapeutic treatment frequently removes. It is not the intention of this study to go into the various ab- normal physical conditions which have been included as minor factors in the histories of those girls and young women who have become unmarried mothers. A detailed analysis of the effect of such conditions upon delinquency may be found in many standard works. Although the physical condition of the girl or young woman has been considered a prime causative factor in only six cases, various physical abnormalities have yet been enumerated as minor causative factors in 102 cases, with the conviction that a more thorough examination would have revealed the fact that some abnormality, whether antenatal, natal, or develop- mental, existed in even a larger number. It is evident that some of these 102 abnormalities are found in the same individual, so that it is not implied that 102 individuals were suffering from some physical abnormality which was considered of sufficient importance to be listed as a causative factor. Most of the conditions which have been enumerated in the appendix on " Statistics " fall obviously into a group that has been thoroughly discussed by many writers, and their effect is so evident as to require no comment here. The effect of congenital syphilis, for instance, on the offspring as a cause of general debility is too well known to require citations on the matter, and a similar situation exists when any extremely bad antenatal conditions are involved. Under the subdivision ABNORMAL PHYSICAL CONDITIONS 185 dealing with those conditions which are traceable to the natal period, it becomes evident that premature birth may be the cause of poor general development. Under the head of de- velopmental conditions, the influence of general poor physical condition, delayed adolescence, and general overdevelopment, may be quickly apprehended. A word may be said on the subject of premature puberty as indicative of the onset of physical changes before a correspond- ing mental development has been reached, which thus exposes the girl in question to unusual temptation. According to Englemann, the age of first menstruation in America is 14, which is earlier than the average in Europe.1 This author claims that in the majority of cases, the age of first menstruation falls at the age of 14 years, so that one may safely regard puberty beginning at 12 years or earlier as an unusual phenomenon, and as Healy says, " likely to throw considerable stress socially upon the girl." 2 Of course general physical overdevelopment is often accompanied by a corresponding overdevelopment of sex characteristics, so that it is frequently difficult to evaluate the importance of general overdevelopment alone.3 One may state, however, that in many instances of early sex experience, the girl in question was physically beyond the normal develop- ment for her age. When accompanied by an overdevelopment of the sex characteristics, this general physical overdevelopment becomes directly connected with delinquency. By general sex characteristics may be understood marked overdevelopment for the age of the ordinary signs of female maturity, particu- larly enlargement of the hips and bust, and general rounding of the figure. Well developed young women are prone to have an unusual amount of sex feeling and sex consciousness, being for just that reason especially attractive to men. Under the head of the physical conditions to be found in later adolescence and adult life, it has not seemed necessary to comment upon the effect of defective vision and hearing upon the individual, upon the general debilitating influence of 1 Englemann, G. J: New York Medical Journal, February 8 and 15, 1902. 2 Healy, William, op. cit., p. 237. 3 Healy, William, op. cit., p. 242. 186 THE UNMARRIED MOTHER anemia and tuberculosis, or on the various specific abnormali- ties like spinal curvature and enlarged thyroid, all of which entered as causative factors in the various cases. Attention should be drawn, however, to a case in which the girl who be- came an unmarried mother was totally blind, and to one in which the girl was a deaf mute. Naturally these physical abnormalities are minor factors in histories in which some other major factor has been operative. The influence of such phys- ical condition upon the behavior of girls and young women will be brought out in proper perspective in many of those cases in which the main factor has been some unfortunate mental or environmental situation. Epilepsy. So important is epilepsy in antisocial behavior that it has been considered to be the main factor involved in the pregnancy of the girl or woman in question in five cases. In the description of the disease itself we refer to Healy, who considers epilepsy to be of great importance in delinquency. According to him " the epilepsies " may be divided into:1 a. Major epilepsy. "Grand mal." Attacks in which motor co- ordination is lost, the patient falls, and there is always unconsciousness. b. Minor epilepsy. "Petit mal." In attacks of this nature, consciousness may not be entirely lost, and while there is some muscu- lar involvement, it may not amount to jerking or falling. There may be merely sudden inability to move, with clouding of consciousness for a few seconds. c. Psychic epilepsy. This is a mental attack leaving the motor functions undisturbed. There is a sudden temporary loss of the higher consciousness, of complete apperception, with a pathological loss of memory. These seizures may last for a few seconds or for hours, and even days. d. Jacksonian or partial epilepsy. Consists in spasms of one set of muscles or of one part of the body. Often with this there is no dis- turbance of the consciousness. In addition to this should be mentioned epileptic equivalents or curious psychophysical phenomena due to paroxysmal dis- turbances of various nerve centers. Attacks of violent temper 1 Healy, William, op. cit., p. 415 tf. ABNORMAL PHYSICAL CONDITIONS 187 may be epileptic equivalents. Doctor Healy states that seven per cent of his one thousand cases are known to be definitely epileptic, but acknowledges that he has not entered at all " into the well-founded modern contentions as to what really constitutes the disease. . . . We may say, in general, that we have called those individuals epileptic who have had convulsive attacks beyond the period of infantile convulsion, or when there has been first-rate evidence of occurrence of attacks of minor epilepsy. We have also included cases where spasms or convulsions were exceedingly frequent during infancy or early childhood, even if they disappeared later." 1 Here follow several illustrative cases. Case 41. We have here the case of a woman of 32, mentally abnormal and suffering from epilepsy, who gave birth to an illegitimate child. Her father, who was born in Ireland, was temperate and a steady worker, although he never earned more than $9 a week. The mother died four years ago in Ire- land of tuberculosis. The fraternity includes a sister with hip disease, an intemperate brother with a court record, another with a court record, a sister subject to fainting spells, one who keeps a kitchen barroom, one who is married, and a brother against whom nothing is known. This girl lives with her aunt in an extremely good home in the best part of a suburban town, with a large stable and fine grounds, as well as an automobile. Her father owns a small house which he rents. The family in general have a bad name in the community, giving the impression that they are better off than they have a right to, when as a matter of fact the aunt's income is not more than $600 a year. This young woman, who has always been irritable and has quarreled much with her aunt, has always been well watched, rarely ever being out on the street, and associating only with reputable people. She seemed to take her pregnancy lightly, ridiculing the prosti- tutes who were awaiting confinement with her in the hospital and feeling humiliated when they responded with similar remarks. During her labor she used all sorts of vile oaths, and was extremely abusive to the doctors. She had been treated for epilepsy for fifteen or twenty years, having one or two convulsions a day, their severity increasing since pregnancy. These attacks lasted from a few minutes to fifteen minutes, 1 Healy, William, op. oil., p. 417. 188 THE UNMARRIED MOTHER and at times she had as many as six or seven in one day. The physician recommended her commitment to an epileptic colony. The man who was responsible for this woman's pregnancy was married, and his wife was in an insane asylum; he was a painter earning $3.50 a day, lived with a sister, and was given to drink. The woman says that she met this man through a friend of the family about four years ago, and that he has been coming to see her twice a week for the past year; she says that she had heard the rumor of his being married, but did not believe it until he deserted her. She admits having had intercourse with him very often, and says that he is the first man with whom she was ever immoral. At present she expresses no emotion towards him and does not blame him any more than herself; she says that he was so familiar with her person that she desired intercourse as much as he did. This woman and her child returned to their home, the child being finally placed at board. Case No. 41. Causative factors : (a) Physical: Epilepsy. (6) Mentality: Epileptic mentality, (c) Bad Home Con- ditions: Alcoholic brothers in the home. Immoral sisters. Sex +• Age 32. Case 42. We have here the case of an epileptic girl, showing an accompanying mental abnormality, who died as the result of an abortion, at 20 years of age. This girl's father has not worked for years, as the result of a fall. The fraternity in- cludes a brother against whom nothing is known, and two sis- ters, one of whom had an abortion. The whole family seemed to be tremendously surprised at the girl's condition, excepting the father, who never knew the cause of her death. They seem to have cared more about the chances of disgrace than the fact of her pregnancy itself. The girl, whose menstrual periods never established themselves regularly, was deaf and subject to epileptic attacks. Her death was the result of an abortion self-induced by the use of a catheter; she was too ashamed to go to a physician and was transferred to a hospital from a relief station, where she died in a condition described as " septic through and through." This girl had been frequently immoral with a married man to whom she became attached. She said: " I hope God will forgive me, as my poor heart is broke." Case No. 42. Causative factors: (a) Physical: Epi- lepsy. Died after an abortion. (6) Bad Home Condi- tions: Insufficient control. No sympathy, (c) Mental- ity: Epileptic mentality. Sex 4-. Age 22. ABNORMAL PHYSICAL CONDITIONS 189 Probable Epilepsy. Under this head may be cited cases in which spasms or convulsions were exceedingly frequent during infancy or early childhood, even if they disappeared later. The following is a case which may well be added here. Case 43. Among those cases in which the epilepsy of the relatives and the physical condition of the girl in question in- dicate the probable existence of epilepsy, there is that of this girl of Nova Scotian parentage, who gave birth to an illegiti- mate child when 16 years of age. Her parents married in Nova Scotia some twenty-five years ago, it being impossible to verify the record; the girl's father had been a carpenter, sober and industrious, who died of tuberculosis. Her mother, on the other hand, appears to be coarse and ignorant, as well as untrustworthy, various rumors being circulated about her and a boarder, who is her husband's stepbrother. Her conver- sation and behavior are described as " shameful ", and she is given to fits of temper. In regard to her relatives, it appears that this woman's brother was alcoholic, her mother tubercu- lar, and her sister of questionable reputation, later exerting an unfortunate influence on the girl in question. The maternal cousins of this girl are epileptic. The fraternity includes a sister of 23, who married a worthless individual when she was 16, later securing a divorce, whose reputation is by no means good. She is capable of earning from $12 to $14 a week in a shoe factory, and is considered an epileptic. There is another sister of 21, who ran away from home at 16, married and left her husband, giving birth to an illegitimate child by her em- ployer before disappearing. A brother of 20, who went to the seventh grade in school, bears a good reputation, and there is a brother of 17 with a court record for breaking and entering, who ran away, but seems to be doing well somewhere in the West. One of this woman's infants died at the age of fifteen days, and another was stillborn. One of the bad influences operative in the life of this girl was due to the fact that her family, who came to this country when she was six years old, persisted in moving back and forth between their place of abode and Canada. We find no influence of any conflict due to various languages in the home, but the situation was somewhat complicated by the presence of an in- temperate boarder, who lived with the family from the time that this girl was 11 until her commitment to an organization giving institutional care. The girl's mother, however, shows evidence of unfitness for control and supervision, being given 190 THE UNMARRIED MOTHER to frequent attacks of temper, during which she tears her daughter's clothes, and behaves in a manner not calculated to inspire her either with respect or obedience. The family oc- cupies the lower flat in a five-tenement house, with no im- provements, and a cellar toilet - the rooms, however, being clean and well-furnished - for which they pay $14 a month, the boarder referred to contributing $6. In former years we note that the Overseers of the Poor had found it necessary to aid this family because of illness. Unfortunately, the girl whom we are considering had no room for herself, and was forced to sleep either in the dining room or in her mother's room, which opened off that of the intemperate boarder. There has been no psychological examination in this case, and all that is known is that the girl in question appeared to many to be subnormal, and to be possessed of an ungovernable temper, coupled with extreme suggestibility. Her father was 36 and her mother 24, at the time of her conception, her prenatal history being negative, and her birth normal. There was no physician; in attendance, and the child, which weighed twelve pounds at birth, and seemed healthy and strong, was weaned at the age of 18 months. During childhood she ex- perienced the ordinary children's diseases, such as mumps, measles, whooping cough, and chickenpox before the age of 10. At 9 she was badly frightened, and began to have convulsions which occurred at the time of her menstrual periods, decreasing as she grew older. As a child she refused to eat regularly, frequently subsisting on a cup of coffee for breakfast, suffering at this time from frequent toothache. Her menstrual periods established themselves at the age of 12. These convulsions to which we have referred were accompanied by a feeling of dizziness, with pain on her left side from her knee to her shoul- der, followed by falling. During such attacks her face became highly colored, her pulse was 70, but she experienced no froth- ing at the mouth. These attacks lasted sometimes for six minutes, during which the girl kicked and swung her arms about. At the age of 9 she developed an extreme temper. These attacks seem to have improved with increasing age, and we note the fact that she has not experienced any since her confinement. This girl attended school until 14 years old, and was dismissed when in the seventh grade in order that she might go to work. Her attendance was irregular, and she took no interest in anything that was good, being restless and im- pudent in class, and much given to the writing of obscene notes to boys. Her best grades were obtained in reading and music, ABNORMAL PHYSICAL CONDITIONS 191 and her lowest in arithmetic. She repeated grades six and seven, and was considered " deficient mentally and morally ", the teachers being pleased over her departure because of the bad influence she exerted. At about this time we note that this girl began to seek the company of bad associates, with whom she attended the motion-picture theaters, went canoe- ing, being found on two or three occasions with a man at four o'clock in the morning, and frequented dance halls where the girls were often under the influence of liquor. It was impossible for her mother to exert much control over her, had such been her intention, owing to the fact that during her father's illness it became necessary for her to work out by the day. The re- sult was that the girl in question became acquainted with all of the undesirable girls and boys of the neighborhood, and went with them at will. She was frequently seen talking with boys in alleyways at night, and her most intimate friends were a girl who had had three illegitimate children, and another who was sent to the reformatory for women. There is evi- dence of the fact that this girl was possessed of real musical talent, being capable of playing almost any simple piece of music by ear, performing well on the harmonica, and having a voice of unusual capacity, as a result of which she was de- sirous of going on the stage. After leaving school when a little over 14 years of age this girl worked in a candy factory for three weeks, for a wage of $4 a week, but proved herself slow, and was discharged. She was employed in another fac- tory for two months, at $4.50 a week, but the company failed, and she thereupon secured work in a carpet factory at $6. After this she did housework, and her employer states that she was satisfactory but a great liar, having told her that she had just arrived from the West. Later she left without notice. This girl's behavior grew worse until, beginning by being in- corrigible at the age of 10, she came under the eye of the police, frequently slandering the officer who reported her to her mother. At this time she developed an insane temper, " throwing things around the house ", being out every evening, and stealing money from her family and clothes from her sister. She threatened to kill any one who reproved her, and twice attempted to com- mit suicide. We have noted the fact that she ran away from home and was gone for a month without letting her family know of her whereabouts, during which time she stole various things from her employer. When arrested she was absolutely unconcerned, and after pleading guilty to the charge of lar- ceny, was committed to an organization giving institutional 192 THE UNMARRIED MOTHER care. When sentenced she had a fit in court, rolling around on the floor and screaming. It was found that she was preg- nant at this time. After three months and eighteen days of institutional care, this girl, who was suffering from gonorrhoea, was sent to a hospital to await her confinement, during which time she spoke proudly of her condition, and gave evidence of no shame whatever. After her confinement she stated that she had learned her lesson, and we note some improvement in her behavior. Soon after the birth of her child she was rein- stated into the community, at housework, her employer stat- ing that she was capable and good-natured, but that she had a tendency to neglect her work. At first this girl stated that on one occasion, on her way home from a wedding, a young man gave her some marshmal- lows, which she is sure must have been drugged, because she became unconscious, during which time she supposed that the young man had intercourse with her. She was ill for three days thereafter, and he wrote stating that he was sorry that he had " ruined her ", since which time she had not seen him. The truth of the matter is that she had been accustomed to go with a man to a room, where she had frequent intercourse. While at housework, this girl wrote various suggestive notes to young men of her acquaintance, although we are unaware of any sexual delinquency on her part since the birth of her child. There is evidence, however, that this may be due to the fact that she is busily engaged in caring for her child and in sup- porting herself, and that under different conditions there is little doubt but that she would soon become pregnant again. The man responsible for the birth of this seven-pound child was an American, who wrote several times, stating that he was married but divorced, and who later disappeared. Nothing has been done towards securing support, and the mother and child are now in a wage home. Case No. 43. Causative factors: (a) Physical: Prob- able epilepsy. (&) Mentality: Incorrigible since 10. Great temper, (c) Bad Home Conditions: Father dead. Mother works out. Sister had illegitimate child. Brother has court record. Frequent moving. Overcrowding. No control, (d) Bad Companions: Low dances and cafAs. (e) Heredity: Father tubercular. Maternal grandmother tubercular. Mother's cousin epileptic. Mother's sister epileptic. Two children died in early infancy. (/) Early Sex Experience: Solicits men and boys. Steals. Lies. Sex ++• Age 16. ABNORMAL PHYSICAL CONDITIONS 193 Tubercular and Cancerous Hip. Surprising as it may seem to put down this physical abnormality as a major factor in a girl's pregnancy, it is difficult to escape the conclusion that in the following case the mental attitude of the girl, which de- termined her behavior, was caused by her deformity. The same result might, of course, have been produced by any mal- development which stimulated a state of mind over desirous of affection and sympathy. It is thus more the fact of her de- formity than that of a tubercular hip which should be consid- ered the main causative factor in the case which follows. Case 44. We have here the case of a deformed girl with a cancerous hip as well as with a tubercular infection, who be- cause of her physical handicap was particularly desirous of sympathy and affection. She gave birth to an illegitimate child after a Caesarian section, at the age of 21; the child died within a few weeks. There is no record of the parents in this case, neither of them having manifested any interest in her. The fraternity includes a married sister and another who became immoral and was lost sight of. Of prime importance in this case is the lack of affectionate care which this girl experienced during adolescence. Her parents were divorced and both remarried, whereupon she went to live with her father and his wife, but when she became lame at the age of 12 her stepmother objected to her care, and she went to live with her mother. Finally she took up her abode with her married sister, who seems to have taken care of her as if she had been her own child, but never realizing that this deformed being could mature and have erotic desires. One finds that this girl, who had been simple and unassuming all her life, having learned her lessons at home through her in- ability to go to school, and spending most of her spare time in doing embroidery work, gave absolutely no trouble to any of those who were concerned in her care. So good was her behavior that it never occurred to them to warn her of the facts of sex, and it was assumed that she was growing up in perfect innocence. It has been said that because of deformity this girl craved affection and tenderness. She met the father of her child in a restaurant, and he was the only one with whom she ever be- came even familiar. He seems to have been a decent sort of person who was sorry for the girl on account of her deformity, 194 THE UNMARRIED MOTHER and who consequently began to visit her in a friendly way. But the girl seems to have been strongly sexed, and to have abandoned herself completely to him. The sister of this crip- ple considered the man to be so honorable that she was anxious to shield him from disgrace by receiving the money for the support of the child secretly. The girl herself feels that mater- nity has brought her a new conception of life. Case No. 44. Causative factors : (a) Physical Deformity: Tubercular and cancerous hip. (6) Bad Environment: Moved about with relatives, who didn't wish to have her. Sister immoral, (c) Mentality: Overdesirous of affection, because of deformity. Sex. Age 21. CHAPTER XI Sexual Suggestibility General consideration - Moderate suggestibility normal - The sug- gestible type. General Consideration. In developing the causative factors in this study of the unmarried mother, it quickly became evi- dent that a group existed which would require special definition. This refers to those girls and women in whose lives no abnormal mental, physical, or environmental conditions could be found, but who manifested a marked suggestibility in regard to matters of sex. In fact a trait of considerable importance in the study of delinquency is that of undue suggestibility, for which various tests have been devised. The behavior of the individual may, according to Binet, be due to the fact that he has fallen into a trap through heedlessness and lack of attention, to which Healy adds that " This is exactly how in social life certain individuals from empty-headedness or lapses of will receive criminalistic suggestions. The individual through certain neg- ative aspects of his mental life is more passive and suggestible than he might otherwise be." 1 Moderate Suggestibility Normal. Healy further holds that in this whole matter of personal suggestion it should be remembered that suggestibility within moderate limits is a perfectly normal quality of mind, and in no way connected with abnormal mental states, aside from evidencing what might be called a mental peculiarity. In commenting further upon the abnormal suggestibility of the individual, he states that 1 Healy, William, op. dt., p. 93. 195 196 THE UNMARRIED MOTHER the question of suggestibility in general has received but little treatment, with the result that there has not been a sufficient amount of observation to warrant scientifically certain in- ferences. That differences exist in various individuals is shown by the fact that certain persons are " obviously self-possessed and self-assertive when suggestion is offered, and that others are passively acquiescent." Relatives, he says, frequently refer to some member of their own family by saying " she can be very easily led," or " she is altogether too pliable," or " she will do anything anybody tells her to do " ; whereas the offender frequently makes a remark like the following, " he told me to," "if I would not go with these boys it would be all right," " somehow I always do what they say." 1 The Suggestible Type. A situation similar to the one which exists in regard to a suggestibility which is not confined to one field of action has made itself evident in this study. One is constantly impressed by individual girls and young women of normal mentality and good physique, whose environment is not such as to warrant its being considered causative of a life of sexual indulgence, who yet seem susceptible to the ad- vances of any member of the opposite sex who is physically attractive to them. Such a girl very frequently finds herself having had intercourse with various men without being able to account for her behavior, stating frankly that she felt no last- ing attachment whatever for them. In one case a girl who had met a man while waiting for a car in the country consented to spend the night with him after the acquaintance had progressed only a few minutes. In another a young man who was much attached to a girl's mother had intercourse with her daughter after school, for no apparent reason. In this instance there seems to have been absolutely no development of "tumescence", as Havelock Ellis calls the primary stage in courtship, the man stating that the girl in question had never made any ad- vances to him, and she maintaining that he had not approached her in any way, never having been the least familiar with her. In the light of what has been learned from other case histories, \Healy, William, op. cit., p. 697. SEXUAL SUGGESTIBILITY 197 one is forced to the conclusion that certain individuals are pos- sessed of a quality which makes them particularly susceptible to sexual approach. Consequently, one may be justified in considering such an individual to be particularly suggestible in the sphere of the sex instinct, or " sexually suggestible." It is hoped that the cases which follow may do much to illus- trate this group, and to lead to the belief that one is dealing here with individuals who are justly to be distinguished from those falling under the heads of the various other chapters. Case 45. This is the story of a young school teacher of 20 who became pregnant by a high-school boy whom she had been instructing for nearly two years. She had always been con- sidered a quiet, studious girl, and had led an uneventful life. Although the realization of her pregnancy was a severe blow to her parents, yet this girl was depressed only for a short time by it; then her naturally optimistic nature again dominated her, and she was heard to declare: "I shall still be master of my fate." She showed considerable resolution later in carrying out this determination. She had been brought up in a country town in an excellent neighborhood. The home was well built and was made com- fortable with modern conveniences. Her parents held an excellent reputation in the community and had exerted them- selves to provide suitable companionship and advantages for their two daughters. This girl had graduated from high school and had later taken a two years' course at a normal school, where she was considered a good deal above the average as a student. Since that time she had taught successfully for two years in the grammar school. She was a fairly attractive girl, neatly dressed, and mature for her years. She claimed that she had thought about making a success of life since early child- hood. In explanation of her optimistic nature, she said that she had always had to wrestle against the natural pessimism of her parents; in her determination not to be submerged by their gloomy forebodings she had endeavored to look always on the bright side. She appeared to have wide interests, and as soon as her confinement was over, made plans for her future, which always included provision for her child. She secured a good position as a teacher without assistance, intending to take a domestic science course later which would help her to earn a larger salary. It was interesting to note the strength of the family pride in this case. Through the months of the 198 THE UNMARRIED MOTHER pregnancy, the mother forced herself to make preparations for taking her daughter through her confinement without the aid of a physician. The girl taught school until the very night of her labor, and the arrival of the child was kept a secret from the neighborhood. Later her father hired an automobile to come from Boston, several hundred miles away, and convey mother and child to that city, pending the making of a per- manent plan. The child was then boarded out at the expense of its mother, and at our last inquiry she was undecided whether to continue with this burden of support alone or to reveal the existence of the child to its father, and possibly legitimatize it by marriage. According to the girl's story, her eagerness to succeed in her undertaking of tutoring this young boy of 17 was primarily responsible for her misfortune. She had found it very difficult to concentrate his attention upon his studies, and when she became aware that he was more interested in her than in his work, she allowed his first attentions to go unnoticed, hoping thereby to attain results because of his desire to please her. It was quite evident that this intimacy grew from this small beginning. He was a well-developed boy of dictatorial type, and fairly high in the studies which centered about his business course. She claims that he always took the initiative. She did not tell him of her pregnancy, as she wished him to graduate. Since the birth of the child, he has received his diploma and undertaken his chosen work. It seemed probable, if she could gain the consent of her parents to the marriage, that such a termination might be brought about. Previously they had strenuously opposed such a union, as they felt that his family was inferior socially to theirs. Whatever the outcome, un- doubtedly her attachment for the child should insure a plan adequate for its support and training. Case No. 45. Causative factor: (a) Sexually Suggest- ible: School teacher of 20 desirous of success in tutoring boy of 17. Allows him to become intimate. Sex. Age 20. Case 46. Among the cases of those girls who seem to be sexually suggestible, one notes this girl of American parentage who became the mother of an illegitimate child when 17 years of age. There is no case which can compare with this one in regard to the lack of ordinary standards, indicated by the fact that the girl's mother married the young man by whom her daughter was pregnant, and that the three are now living in the same house. Little is known of the father of the girl save SEXUAL SUGGESTIBILITY 199 that he is dead. The mother, who at the time of her daughter's pregnancy was only 36 years old, had an extremely unhappy married life while her husband was alive. She had worked in a shoe factory for years, and of late had formed a strong attach- ment for a young man of 28 who seemed to represent her only happiness. She has been hard working and self-sacrificing all her life. The girl in this case, who is of normal mentality, having graduated from the grammar school, although physically never robust, is considered a model child, the neighbors envying her mother such a daughter. She seems, however, to have been somewhat spoiled and selfish, although a great favorite with all her friends. There is no indication of any waywardness or lack of obedience on her part. The girl's mother, finding that she was not as affectionate as usual with her, suspected that some- thing was wrong, but did not know what it could be until her health began to fail, and the doctors diagnosed her as pregnant. As soon as she learned this fact, she seemed unable to sleep or work, and maintained that everything should be done for the child with no thought for herself. According to her, " I was married when I was young - a month afterward I loathed my husband. I never was happy, and this man (the putative father) is the only man I ever loved, and we are engaged." The father of this child has been a friend of the family for years, and very intimate at the house. The girl in question was accustomed to return from school at three o'clock, and the father called at the house one day, after having looked for work unsuccessfully, and had intercourse with the girl. The girl herself claims that she does not care for the father, and that they never even kissed each other. They had intercourse three times, the man insisting that the girl was in no way to blame, having never been forward with him or tried to tempt him. He simply cannot account for his reasons for doing such a thing. The girl, whose objections to marrying the father of her child did not seem particularly strong at first, later insisted that she does not want to marry him because of her mother's attach- ment to him. Finally the three moved to a Western city where the child was born, and the girl's mother married the father of her grandchild, assuming responsibility for the child's support, and allowing the child's mother to live in the same house with them. Case No. 46. Causative factor: (a) Sexually Suggesti- ble: Man attached to woman has intercourse with her 17- year-old daughter. Cannot explain why. Sex. Age 17. 200 THE UNMARRIED MOTHER Case 47. In this instance a Jewish girl of English parentage gave birth to an illegitimate child when 18 years of age. She seems to have been extremely suggestible and to have fallen with very little forethought into the intimacy which resulted in her pregnancy. This girl's father, a cigar maker earning $13 a week, comes from good stock, although his mother died of cancer. His wife is nervous and suffers from diabetes. The fraternity includes three brothers and three sisters, against whom nothing is known; the girl herself is the fifth of seven children. This family seems to possess a good deal of intelligence, and to be respectable to the extent of being much depressed by the girl's predicament. When the girl's father learned of her pregnancy he threatened suicide, and was only quieted after great effort. Nothing can be said against the physical environ- ment surrounding this family, for they lived in six rooms in a fair neighborhood, for which they paid $19 a month in rent. Nor does there seem to be any particular criticism to be found with the supervision which was exerted by this girl's mother, there being no indication that she spent much time on the street at night, and in fact, the girl seems to have had no desire for any sort of amusement which did not meet with the approval of her rather careful parents. We find no evidence of her having been noticeably interested in boys or men. Physically the girl's his- tory is negative, with a suspicion that she may be developing a goiter, and we find evidence of her being capable and intelligent, for she enjoyed school, did especially well in arithmetic, and was only prevented from graduating by the fact that she was needed to help in the family budget. After leaving school this girl worked in a department store at $4 a week, and soon found employment as a tobacco stripper at a wage of $5.50. During this time she gave evidence of being well behaved and attractive. A well-marked reticence, noticeable in her, may be due to the fact that she has been dominated by her family, and has led a life so circumscribed as to fail to develop qualities of expression, for we are given to understand that as a young girl she enjoyed little freedom and few amusements. This girl, however, possesses a strong feeling of family responsibility, and is particularly depressed by the thought that she has brought them trouble and disgrace. She is so sensitive that she cannot bear to discuss the subject of her pregnancy. The father of this girl's child, a worthless Gentile, who had once been a sailor and is now a loafer, was accustomed to pass the girl's home frequently, as a result of which she became SEXUAL SUGGESTIBILITY 201 acquainted with him. She soon took walks with him, and it became customary for him to drop in to see her after loafing around on the corner with a group of boys in the evening, until on one occasion, after they had been walking together, the girl states that she allowed him to take liberties with her, and that intercourse followed. She is at a loss to know why she allowed this behavior, and can give no explanation or ex- cuse, stating that she realized immediately that she had done wrong, and that she never wished to see him again. She ad- mitted timidly that she sometimes wishes that she now had the companionship of a respectable young man, and that she would rather work hard enough to support her child herself than to ask its father for help. This girl's family, who it may be said have never seen the father of her child, are cooperative, and are at present paying the child's board at a foster home. Case No. 47. Causative factor: (a) Sexually Sug- gestible: Intelligent. Good home. Had intercourse with casual acquaintance. Does not know why. Sex. Age 18. Case 48. Among those girls who may be considered habitual sex offenders, but who are devoid of any feeling or attachment for the boys or young men with whom they have been intimate, may be cited this case of a girl of English-Canadian parentage who gave birth to an illegitimate child at the age of 17. That she is sexually suggestible is indicated by the fact that although intelligent and possessed of a good environment, she has had intercourse with boys since she was 14 years of age. Her father has evidently been industrious and temperate, his wife dying five years ago at the birth of a child. The fraternity includes four sisters and a brother, whose history is negative. This girl was 12 years old when her mother died, and her father was thereupon faced with the problem of caring for his five daughters, which he did, with poor success, with the help of his mother and various housekeepers whom he employed. When the girl in question was 15, he became disgusted with the household management, and took his daughter out of school that she might help at home. He showed much affection for her, however, and his attitude after the girl's pregnancy was good, as he expressed himself as hopeful that his daughter's experience would " fit her better to battle with life's problems." Physically she appeared to be a well-nourished and well-de- veloped young woman with good teeth, who is particularly quick and accurate in the use of her eyes and ears. According to a psychological examination she is above the average, and it 202 THE UNMARRIED MOTHER is possible that her sexual irregularity may have been due to the fact that she was particularly responsive to suggestion because her mental development had not kept pace with her growth from girlhood into womanhood. This may have been somewhat due to the lack of a woman's influence in the girl's life, which might have guided her past the difficulties that of her own accord she was unable to escape. We note that this girl, who was fond of motion pictures and of dancing and took an active part in church affairs, succeeded in entering the first year in high school before it became necessary for her to go to housekeeping. Soon thereafter she became restless at home, and went to work coloring motion-picture negatives, although her ambition was to play in an orchestra because she had had piano and trombone lessons. At about this time she began to associate with a girl who was immoral, and to acquire an attitude indicative of a certain dullness in regard to sex matters. She was not at all upset or embarrassed by her pregnancy, and looked forward to her visit to a maternity home as an oppor- tunity for a good rest. At 17, while pregnant (she was extremely large and well- developed), this girl confessed frankly that she had had inter- course with schoolboys ever since she was 14, and that she had continued these practices without intermission up to the time of her pregnancy. During the month preceding she had had sexual intercourse with two young men more often than she could remember. She also mentioned two others with whom she had been formerly immoral, stating that she did not care much about any of them, although she preferred one or two to the others. These young men, however, had told her frankly that they would not marry the best girl living. They were perfectly aware of her promiscuity, and acknowledged to her that they too had had intercourse with other girls. The man most frequently mentioned by this girl was about 24 years of age, a piano player earning $22 a week, who is to be approached in regard to the support of the child in the near future. The girl herself is at present awaiting confinement in a maternity home, and has of late given evidence of a developing point of view in regard to her condition. Case No. 48. Causative factors : (a) Sexually Suggest- ible: Regularly immoral since 14, with boys for whom she had no attachment. Intelligent, (b) Bad Home Condi- tions: Mother dead. No good woman's influence at home, (c) Bad Companions: Had immoral girl friend, (d) Early Sex Experience: Immoral at 14. Sex + + + • Age 17. CHAPTER XII Sexually Suggestible by one Individual General consideration - Women suggestible by one man - Such women not promiscuous. General Consideration. Not only are there individuals who are generally suggestible, but certain well-marked cases who are particularly suggestible to the influence of one indi- vidual. In reference to them Healy states: " The person ab- normally suggestible is often so well protected that little of social significance comes from the fact, unless influence is brought to bear by some single person so that trouble ensues. In such a combination it is often a balance between the relative strength of the person who imposes his own ideas, and the weakness of the person who succumbs. One can see this just as well at a shop counter as in criminal affairs. But in still other instances an individual who does not appear in general society sugges- tible may very curiously be swayed by some single other per- son who apparently is the sole individual who has power over him." And again, " There can be no doubt that in many in- stances the influence of one person on another rests on a basis of overt or .perhaps even unconscious sex relationship." 1 Women Suggestible by One Man. A similar situation has been found to exist in this study of the unmarried mother, where frequently individual girls and women have been best described as " sexually suggestible by one individual." They represent a group possessed of relatively good environment, are ordinarily physically and mentally normal, who yet seem 1 Healy, William, op. dt., p. 704. 203 204 THE UNMARRIED MOTHER to have been dominated by some one individual with whom they have consequently assumed a basis of sexual intimacy continuing over a considerable period of time. Such a girl or woman may live with a man for years and bear him children, their relationship being one in which each is faithful to the other, and one which differs from a married state only in the fact that there has been no legal ceremony. Similarly there are instances where girls and women have seemed to possess absolutely no capacity for resisting the sexual advances of certain men. In one case a married woman eloped with a man with whom she lived for months, later returning to her husband, only to leave him again for the man referred to. She stated that she would live with this man whenever he wanted her to, no matter how greatly he abused her. It is worthy of comment that in such instances the question of promiscuity on the part of the woman or the man rarely ever enters, and that the relationship which ensues is frequently productive of much that is to be distinguished from the or- dinary accompaniment of immorality. Such Women Not Promiscuous. It may be said that every normal woman should be sexually suggestible by one individual, and there appears to be a reflection of this belief in that large number of cases in which unmarried girls and women who have been looking forward to marriage with the man in ques- tion, have become sexually intimate with him, with the result that he has either disappeared or refused to marry them after their pregnancy. In such an instance it appears that the individual's state of sexual stimulation has overcome her in- hibitions with the evident result. There is, however, a dis- tinction between such a girl or woman and one who is pro- miscuous, owing to the fact that such women are by no means sexually suggestible, save by that individual for whom they have formed an attachment. The cases which have been placed under this head may be looked upon as manifesting qualities which are in themselves perfectly normal and desir- able, the fault lying in the circumstance of their expression. Just as in the former chapter it has been felt wise to narrow SEXUALLY SUGGESTIBLE BY ONE 205 the field of suggestibility to the sphere of the sex instinct, using the term in its broadest sense, so in this chapter certain girls and women have been described as being " sexually sug- gestible by one individual." The cases which follow should serve to clarify this classifica- tion, and to make evident the various instances in which this causative factor has appeared to be operative. Case 49. This American woman of 29 came from a well- educated family, and for the last five years has lived in a large city, pursuing a course of study at a well-known institution, later teaching in her chosen vocation. While thus separated from the influence of her family, she became infatuated with an Italian barber of good family, and upon her mother's refusal to allow a marriage, consented to an illicit relationship which terminated in her pregnancy. Unquestionably these young people were attached to one another, and throughout their experiences manifested an absolute trust in each other. They married when their child was seven months old. The woman's father had died seven years ago, leaving suf- ficient property to enable his wife and two grown children to live comfortably, the mother spending most of her time in the West. When this woman was 24 she came East and entered a training school of good repute, and after graduating, became a teacher in a settlement house in one of our smaller cities. This was the report received from the director of that school. " She was a quiet, well-conducted girl, and came of an excel- lent family. I held a high opinion of her mother, who was a woman of refinement and intelligence. She was a girl who liked a good time, but not too good. I understand that she did well while teaching." Her friends were students and teachers who possessed good standards and were entirely rep- utable. While teaching at the settlement house, the alleged father, a high-grade Italian, a man of extreme moods, became one of her pupils in English. They became interested in each other, and he called to see her frequently, often taking her to the opera. Soon he proposed marriage, but this plan failed to please the woman's mother, as she felt that her daughter would be marry- ing beneath her station in life. Sexual relationship occurred for the first time at the end of a long walk, in an isolated section. According to the girl's story intercourse took place but twice. When she realized 206 THE UNMARRIED MOTHER her pregnancy, the father was unwilling to marry her until he was financially able to do so. She went West and was secretly confined at a maternity home. Previously she had implored a physician to bring about an abortion. The father liberally aided her through this period, and she finally returned to the East with her child, having visited her mother, and secured her consent to the marriage. She then appealed to a protective agency to take the child while her mother remained with her during the marriage preparations, promising to receive the child again upon her return to the West. After the marriage, the parents delayed in their plan to take the child into their home, as the father felt sensitive about arousing any suspicions in the neighborhood, and wished also to establish himself more securely in business. This woman again showed indica- tions again of being shallow and easily influenced; although she appeared to be much attached to her child, she was ap- parently dominated by her husband. Finally the woman's mother wrote that she was willing to establish her son-in-law in an agricultural business in the West, but persuasion proved futile in convincing these parents that responsibility to their child should be their first consideration, and they persisted in leaving it in a boarding home, with the promise of adoption within a year or two. Those interested felt that this girl, uninfluenced by her husband's domineering personality, would have been loyal to her child's interests. Case No. 49. Causative factors: (a) Sexually Sug- gestible by One: Well-educated woman of 29, doing settle- ment work, meets barber to whom family object. (6) Rec- reational Disadvantages: Little normal social life, (c) Bad Environment: Alone in city without friends or relatives. Sex. Age 29. Case 50. We have here the case of a well-educated girl, a teacher in one of our western States, who became an unmarried mother when 24 years of age. She is not only a normal school graduate, but has done some work in the graduate department of one of our eastern colleges. This young woman's father held an unusually fine attitude towards the situation in which his daughter found herself, sacrificing much in order that he might be able to help her in her trouble. His wife, on the other hand, is typical of a re- ligious type who holds only one point of view towards situations of this kind. She is heartbroken, claiming that she had tried hard to be a Christian, and to bring up her children in the SEXUALLY SUGGESTIBLE BY ONE 207 same way. Speaking of her continuous prayers for the girl she said: " If I live to be a hundred I shall never understand how she could have done so wicked a thing." She says that she has forgiven her daughter, in a sense, but that God has not. Later on we find that the use of scripture texts by the visitor in regard to a harsh attitude towards offenders succeeded in softening the girl's mother, with the result that she became more kindly in her feelings for her daughter. The father and the girl's brother, himself a college graduate, stated that they in- tended to have her live with them, and that they felt that " As the baby is Mary's child, and she could not go away and leave it, they guessed their friends would have to accept her as she was." We learn that this girl was in good health, al- though her menstrual periods have frequently been irregular. She graduated from the high school, spent a year in a Western university, and two years in a normal school in Dakota before coming East for graduate work. Her friends had always been people of education and refinement, and she had been ac- customed to take part in the social life of the church and various literary societies. In appearance we find her a young woman of attractive and expressive features, who is well liked wherever she goes. For two years previous to her pregnancy this girl had been teaching in a sparsely settled section of her native State, re- turning home at the end of each week. Her school was near a ranch belonging to a man of 34 with whom she had been to school, and who belonged to her literary society. They saw a great deal of each other during the time that she was away from home during the week, and she became much attached to him, it being tacitly understood by both that they were en- gaged. The girl's family, however, never took the engagement seriously, and really knew little in regard to the intimacy exist- ing between their daughter and this man. The result was that their attachment for each other led them into intercourse, and the girl became pregnant, whereupon she decided to come East to study. The father of her child remained unaware of her pregnancy until her condition became so evident that the college authorities referred her to the care of a physician. At this juncture she wrote home, informing her parents of her predicament, whereupon they sold their farm and moved East in order to be near their daughter. A letter to the father of her child prompted an affectionate reply; he stated him- self to be willing and anxious to marry her, but was unable to come East because of the fact that he had been unfortunate 208 THE UNMARRIED MOTHER in his business ventures of late. Soon the young woman her- self began to doubt the wisdom of marrying the man in ques- tion, finally deciding that she and her child would do better alone, and consequently she moved with her parents to New York, where they have been living together. It is worth noting that the girl's mother, although extremely conventional in her attitude towards her daughter's wrongdoing, did not pos- sess the usual point of view which insists upon marriage with the father of the child as the sole solution of the problem. Throughout the history one is impressed with the fact that the parents never fostered the idea of marriage between the two young people, and one is led to believe that they were conscious of the fact that the girl's attachment for the young man in question was largely the result of propinquity, and that she should be given a chance to start life over in a new environment. Case No. 50. Causative factors: (a) Sexually Sugges- tible by One: Attached to man on near-by ranch, whom she expected to marry. Girl a college student. (6) Bad En- vironment: Taught school away from home. Sex. Age 24. Case 51. This case deals with a married woman whose pregnancy by a man other than her husband was to a certain extent her husband's fault. She comes of American parentage. This woman's father is dead, having spent his last years in an insane asylum as the result of an injury sustained when he fell from the mast of a sailing vessel. His wife lived for several years before her husband's death with another man by whom she had two children before marrying him. The fraternity includes a sister as well as a stepbrother and a stepsister, of whom nothing is known. This young woman's father died when she was young, and she was brought up by her grandmother, who died while she was still under 20. She has no other relatives save two who are unable to help her, feeling as they do that she has had many opportunities which she has not used to advantage. As a child this woman had a comfortable home, and there is some evidence of her being well enough educated to do general clerical work. In spite of the fact that she has had three illegitimate children, a mental examination reveals her to be neither feeble-minded nor mentally unbalanced, although she is not strong physically. This woman had a good reputation until she met the father of her illegitimate child, and had been em- ployed in various positions since the age of 17 as a general office helper and later as a salesgirl. She is extremely attrac- SEXUALLY SUGGESTIBLE BY ONE 209 tive in appearance, although small in stature. At the age of 18 she married, and her husband secured a divorce eight years later on the ground of adultery, the decree forbidding the remarriage of either for six months. From what appears she seems to have been very happy with her husband, who was really an exceedingly fine type of man, occupying a position of considerable responsibility with over fifty men working under him. But he made the mistake of bringing into his family as a boarder a friend who was the cause of the later trouble. Soon after their marriage this woman's husband invited a young man of 25, who was having trouble with his family, to take up his residence with them. His wife soon warned him that she was becoming infatuated with this man, but he seems to have paid little attention to it, until finally she received a legacy of $1200, with $600 of which she bought a piano, taking the remainder to elope with the man in question. They went to Georgia, but after three months she returned to her husband at his urgent request, because her child by him was so lonesome without her. Soon, however, she deserted him again, seem- ing unable to resist the man with whom she had lived, stating that she will remain with him, no matter what his relations with other women may be. This man is himself an illegitimate child, his mother having lived with his father for eighteen years without marriage because her husband refused to divorce her. He is an inventor, a fascinating man who is always in trouble, and considered by his friends to be mentally peculiar, but never- theless capable of exerting a dominating influence over the woman in question. After having been for some time out of employment he recently eloped with a woman for whom he claimed an affinity, and with whom he is thought to be living at present. In the meantime, however, those interested in the mother had succeeded in securing his marriage to her, al- though he did not live with her for more than a month. In contrast to most of the cases where little is known about the father, there is here a psychopathic examination of the man in question. He was at one time employed at one of our schools for the feeble-minded, seeking a position there because he claimed to be interested in mental peculiarities. The officers were doubtful as to his sanity, and he left without notice. He was discharged from his next place of employment, a machine shop where he was earning $10.40 a week, for inability to per- form his duties. He seems to have been continually afraid of detectives, and tells the story of having presented himself to an architect as an employee of the federal government, and 210 THE UNMARRIED MOTHER to have drawn up the plans for a fifty-thousand-dollar house. One finds indications of his being a skillful piano player, at which he could probably earn his living if he so desired. When ar- rested, this man wept, claiming that he would be perfectly willing to marry the mother of his children. When examined, he was found to be irrational along certain lines, but not com- mittable. Placed on probation and ordered to pay $9 a week for the support of his children, he delayed the marriage on every possible excuse, until finally the probation officer got him to come to his office, and upon sending for the woman, succeeded in having them married there. Among this man's character- istics is the fact that he ordinarily does exceedingly well in any position for a short time, frequently being promoted within a few days, only to become gradually indifferent to his work until he is discharged. His tendency towards falsifying is in- teresting in that his stories are ordinarily partly true, it being possible for him to see to it that the names, dates, and addresses are correct before he allows his imagination to soar. The man admits himself that he is unbalanced. At present it is planned to turn this woman's two oldest children over to public care, she and the father to be responsible for the support of the third. Case No. 51. Causative factors: (a) Sexually Suggestible by One: Husband brings boarder into home. Woman dominated by him. She then deserts husband and child. Sex +. Age 26. CHAPTER XIII Abnormal Sexualism General consideration - Difficulty of definition. General Consideration. In discussing the question of ab- normal sexualism, Healy admits that the criterion of abnormal- ity " is hard to define when it involves only slight divergence from the normal." He states, furthermore, that there is some doubt as to whether a discussion of this subject belongs rightly under the head of mental or physical peculiarity, holding that in some instances the conduct is clearly the product of mental processes, whereas in other cases a physiological basis seems strongest. According to this author there are several centers in the nervous system from which sex feeling may be generated, and he states that " As represented in consciousness, the sources of stimulation range all the way from peripheral irritation to mental imagery." 1 It is evident that there are individuals " whose sex characteristics show development far beyond the social or physiological norm." Healy holds that he has yet to see a single case in which such hypersexualism has arisen " with- out the presence either of various physical conditions, such as might readily be responsible, or of unfortunately early sex experiences." The correlation between overdevelopment and delinquency in girls in connection with questions of sex is evident and mani- fests itself at an earlier age than does hypersexualism in males. " There is," says Healy, " no such coloring of life's activities by one dominating impulse as there is among females. We have noted cases of an attraction on the part of negro men for white girls, which Healy interprets on the basis of hypersex- 1 Healy, William, op. cit., pp. 400 ff. 211 212 THE UNMARRIED MOTHER ualism of the female. He feels that undoubtedly this influence is a greater cause in delinquency in early life than in later, due to the obvious lack of adult self-control at that time, and in conclusion he describes this group by stating " that there are certain individuals of both sexes who by virtue of their own native characteristics, or of desires aroused by experience, are impelled to seek sexual enjoyment beyond the social norm." Difficulty of Definition. The public is rarely ever accustomed to think of women as playing anything but a passive part in the courtship leading up to sexual intercourse. The truth of the matter, however, is that the opinion which has been held in regard to the strength of the sexual impulse in woman has varied throughout several centuries and has been represented by two main traditions. Formerly women were considered to be completely dominated by their sexual desires, while there has been a tendency of late to minimize the strength of this impulse among them.1 The general results which have been reached in this study lead to the belief that the attitude of the public towards the unmarried mother is one colored by these more recent ideas with their tend- ency to underrate the strength of sexual desire among women. It is also probable that far from being beneficial to women as a whole, such a misconception may be distinctly detrimental to their progress in enlightenment and economic achievement. There is much indignity expressed in the common belief that women are what Havelock Ellis calls " crosses between angels and idiots ", who are possessed of no desire to enter into one of the most far-reaching emotional experiences of life excepting as passive participants, or who are, on the other hand, incapable of self-control. The truth of the matter is, that intercourse once established, there is probably little difference in the inten- sity of the desire between normal men and normal women, al- though its manifestation is of course distinctly varied. It becomes necessary to avoid interpreting the expression of sex desire on the part of the girls and young women in this study as abnormal, when it is remembered that in many in- 1 Ellis, Havelock: "Studies in the Psychology of Sex", Vol. Ill, pp. 155$. ABNORMAL SEXUALISM 213 stances the same amount of indulgence would have been con- sidered distinctly permissible if it had occurred within the mar- riage state. Consequently abnormal sexualism has been con- sidered to be the main causative factor in only one case, and that one in which an examination furnished the diagnosis of " well-marked nymphomania." In ten instances abnormal sexualism had been considered as a minor causative factor in the history of the girl or young woman in question. The following case is illustrative of this condition. Case 52. In this case we find an American girl of 18 showing decided indications of a negro heredity, yet passing for a white girl. Within the last two years she gave birth to two children, and when observed by a psychologist, was diagnosed as a well- marked case of nymphomania. Undoubtedly her isolated life on a farm with an adopted mother gave her little oppor- tunity for normal recreation, and thus cut off from legitimate companionship, easily turned her attention to the hired men on the farm. Her sex history was not quite clear, but it was fair to assume that she became pregnant both times by one of these employees. When her mother was interviewed, it was found that this girl had been promiscuous, and this report was confirmed later by her own confession. When she was but a few weeks old she was brought by her mother to the city authorities, and given into their care, as the mother was suffering from a fatal illness. It is not known whether she was illegitimate or not. At the age of two she was adopted by a good woman, a widow who had two children years older than this girl. They lived on a large farm, where they kept many cows and hens, and employed two hired men to look after the stock. Her life here was monotonous, but she looked back on childhood with some degree of pleasure. She attended a graded school, where she was considered an aver- age pupil. She graduated at 14, but did not care to go to high school, as she preferred to remain on the farm and help her mother. She played with girls at school, enjoying out-of-door games. Her mother stated that for years she had been possessed to " run after " the hired men. In appearance she was a small, slight girl, and gave one the impression of being not strong. It was learned that she had had much illness, including such diseases as pneumonia and scarlet fever. She was an efficient worker, and besides housework had been ward maid in a hos- pital, earning $18 a month and her board. She cared little 214 THE UNMARRIED MOTHER for reading, but did well any kind of hand work, such as piano playing, millinery, etc. Her first child was born at the age of 17 at a local hospital, and the city authorities who had placed her for adoption undertook her supervisory care. Her adopted mother was loyal to her through this experience and received her back into her home again, and the city took the entire responsibility of the child. When within a year she became pregnant again, her mother turned her from her home, and she again sought a refuge in public charity. At this hospital the girl became popular with the nurses because of her amiable dis- position and her efficiency in regard to her work. One felt that these nurses had a certain sense of pity for this girl, as they repeatedly asserted that she seemed starved for friendliness and affection. It was quite evident that she mourned over her mother's lack of interest in her in these two years. A psycho- logical examination made after the birth of the second child revealed the following facts. " Not insane, no signs of psychosis, well marked case of nymphomania, orientation un- impaired, current events poor, does not read paper, grasp on education good, memory good, neat, tidy, willing." On the physical side she was found to be suffering with gonorrhoea and syphilis, and she was poorly developed and under nourished. Her child was delicate, but at the end of two years no diagnosis of syphilis had been made. Her devotion to the child was evident, and she took unusually good care of it, cheerfully accepting the responsibility of her maternity. She stated that she had known the father a long time, but had not expected to marry him. At first she insisted that she had never had any other relationship except with this man, but later confessed that she had very frequently been promis- cuous with boys. This girl evinced a deep shame over her sex delinquencies, and could not bear to discuss them. Little is known about the father except that he had lived in the mother's home for some years, and was well thought of by the family. He was so well liked that when they realized this girl's condition and his responsibility for the second time, they turned the girl from the home and allowed him to remain. He never helped her with the expense for either of the children, and there were no steps taken to prosecute him. Case No. 52. Causative factors: (a) Abnormal Sex- ualism. Well-marked case of nymphomania. No psy- chosis. (Exam.) (6) Recreational Disadvantages: Lived on lonely farm, (c) Physical: Never strong. Under-de- veloped and ill-nourished. Sex + ++. Age 17. CHAPTER XIV Mental Conflict General consideration - Mental conflicts presuppose some emotional disturbance - Emotion-producing experiences - Not solely of sexual nature. General Consideration. Since the work of Freud and his school has become well known, much has been done to draw attention to those mental states which result in abnormal behavior. The theories upon which psycho-analysis rests have been discussed in another chapter. Doctor Healy sums up the matter as follows: "Full of meaning for us are the following main discoveries: Very much that is formative of character does not appear above the surface. Active inter- reactions of mental elements may be all unconsciously the motive forces of conduct. Experiences which come to the in- dividual with a great deal of emotional context are likely to cause the greatest amount of reaction. As through life in general so here, experiences, either inner or outer, related to sex life, in the broadest sense, show the strongest and subtlest reactions. Mental shock, psychic trauma, is produced fre- quently by experiences of which dearest relatives may be ig- norant. These traumata are experienced most frequently in our childhood. Mental conflicts occur on the basis of either outward experiences, physical sensations, or pure ideation, at ages so early as to be unsuspected. These conflicts may be entirely repressed, but do not thereby lose their force and sig- nificance for the formation of character tendencies. Repression of that which naturally needs expression is followed by reaction, which may vent itself mostly in the organism, or show as anom- alies of conduct. The cause of habit formations of many sorts 215 216 THE UNMARRIED MOTHER is deeper than appears on the surface, many of them being vicarious expression of hidden and even unconscious impulses to action." 1 Mental Conflicts Presuppose Some Emotional Disturbance. This author has no intention of asserting that the sole cause of the development of delinquent tendencies is always a mental conflict. A mental conflict, he says, " presupposes some emo- tional disturbance or else there would be no opposition between different elements of mental content or activity. Since nothing, but the innermost nature of animate beings, so stirs emotion as the affairs of sex life, taking this term in its broadest sense, it is to be presupposed that we should find most cases of mental conflict to be about hidden sex thoughts or imageries, and inner or environmental sex experiences. And so we have found it, but by no means all of our cases have had sex experience them- selves as an immediate basis of conflict. ... It is true that nearly all of the mental conflicts which have been brought to our attention in girls and young women have centered on un- fortunate aspects of the sex problem, sometimes, to be sure, existing only as matters of conceptional mental activity." It is evident that much of this unconscious inner strife and reac- tion is due to " the widespread and often morally fatal neglect of precautionary sanitation on the part of parents, who often leave children to struggle along or amid bad companionship with vilest introduction to the most wonderful, vital, and emotion- producing phenomena of life."2 This matter has been dealt with in the chapter on " Educational Disadvantages." Emotion-producing Experiences. Doctor Healy maintains that " hidden mental conflicts may arise, obviously, from any strong emotion-producing experience or thought which is re- pressed." The chief causes of mental conflicts are the following: a. Uncertainty, on the part of the child, concerning parentage. . . . The various forms of jealousy centered about a step-parent may also lead in the same direction. 1 Healy, William, op. cit., p. 119. See also Healy's "Mental Conflicts and Misconduct", Boston, 1917. 2 Healy, William, op. cit., p. 352^. MENTAL CONFLICT 217 b. Deceit and lies on the part of those presumably most to be trusted is another cause of deep emotional and moral upset. c. The various features of sex life, themselves the most emotion- provoking of all human experiences or aspects of mental life, naturally prove to be the most frequent cause of conflict. ... In such cases it is a universal rule that there has not been wholesome freedom of speech with those who ought to be confided in about these matters. d. Sensitive and fine natures may be thrown into much mental and moral perturbation by harsh treatment and false accusations on the part of those from whom affection and protection and guardian- ship is naturally expected. e. Deeply hidden emotions may be stirred to the point of uncon- sciously seeking reaction in misconduct through still other and less common causes, such as homesickness, and sensitiveness over a defect of speech, etc.1 Not Solely of Sexual Nature. Obviously all conflicts over sex matters do not result in sex delinquency, but rather in the production of that mental tension which issues explosively in some sort of antisocial conduct. Rarely, if ever, in this study, has sex intercourse been the immediate consequence of the conflict in the mind of the girl. Often her next step has been a departure from home or a realization that there was no longer any need of her attempting to maintain a good rep- utation, for information, recently gained, about her parentage has shown her that she must always be under a stigma. In only three cases has the conflict been well enough indicated to justify its being considered as a major factor in a girl's or young woman's behavior, and only in five instances has it been included as a minor factor. Mental conflicts of various kinds have an extremely important place in the lives of girls whose sex behavior has been antisocial. One becomes firmly con- vinced that were it possible to pursue this matter by the means of long continued personal studies, much would be found in the mind of the individual girl or young woman which, if properly treated by methods of mental hygiene and by environmental adjustment, would remove from the lives 1 Healy, William, op. cit., p. 356 ff. 218 THE UNMARRIED MOTHER of many the emotional friction causative of much unfortunate behavior. There follow two cases in illustration: Case 53. In this case this American girl of 14 was an ille- gitimate child. Her mother was a prostitute, and her father was considered eccentric, and his sister was insane. Later her mother died, and her father paid a sum of money to the foster parents for her subsequent care. As a small child she was affectionate and obedient, but after her eleventh year she became unruly and was considered promiscuous by the school- boys. At 14 she had a child at a local hospital. The foster family consisted of the mother, a woman of New England stock of average intelligence, and four children, all much older than this girl. The family held a good reputation in the community, and the home was comfortable, clean, and well-furnished. When this child was two years old, they had heard that she was to be put into an institution, and being unusually attractive they decided to take her into their home as a daughter. She developed normally, but after menstrua- tion at 11 became anemic and rather frail. She attended church, was a member of the Young People's Society, and a general favorite in the church. At school she was reported as being mentally precocious. In the lower grades she had done well, and was not troublesome. She entered the sixth grade at 11, and began at this time to go around with the boys. The teacher reported that she once found her in a doorway with three boys in a compromising position. She attended the ninth grade while eight months pregnant. Her girl companions were also disreputable. One of these girls admitted to the agent that she had marvelled that she also had not had a child. The girl in question lacked an appreciation of any standards on sex matters, and excused her promiscuous conduct because of the knowledge of her mother's former life. Her family shielded her during her last month of pregnancy and boarded her away from home, explaining to friends that she was visiting. After the birth of her child, the foster mother claimed to be in igno- rance of the paternity, and said that she had not wished to speak with her daughter about so painful a subject. Later the State took this child for adoption, because they felt the foster home to be a respectable one, and therefore to present an opportunity whereby the girl might develop into a respectable woman. This girl accused a schoolboy of being the father of her child. He was a boy of high standing in the community and was well MENTAL CONFLICT 219 thought of by teachers and pupils. He admitted that he had had intercourse with the girl twice, but was able to produce four boys who had also been promiscuous with her. He said he had heard that this girl was " soft " and felt a very great temptation to go with her, which he has since deeply regretted. He also stated that this girl encouraged him in these relation- ships. A financial settlement was not demanded on account of the girl's immorality. Case No. 53. Causative factors: (a) Mental Conflict: Lack of standards on sex matters. Mental conflict due to knowledge of mother being a prostitute. Girl herself illegitimate. Bright. (5) Heredity: Father immoral; ec- centric. Mother prostitute. Father's sister insane, (c) Physical: Anemic type. Early maturity. Menstruated at 11. (d) Bad Companions: Considered public property by schoolboys. Went with immoral girls, (e) Early Sex Experience: Began career at 11. Pregnant at 14. Sex + + + + . Age 14. Case 54. Among those few cases in which it seemed that a mental conflict was directly responsible for a girl's pregnancy, may be mentioned that of this girl of American parentage who gave birth to an illegitimate child when she was 19 years old. Little is known of her parents, save that they were both immoral, and her mother is thought to be dead. She was a hunchback, employed in a shoe shop, and is described as having been " deformed in body and mind." The girl in question was herself an illegitimate child. When this girl was 7 years old she was placed in the care of the town in which she had residence, being boarded in various families up to the time of her graduation from the high school, when she went to work. From all accounts she was a good type of girl, whose health is at present none too good, and very despondent over her present condition. She bore an excellent reputation and was employed in a printing establishment, and later did housework at a wage of $4 a week. In appearance we find her to be unusually attractive. During her pregnancy she showed moments of great depression, sometimes giving indications of an alarming mental state during which she was unwilling to work. This girl's mental conflict centers around the fact that she was an illegitimate child. She had for some time been engaged to a man who broke the engagement when he learned the de- tails of her birth. He claims that he had a great amount of 220 THE UNMARRIED MOTHER respect for this girl, and as far as he knew, she gave no indication which would lead any one to think that she might follow in her mother's footsteps, but nevertheless he thought it wise for him to follow his mother's judgment and to give her up. The girl herself was devoted to this young man, and never knew that she was an illegitimate child until his mother told her of the fact, becoming tremendously depressed upon hearing the information. She became so run down physically that it was necessary for her to leave her work and seek a rest in the country. At this time a young man of 23, whom she had known for a year and a half, invited her to visit his people in a neigh- boring State, and the girl went there in search of rest. Soon after her arrival she states that she was in the kitchen one even- ing, when this young man came into the room, picked her up, and carried her into his bedroom off the kitchen, where he as- saulted her. She claims that she kicked and screamed without effect, and that every one else was in bed, and did not hear her. According to her statement, this man had never been familiar with her before, and she herself had never had intercourse with any one else. She left this place the next morning, much to the chagrin of the man in question, and soon found herself pregnant. After her confinement, this girl felt that it was necessary for her to give up her child, because as the knowledge of her own illegitimacy had wrecked her life, she wished to do all that she could to save her child from the same disgrace. It took her several weeks to come to this conclusion, and she became hysterical when her child was finally given in adoption. This girl's story of assault is discredited by those in charge, and the chief emphasis is laid on the mental state occasioned by the breaking off of her attachment with the man with whom she was anticipating marriage. The probability is of course that she became less careful in her behavior, and that she allowed him to become familiar with her. That such a result may follow a shock of this description is indicated by the fre- quency with which other kinds of delinquency manifest them- selves after mental conflicts of this kind. It is particularly interesting to note how important a part the state of mind resulting after the information concerning her birth had been imparted to her, played in this girl's analysis of her own condi- tion. Although she was unwilling to admit that she had not been assaulted, she attributed to the shock sustained by her all the consequences except that of her intimacy with the young man in question, claiming that it was this that had ruined her life. MENTAL CONFLICT 221 Case No. 54. Causative factors: (a) Mental Conflict: Engagement broken because man found her to be illegiti- mate. Girl soon pregnant by another. (6) Bad Home Conditions: Nothing known of girl's parents. Girl boarded since 7 years old. (c) Heredity: Mother and father im- moral. Sex +. Age 19. CHAPTER XV Assault, Incest and Rape General Consideration - Not causative factors - Incest. General Consideration. Those who have read through the cases which have been submitted in the various chapters have undoubtedly recognized with what frequency assault stories figure in the sex histories. There is a natural desire on the part of a girl, when first interviewed, to throw the blame for her behavior on the man, and the result has been that many surprising attempts to concoct stories which would succeed in this endeavor have been found. A study of this kind reveals the similarity of such invention, and shows how uniform the mental processes of girls, who are brought up in the same cul- ture group, appear to be. Almost invariably these assault stories break down upon cross-examination, and there appear only 14 cases in our 500 in which it has seemed justifiable to accept the girl's statement as true. The public, and particularly that section of the public which is swayed by feeling more than by reason, is prone to the belief that all of the idealism of the race rests in women, that they are the conservers of all that is pure and high- minded, and that without this, the tendency would be towards absolute materialism. Such a group is loath to recognize the fact that in a study like this, at least, the woman plays a part that is by no means passive, and that she is in most cases equally responsible for her condition. Not Causative Factors. In the study of causative factors, however, it has been found necessary to place under a special chapter heading those cases of assault, incest, and rape in which the heredity and mental states, as well as the environ- 222 ASSAULT, INCEST AND RAPE 223 mental factors in a girl's life, would obviously have had but little influence on her conduct. Only such cases have been accepted in which the man has received legal sentence, or such in which the girl has not varied her story under repeated cross-exami- nation, with the result that those interested in her have accepted it as true. One may state that even with those omissions, suspicion is aroused concerning at least one case which is submitted under this head. Incest. The attitude of society towards incest is to a great extent based upon the need of maintaining the family unit intact, as well as upon the advantages obtained by procreating outside of the sphere of consanguinity. Biologists are of the impression that incestuous intercourse is harmful to the pos- sible offspring chiefly because of the danger which thus comes from a reduplication of bad traits existing in the same stock, and from the fact that it minimizes the chance of such traits being " recessive." The popular belief that sexual attraction cannot exist between people of blood relationship is probably ill-founded, as is proven by the fact that a brother and sister, if separated and kept unaware of their relationship, may, other things being equal, form an attachment for each other which may be as intense as that of any other individuals. So large a part does curiosity play in courtship that the chief reason which prevents a sexual attraction from springing up between blood relatives under ordinary conditions is that the familiarity existing between such individuals is ordinarily so great that no sexual curiosity exists. The situation existing when intercourse takes place be- tween a girl and an uncle, or with her brothers, or even with her own father, is sufficiently antisocial in its consequences to arouse the instinctive horror of most people. This attrac- tion on the part of the relatives for the girl in question is of course brought about by various conditions, among which may be the alcoholism of the father or his frank sex attraction for this particular girl. Frequently instances of great abuse result. There is one case in which sex desire seems to have arisen spontaneously between a young girl and her uncle, whose 224 THE UNMARRIED MOTHER intimacy had up to that time been perfectly natural. The relationship existing between a girl and her brother-in-law is of course by no means surprising and falls normally into that group presenting no unusual characteristics. The actual cases follow. Case 55. In this case a Canadian girl of 14 was brought up in a vicious neighborhood in a large city. Her father, an excitable man, was a skilled workman, and provided a com- fortable home for his wife and child. There had been many domestic troubles in the paternal family. His mother had eloped, leaving a husband and three children, and was not married to her second husband until after the birth of their fifth child. A daughter of this marriage had an illegitimate child by her half brother. The father of the child in this case was the girl's uncle, also illegitimate. The girl's mother was an ignorant woman who was entirely dominated by her hus- band. There is a suspicion throughout the record that the girl's own father may have had relations with her, and possibly may have been the father of her child. This point of view is somewhat supported by the fact that her father persistently endeavored to extort money from the alleged father for his own use, and was willing to prosecute him, regardless of his daughter's reputation. He succeeded in getting a large sum of money from this brother. Also, her parents unwittingly said at the maternity home that they expected an earlier con- finement than the facts warranted. This child, full term, was born a month earlier than expected. As soon as her parents had made this admission, they became alarmed, and said: " This looks bad for us." The girl was an attractive, refined child with unusual poise. Throughout her experiences she manifested a shallow irrespon- sibility, and even her child failed to make an appeal. Few facts were gained concerning her early life. She had always been a healthy child. She left high school during her first year because of her pregnancy. At school she was considered a " tolerably good scholar ", with an average rank of B. The principal spoke of her as a girl with ideals, and considered her one of the best girls at school, though she lacked force, and was apparently a suggestible type. She showed no abnormal interest in boys at school. At home she was closely guarded, and was never allowed to go out and play with the other chil- dren. She was even debarred from school entertainments. Her uncle, and the alleged father of her child, said his first ASSAULT, INCEST AND RAPE 225 interest in this girl was aroused when he realized how few rec- reations she was permitted. He took her to the park to see the flowers because he sympathized with her loneliness. This man held a responsible position, and was much respected. His wife, suffering with tuberculosis, and four boys lived in the South. His refinement and self-reproach over his repre- hensible conduct, and his desire to right the wrong as far as possible, made an appeal to all who had dealings with him, and an effort was made to prevent his arrest for rape. The girl protested that she had intercourse with the father but once. She said that he had been kind to her, and she remained loyal to him when the facts of their intimacy became known. The man implied that the girl had taken the initiative in their re- lationship. Although he accepted full responsibility for his conduct, yet he could not understand how she could have been pregnant by him, as he had only partial intercourse with her. The child was born at a maternity home and later given in adoption. Case No. 55. Causative factors: (a) Assault: Girl of 14 pregnant by married uncle. Himself illegitimate. Son of alcoholic father. Girl's paternal aunt had child by half brother. (6) Lack of Recreational Opportunities: Home life very strict. Age 15. Case 56. The subject of this history of wretched home conditions is a girl of Irish parentage whose child was born when she was 16 years old. In spite of her environment, her health was good, and she does not seem to have been mentally defective, although we have not the benefit of an examination. Little could be learned about her father save that he died some years ago, since which the mother has been regularly immoral and alcoholic. There is one son, a drunkard. It would be difficult to picture a worse home. The mother, son, and daughter lived in two rooms, one of which contained three articles of furniture, a sliding couch, a table, and a chair. On this couch the three slept together. This girl grew up in the midst of immorality, having witnessed scenes between her mother and men whom she brought home, while still very young. Coupled with this was poverty due to the shiftlessness of the mother and her son, it being necessary for the Overseers of the Poor to help at intervals. This girl was arrested at 16 for larceny, and sent to an institution, at which time she had to be taught how to wash herself and care for her person. She was eight months pregnant, seemed flirtatious, and became 226 THE UNMARRIED MOTHER upset at the sight of a man. Her child weighed eleven pounds at birth, and she experienced two bad convulsions during confinement. A year later, when placed at housework with her child, she showed a marked improvement and a distinct desire to do her duty by the child, so that she received the commendation of all who had to do with her case. The father of her child settled the suit for $150 soon after the child's birth, and later, after the girl's improvement became evident, he married her. She is looked upon as having made a splendid response to reformatory treatment. This girl says that she began to be immoral at the age of 11. Her older brother, a drunkard, had relations with her as well as with her mother in her presence for a period of two years. Since the age of 15 she has been promiscuous with many boys, having intercourse at least three times each week. Case No. 56. Causative factors: (a) Assault: Girl had intercourse with brother. (6) Bad Home Conditions: Atro- cious conditions at home. Mother, brother, and girl slept on one couch. Girl immoral for years with brother, and he with mother, (c) Educational Disadvantages: Could not take care of person. Knew nothing about work. Sex + + ++• Age 16. Case 57. Among the cases of incest is that of this Russian girl who bore a stillborn child to her own father when she was 15 years of age, and another ten months later. Her father, who was responsible for both pregnancies, was born in Russia and was a worker on the railway. He had been arrested be- fore for abusing his wife. Her mother, who seemed to be men- tally weak, and spent and pathetic in appearance, threw the whole problem on to her daughter, saying that she herself was incapable of doing anything in the matter. The fraternity includes two sisters and a brother under 10 years of age. This family lived in poverty in a small town, having come from Russia thirteen years ago. The father, an alcoholic, caused a great deal of quarreling in the home, and was con- tinually abusive to his wife and children. The mother always forgave him because of the fact that otherwise there would be no one to support the children. The lack of control and supervision at home was complicated by the fact that the mother was frequently ill. At such times the family received help from the Overseers and from private societies. There is no psychological examination of this girl, but there does not seem to be any indication of mental deficiency. Her health is ex- ASSAULT, INCEST AND RAPE 227 cellent, and there is nothing of significance in the developmental history. This girl, who was willing to talk, and desirous of sympathy, manifested a desire to make the situation as easy for her mother as she possibly could. A certain slackness is shown by the fact that she does not seem to recognize her con- dition, and is somewhat slow in her work. She realizes her responsibility as a wage-earner in the family, the others de- pending on her for the $7.30 which she earns in a woolen mill. The girl's mother considers her husband to be absolutely use- less, and maintains that her daughter is in no way to blame. The father has been arrested and sent to prison. The girl's father, a big and abusive individual, given to drink- ing, turned his attention to his daughter during his wife's ill- ness, and threatened to kill both the girl and her mother if she refused. One notes the fact that this relationship must have continued for some time in order for the girl to have become twice pregnant by him. She finally went to a priest, and on his advice had her father arrested. The second child died at the age of five months. Case No. 57. Causative factors: (a) Assault: Had two children in ten months by alcoholic father. (6) Bad Home Conditions: During mother's illness father attacked daughter. Alcoholic. Sex I. Age 15. Case 58. Very different indeed from those cases in which there is nothing but the girl's word in regard to the assault are those in which a court charge has been preferred against the man. Such is that of this girl of English parentage who gave birth to an illegitimate child when she was 17 years of age. Her father, who formerly made $12 a week as a meat cutter, has recently been conducting a lunch counter; her mother, having gone hopelessly insane a few years ago, was deported to England. The fraternity includes three sisters and a brother under 15. The girl's father worked as an employee in a market for years, and was so successful that he started in business for himself, since which he has lost a great deal of money. He was recently run over by an express wagon, and has not yet recovered from the effects, and is at present hardly making a living, being considerably in debt. On top of this misfortune he had a fire in his shop which caused him further loss. He states that his wife's insanity is due to the fact that a plank fell, striking her on the head. This man's family lives in several poorly furnished rooms which seem to be clean, the girl in 228 THE UNMARRIED MOTHER question being occupied in helping her father in his shop. She is slow in action and in speech, appearing to be somewhat dull mentally. On the other hand, she has never given her father any trouble, and according to him it is her indifference which is responsible for her condition, for he states that if she had obeyed him, she would never have found herself in her predicament. According to the workers of one of the societies interested in this girl, hers is a clear case of assault. She states that she was keeping the shop for her father, and that no one was there but herself when a man came in and assaulted her. Her father states that he left her alone in order to deliver some goods and told her to lock up immediately and to go home, and that she was rather slow about it, loitering around until the neighbor- ing shops were closed. According to him, his store was so located that an outcry on the part of the girl could have been heard by no one at that hour. The man who assaulted this girl had been in the shop frequently, and had succeeded in striking up a friendship with the girl's father, with the result that he now believes that this was premeditated with the pur- pose of bringing him into contact with his daughter. Upon investigation it was discovered that this man had twice as- saulted the 12-year-old sister of the girl, and that she had been ashamed to say anything about it before. The girl's child has been given in adoption, and the man has been arrested, receiving a sentence of seven years in prison for assault and rape on this girl's younger sister. Charges against him on account of his relations with the girl in question are now pend- ing. Case No. 58. Causative factors: (a) Assault: (Rape). Girl took care of father's shop. Raped. (6) Mentality: Dull. No interest. Sex A. Age 17. CHAPTER XVI Mental Abnormality General considerations - Mental defect incurable - Extent of feeble- mindedness - Psychological examinations - Specialized defects - Definitions - Mental subnormality - Feeble-mindedness - Feeble-minded Morons - Special defect-self-control - Mental aberration - Dementia praecox - Hysterical mental aberrations - Psychic constitutional inferiority - Conclusions. General Consideration. The modern student of social con- ditions has become increasingly conscious of the part played by mental abnormality as a cause of crime, pauperism, and illegitimacy. Much has been done to attract public attention to the number of mentally abnormal individuals in the popula- tion, and various plans are being evolved in the hope of miti- gating the burden which this factor throws upon society. The old belief that the criminal and the alcoholic were delinquent, in spite of knowledge and ability to do better, has given way to a more scientific attitude towards delinquency in general which takes into consideration the question of inherent in- capacity. Aside from recognizing the end product, the com- munity is now coping with the causes themselves in an attempt by such means as the modern study of mental hygiene to affect the problem at its source. Mental Defect Incurable. In spite of this increased knowl- edge, there are still individuals who maintain that a delinquent boy or girl who is mentally defective may be trained under proper conditions. To them the cause of misconduct may seem to lie in insufficient supervision at home, in poor educa- tional advantages, or in some sort of faulty environment, so that a change of surrounding might be capable of eradicating 229 230 THE UNMARRIED MOTHER the defect. The history of institutional care for the feeble- minded, however, proves that the majority of such cases will show but slight improvement, even under the most ideal con- ditions. We are not dealing here with willful wrongdoing, but with an inherent incapacity to function properly in a highly organized society. Extent of Feeble-mindedness. Various estimates have been made of the percentage of the feeble-minded in the population at large, but no definite conclusions have been reached. Doctor Healy is confident that from ten to thirty per cent of the re- formatory and prison population in this country is feeble- minded, and that mental defect " forms the largest single cause of delinquency to be found by correlating tendency to offend with characteristics of the offender." 1 Goddard states that those who have studied the problem most thoroughly are of the belief that at least two per cent of our school popu- lation is feeble-minded and that the majority of these are morons or border-line cases.2 At present the task is not that of determining the actual number of mental defectives in the community, but of recognizing that the percentage is larger than had been thought, and of developing methods for alleviat- ing the condition of the feeble-minded and for lessening their cost to society. In 1911 a commission headed by Doctor Walter E. Fernald of the Massachusetts School for the Feeble-minded, which re- ported upon the increase of mental defectives in the State,3 emphasized a certain difficulty inherent in the attempt to compare the number of feeble-minded persons in the State with the number to be found twenty years before. For the period from 1890 to 1894 the number of feeble-minded in institutions averaged 700 per year at a ratio of .295 to every thousand of the population, whereas for the period from 1905 to 1909 the number had reached 1473, forming a ratio of .462 to the popu- 1 Healy, William, op. cit., p. 427. 2 Goddard, H. H.: "Feeble-mindedness, Its Causes and Consequences", New York, 1914. 3 "The Increase of Criminals, Mental Defectives, Epileptics, and Degener- ates", Boston, 1911. MENTAL ABNORMALITY 231 lation. It is very evident that these figures were influenced by the gradual increase in the capacity of the institutions, and by the fact that the friends of the feeble-minded had acquired greater confidence in these institutions than they formerly possessed. According to this report private investi- gation indicated that there were at least two feeble-minded persons to every thousand of the population of the State, ag- gregating a total of over 6,700 feeble-minded at large. Some years later a commission again headed by Doctor Fernald made an investigation of the so-called " White Slave Traffic " in the commonwealth,1 a section of which was devoted to the mental characteristics of prostitutes. Of 300 prostitutes examined, representing the type known as " streetwalkers", 154 or 51 per cent were feeble-minded, and in each instance the mental defect was sufficiently pronounced to have warranted legal commitment. Comment is made that in spite of this, the general appearance and bearing of many of these women would not suggest feeble-mindedness to an inexperienced ob- server. Of these 154 women, none possessed the mentality of a 12-year-old child, whereas 117 were rated by the Binet system as falling within the group of 9 and 10 years mental age. The 135 women designated as normal were of distinctly inferior intelligence. Further light is thrown upon the subject by various investi- gations of more recent date, as a result of which many feeble- minded individuals were located in the Massachusetts State Infirmary, in the State hospitals for the insane, in the Massa- chusetts training schools, and in other institutions. The report of the " League for Preventive Work " in Boston states that in spite of overcrowded conditions in the Massachu- setts State Infirmary, more than two hundred feeble-minded individuals had been in the institution during the preceding winter.2 The same investigation indicated that 3.6 per cent of the total enrollment in state hospitals were mentally defec- tive, and that in the Industrial School for Girls at Lancaster, 1 White Slave Traffic, So Called, House No. 2281, Boston, 1914. 2 "Feeble Minded Adrift", League for Preventive Work, Boston, 1916. 232 THE UNMARRIED MOTHER which had an average daily population of 281, mental tests in 249 instances revealed a percentage of 19.1 of this number to be feeble-minded. Attention is here drawn to the fact that all of these girls must be discharged when 21 years of age, and that unless provision is made for their care, they will be re- turned unprotected to community life. According to this report, there are probably about fifteen thousand feeble-minded individuals in Massachusetts at the present time. Similar conditions prevail in New Hampshire, where a recent investigation reveals a ratio of .95 of the total population to be feeble-minded. A survey of the orphanages of this State showed 21 per cent to be mentally defective, whereas of 147 children in the New Hampshire Industrial School, only three were found to be normal.1 These figures could undoubt- edly be duplicated in many communities. Turning more specifically to the interrelation between mental abnormality and illegitimacy, one finds oneself in a field where fewer investigations have been made. A questionnaire was recently sent by a worker at the Psychopathic Hospital to many social agencies in Boston, and interesting returns were received from a number of organizations dealing particularly with unmarried mothers. In two institutions, namely the House of Mercy and the State Infirmary, an average of 22.3 per cent of the inmates were diagnosed as psychopathic. The author of this study is convinced that a sufficient number of feeble-minded and insane persons are included among the mothers with illegitimate children who become dependent, to warrant further systematic study.2 It is interesting that of the agencies covered in this report thirteen made use of mental tests only when the defect was obvious, with the result that only 1.3 per cent of their cases were considered mentally abnormal. Eleven agencies made use of mental tests when the history of their charges suggested the need for examination, 1 Streeter: "The Feebleminded in Relation to the Parish and Community." 2 Wright, Helen M.: "Routine Mental Tests as the Proper Basis of Practical Measures in Social Service: A first study made from 30,000 cases cared for by 27 organizations in Boston and surrounding districts." Boston Medical and Surgical Journal, December, 1916. MENTAL ABNORMALITY 233 and in this instance the total mental cases amounted to 4.3 per cent of the number dealt with. There were, however, three agencies in which mental examinations were given as part of the routine care, and here the total number of mental cases found reached 19.2 per cent. On the basis of her experi- ence at the Psychopathic Hospital in Boston, the author of this study recommends that social agencies should keep an index of the insane, feeble-minded, epileptic, and asocial persons enrolled, and that all agencies dealing with unmarried mothers, delinquents, and dependent children should establish as an essential routine the careful physical and mental examina- tion of every individual under their care. Psychological Examinations. In this chapter it is hardly possible to do more than to indicate the results which others have found. One must hesitate to classify as mentally abnormal any girl or woman who has not had the benefit of a psychological examination, and yet many instances appear in which a girl's history indicates that she most probably belongs in the group under discussion. The experience of many social agencies with mental tests is of interest here. Out of the 500 cases included in this study, 132 or 26.4 per cent appear to have had the benefit of a mental examination. In that group which appeared to be suffering from mental abnormality, as suggested either by mental tests or by suggestive histories, mental examinations of varying value were given in 100 out of 157 instances. Al- though there can be no scientific value to classification based solely on suggestive history, it is worth noting that in this study 77 individuals were considered by us as possibly mentally abnormal who had never received mental examinations. Were it possible to find these results substantiated by tests, one would be led to the conclusion that 35.4 per cent of the 500 cases studied were girls or women whose mental condition was sufficiently abnormal to have made a psychological examina- tion desirable. In discussing the mental condition of the girls and young women in question, one is forced into extreme conservatism. Frequently the case record contains a report in regard to a 234 THE UNMARRIED MOTHER girl's mentality which has not been sufficiently descriptive to warrant an attempt at definite classification. The whole question of definition, in fact, is one which is still in an inde- terminate state, and phrases which mean very little are in constant use. Only too often one finds such terms as " moral imbecile ", " moral cripple ", or " moral monstrosity ", terms which careful scientists criticize on the ground of accuracy. The phrase " defective delinquent ", for instance, may mean one thing in a certain instance and something entirely different in another. The result is that the student is quickly led to the conclusion that in regard to mental abnormality he is working in a field whose outlines have not yet been determined, and that much current discussion on the subject is of necessity inexact. In this connection it is interesting to note the readi- ness with which some social workers are willing to consider the unmarried mother as mentally abnormal because of the very nature of her behavior. An effort is indeed being made to secure the passage of a law which would segregate auto- matically a woman who has given birth to two illegitimate children, on the ground that this alone is sufficient to indicate the need of institutional care. No woman of normal mentality, it is argued, will become pregnant a second time after the shock and the social disapprobation ordinarily connected with un- married motherhood. In our study, however, only 57.4 per cent of the girls and women who had undergone two or more pregnancies suggested mental abnormality as a prime causative factor in their behavior. Care should be taken on the other hand against underesti- mating the seriousness of feeble-mindedness and mental aber- ration in relation to illegitimacy, a problem which is constantly claiming greater attention of the community. Those who read the cases which are included in this chapter should not find it difficult to appreciate the cost to society which these girls and women occasion. Restrictive measures are very evidently necessary. That the feeble-minded boy or man does not constitute as pressing a social problem becomes ap- parent when one realizes that in many instances a girl suffering MENTAL ABNORMALITY 235 from some type of mental defect is yet frequently possessed of potent physical attraction, as a result of which men of normal mentality are led to approach her sexually. The reverse of this situation exists in the case of the feeble-minded boy or man, who is ordinarily sexually unattractive to the normal woman. It is still a fact, however, that a considerable number of mentally defective girls possess no attractiveness of any kind, are often repulsive and misshapen, and constitute the most tragic element in this study. That many such become unmarried mothers reflects upon the state of development which the sex instinct has reached in many men, for a large number of the women in this study can have served only as a purely mechanical means of sexual gratification. Contrary to popular opinion, the mentally abnormal girl is not necessarily possessed of extraordinarily developed sex instincts, but rather of markedly undeveloped inhibitions. That this belief has not found more acceptance may be due to the fact that many sentimentally inclined individuals are unwilling to acknowledge the existence of an instinct in normal women which produces the result with which we are familiar when all inhibitions have been removed. That much could be accomplished by more intensive study of such a group as is here surveyed, should be evident after the reading of our cases. Without doubt a mental examination of each of the 167 girls or women in this group would have resulted in an interesting collection, if not of well-marked cases of mental defect or psychosis, at least of extremely illuminating examples of special defect or peculiarity. Specialized Defects. In the attempt to acquire a perspective of the general subject of mental abnormality, it should be remembered that it is not only the well-defined groups of defectives or those showing well-marked aberrational tenden- cies who are likely to become the mothers of illegitimate chil- dren, but that such a specialized defect as that of abnormal lack of self-control may lead an ordinarily intelligent woman into this predicament. Social workers should come to recog- nize not only the fairly obvious groups of mental abnormalities, 236 THE UNMARRIED MOTHER but those involving a more subtle analysis. There is indeed a possibility that the study of the individual may reach such a high degree of differentiation that each case will tend to stand out separately as possessed of so many mental characteristics that classification in any group save a most general one becomes impossible. Human personality is capable of infinite dissim- ilarity. Definitions. The literature on mental abnormality is of course very large, and there still exists a considerable variety of opinion on many questions of definition. For the sake of classification of mental defect, however, the point has been reached in which it is no longer necessary to be vague. The American Association for the Study of the Feeble-minded has adopted definitions which are now in general use. Definitions. The term " mental abnormality " is generally considered to contain five subdivisions: (1) By mental defect is meant " a definite lack of general mental ability as an irrevocable characteristic. From some cause existing in the germ plasm or occurring early in the growth of the individual, mental potentials never became normal. Full-development capacity was never present and never can be gained. Mental defect is incurable." 1 (2) It is frequently necessary, furthermore, to recognize such groups as those which contain individuals who are mentally dull from poor physical condition, or from the indulgence in various debilitating habits. (3) Between feeble-mindedness and insanity lies psychic constitutional inferiority. Individuals belonging in this group are usually considered to be incapable of social self-control under ordinary conditions, and to be so on the border-line as to prove unacceptable to either institutions for the feeble-minded or those for the insane. (4) Mental aberrations may occur in individuals who are not primarily mentally defective, and those who are suffering from a mental disease which is often curable as bodily diseases are curable. 1 Healy, William, op. cit., p. 144. MENTAL ABNORMALITY 237 (5) Among those subject to some form of mental peculiarity may be included persons who cannot be said to be possessed of aberrational tendencies, but whose abnormal behavior is yet determined by some special mental twist. Idiot Imbecile . Moron Feeble-minded Subnormal Defective only in some special abil- ity Mental Defect Mental Dullness from Physical Condition Constitutional Inferior- ity Mental Aberration (Insanities-Psychoses Psychopathies) Mental Peculiarities Mental Abnormalities Permanent Temporary Major types Minor types f Chronic [ Temporary Chronic , Temporary Mental Subnormality. There is a fairly well-distinguished group of defectives who are generally held to stand between feeble-mindedness and abnormality, and who for lack of a better word may be designated as subnormal. Among these are found those (a) who may pass a mental test above the level of feeble-mindedness and yet still show sufficient lack of ability to adapt themselves to their environment; (5) those who are unable to pass the test successfully and yet are pos- sessed of capacities which make them capable of caring for themselves; (c) those temporarily retarded during school age without showing three or four years' retardation; (d) and finally those in whom one is not sure of anything save that they are not quite up to the normal mental powers as shown by tests. Furthermore individuals who may pass the ordinary mental tests must sometimes be considered subnormal for their own social sphere. As illustrative of the mental state of women who give birth to illegitimate children and who have been clas- sified as mentally subnormal, the following history is submitted. 238 THE UNMARRIED MOTHER Case 59. This is the case of a border-line defective of Irish parentage who had her first child when she was 17 years old. She is in good physical condition, and shows no evidence of illnesses during her developmental period. The girl's father is alcoholic and immoral, possessing a long prison record, and being given to acts of brutality at home. Her mother, a cred- ulous woman, seems irresponsible. There are two brothers, one of whom has a court record, and a sister. There seems to have been continuous friction in this family, due to the father's habits, which ended in his desertion. They occupy a well-kept tenement in a poor section, for which the rental is $2.50 a week for four rooms, the girl and her mother occupying one of them. We note a lack of control on the part of the mother over her children, and an unwillingness to cooper- ate with organized efforts for her improvement. The family seem to have been anxious to get her married and to have pre- vented her being placed out at the age of 12, a method of treat- ment which might have saved them later trouble. We have no history of her physical condition during childhood. An examination at the age of 19 gives her mentality as Binet 12, and calls her a " defective delinquent of border-line type." She was particularly bad-tempered during menstruation. This girl reached the eighth grade in school, and showed no marked peculiarities, but soon after got into difficulty with her bad companions. Her specialty seems to have been that of an accomplice in various robberies; once with another girl and two boys, she lured a drunken man into a doorway, where- upon the boys took five dollars and a silver watch from him. She and another girl once wrangled with a Chinaman over a laundry bill while boys rifled his cash drawer. During this period she worked irregularly in a brush factory and a depart- ment store, and showed absolutely no progress towards self- control and decency. At 16 she was committed to an organi- zation giving institutional care on the charge of "larceny ", and while there proved troublesome, boisterous, and given to the use of vile language. Later when placed out, she seems to have paid little attention to her person, allowing her head to become so filthy that a hairdresser charged ten dollars to clean it, but showing unexpected common sense in some things, and doing her work satisfactorily. This girl is reported to have gone to New York with a girl and two boys for a week at the age of 12, and she confessed in court to having been immoral before commitment, and to having given birth to a child at 17. She ran from the institution, and MENTAL ABNORMALITY 239 was not located for several months, during which time she lived with a man for a week, and was immoral with others. When found, she was at home in bed with her 19-year-old brother, and was pregnant. She was willing to marry the alleged father of her child, but on investigation he was found to be worthless, and the matter was dropped. She and her child are now doing well, and those in charge of the girl look upon her as a reassuring case. Case No. 59. Causative factors: (a) Mentality: Sub- normal. (5) Bad Home Conditions: Girl's father alcoholic and immoral. Brutal. Long court record. No control at home. Low standard, (c) Bad Companions: Went with group who robbed. Stole. Sex + + + . Age 17. Feeble-mindedness. Although actual feeble-mindedness constitutes a very serious problem in our communities, one must not leave out of consideration the fact that it is ordinarily an inherent lack in the individual plus an unfortunate environ- mental stimulus which causes the pregnancy of many of the girls and women under consideration. Many a border-line case may behave extremely well with only slight supervision. The difficulty ordinarily arises when for some reason a feeble- minded girl or young woman has little supervision, or finds herself in a situation where opportunities for sexual indulgence exist, or where definite persuasion is exerted upon her by some other individual. Many of the women in this study would undoubtedly become pregnant as frequently as they were physi- cally capable of so doing were the opportunity at hand, a fact which points to the need of their segregation. It is, however, not only the low-grade feeble-minded who form a dangerous class in the community, but particularly those border-line cases who sometimes possess special capacity. The determination of these groups has for some time past been simplified by the use of mental tests introduced by Binet and Simon and developed by Goddard, Yerkes, Terman, and others. The results of these tests are open to varying inter- pretations, much depending upon the skill of the individual who makes use of them and upon the history of the patient. Mental tests probably mean little unless they are interpreted 240 THE UNMARRIED MOTHER in connection with the social and physical history of the indi- vidual. Feeble-minded-Morons. The British Royal Commission for the Study of the Feeble-minded includes in its report in 1908 several definitions. According to this commission, a moron is defined " as one who is capable of earning a living under favorable circumstances, but is incapable from mental defect, existing from birth, or from an early age, (a) of competing on equal terms with his normal fellows; or (6) managing himself and his affairs with ordinary prudence." As defined by the American Association, morons are those who under mental tests can equal the mental performance of a normal child between the ages of 7 and 12 years. It should be added that the tests do not always reveal some special capacity making for social success. The importance of this group in the study of the unmarried mother should be evident from the following cases. The sexual behavior of these girls is so uniform that the community cannot long ignore their influence upon public health and upon the extent of criminality. Case 60. As an indication of combined bad environment and mental defect, we note the case of a girl of English-American parentage who had a child when she was 18 years old. A psychological examination defined her as a defective delinquent, and states that she will probably always give trouble. Physi- cally her history is negative; she seems to be a well-developed young woman, being 5 feet 2 inches tall, and weighing 142 pounds at the age of 19. Her father, an upholsterer who is alcoholic and given to deserting his family at frequent intervals, while at home is generally abusive. Her mother, of Nova Scotian stock, is described as clean and hard-working, but possessed of little intelligence. She frequently wants her husband arrested, and then invariably begs him off. The fraternity includes three brothers and a sister under 18, the sister being afflicted with chorea, and there has been one mis- carriage. This family occupies the top floor of a three-story tenement in a suburban section, which although poor and plainly fur- nished, they succeed in keeping in clean condition. The father, MENTAL ABNORMALITY 241 when not drinking, is capable of earning $25 a week as a mattress maker, and one brother gets $15. The trouble in the home seems to be due to the fact that the father, aside from possess- ing no standards and contributing to the low-grade tone of the family by his drinking and deserting, is also extremely abusive towards the children. He is described by his wife as " awful strict ", whipping his daughter when she is out late, and making it impossible for her to exercise any reasonable control. The girl was born after instrument labor, and had whooping cough as a child. Her menstrual periods established themselves at the age of 12, at which time she came to her mother and asked her what it was all about. The mother told her to keep in the house and away from the boys, and then secured the help of an old woman, who instructed her in the meaning of her physio- logical manifestations. It is not surprising that the girl never asked any more questions. In school this girl shows herself to have been dull and given to truancy, reaching the fifth grade when she left at 14. She grew into an unmanageable individual, given to staying out nights and to frequent runaways. Finally, upon the complaint of the mother, she was arrested as a " stubborn child ", having been in the company of promis- cuous soldiers and sailors, and taking every opportunity of picking up men. Shortly before her commitment she had worked in an artist's studio and in a candy factory. While in the institution she did very poor work, being hateful, bad- tempered, and given to lying and deception. " She does right away what told not to do," is said of her. After a little over a year her father made an attempt to move his family to Brooklyn, and the girl was allowed to go with them. She ran away after having been there three weeks, and the father deserted his wife and children at about the same time, making it necessary for them to return to their former place of resi- dence. The girl now joined them, securing work in a candy factory, but she soon began to receive letters from men in New York, to stay out late at night, and to behave badly in general. She now ran away to New York and turned up after some time with a child which was born in New York. A psychological examination at this time show'ed the girl to be a high-grade defective, and it was held that she was unfit to take proper care of her child. Case No. 60. Causative factors: (a) Mentality: " De- fective Delinquent." Moron. (Exam.) (6) Bad Home Conditions: Girl's father alcoholic; abusive. Girl's mother had no control; also alcoholic. Too strict. Poverty. 242 THE UNMARRIED MOTHER Girl's father deserts, (c) Bad Companions: Disreputable boys, (d) Early Sex Experience: Intercourse at 14. Sex + + + • Age 18. Case 61. We have here the case of a young woman of 21, of American parentage, whom a psychological examination diag- noses as a defective delinquent. Her father, who sells pencils on the street, is considered irresponsible and incompetent, while her mother, who is deaf, and has always been mentally unbalanced, has been committed to an epileptic colony. There is a sister who is being cared for by a charitable agency, and a brother of whom nothing is known. This girl was taken when very young, and placed to board by a public agency until she reached the age of 14, whereupon she was transferred to a wage home, and at 18 came to this city to work. According to our report, the children were extremely neglected by the mother, who left them alone at home, and allowed them to be on the street at all hours of the night. After coming to the city, this girl began to live in lodgings, which were always in extremely untidy condition, and to associate with men of questionable reputation, frequenting dances and spending much time on the street. Physically she is in good condition, having first menstruated at the age of 12, but a mental examination gives her a Binet age of 9|, her actual age at the time being 21. There is some question as to whether she is suffering from a psychosis or from a congenital defect; her visual memory is slightly below normal, her arrangement of moral questions is illogical, and she showed a lack of reason- ing and judgment in other tests. Her analytical ability is poor, apperception fair, attention excellent, and she is suggestible. If the possibility of a psychosis were ruled out, she might be classified as a high-grade defective, and an individual who lacks some of the higher thought processes. Another examination held at a later time considered her to be well orientated, pos- sessed of fair insight, to have made a poor performance of the educational test, and to be possessed of fair recent and remote memory. In spite of the fact that this girl's mother was at the time in an institution for the epileptic, the examiners re- ported her family history to be negative. The diagnosis in this case was " not insane, - defective delinquent." After the birth of her child, while placed in a temporary home, this girl escaped by means of a fire escape, and found her way to the place where she had been employed. At 18 she was subject to violent attacks of temper, and was given to lying and stealing. MENTAL ABNORMALITY 243 When angered she screamed and shook her fist, making such a scene that it has been necessary to call in the police. At one restaurant where she was employed she was discharged because she was willing to reduce the check for several patrons who were young men. This girl met the father of her child, a young man of 23, through a friend who was employed with her, and soon went to lodge with his sister. He was a farm hand earning $30 a month and board, and the girl once had intercourse with him in the country, whereupon she became pregnant. We note that she was often asked to leave her lodgings because of the number of young men whom she entertained in her room. She stated that she could not understand this, as she considered it one of the privileges of living out. Men were frequently seen coming out of her room at an early hour of the morning, and there is no doubt but that she was promiscuous. Her child has been given to public care, and the girl herself committed to an institution for the feeble-minded. Case No. 61. Causative factors : (a) Mentality: "De- fective Delinquent." Moron type. (Exam.) (6) Bad Home Conditions: Boarded out at an early age. (c) Heredity: Girl's father ignorant and incompetent. Girl's mother committed, epileptic. Sex + + + • Age 21. Special Defect - Self-control. Doctor Healy devotes con- siderable space to the discussion of special defects, drawing attention to the fact that probably " we all have localized spots of weakness, . . . the vast majority of which do not hinder one's social success." There are, however, specialized defects such as those of language or arithmetic which may be distinct antecedents of delinquency. In these cases we have found many qualities lacking in the individuals under consideration who might otherwise have been designated as mentally normal, but only in relatively few instances have we noted more than one defect to be of real importance as a causative factor in unmarried motherhood. There is a class of individuals who seem to Healy to possess " a special, definite, innate defect in the power of self-control." It is difficult in our study of the adolescent girl to be certain that the trait which one is con- sidering is permanent, and care must be taken to distinguish between defect in self-control and adolescent instability. The 244 THE UNMARRIED MOTHER treatment of such cases of special defect should consist in sup- plying the individual " with the most stable environment possible " and in keeping him removed from such " stimulants as alcohol, excessive coffee and tobacco, which would tend to increase his own nervous and explosive tendencies."1 Here follow two cases which we have felt justified in including under this head. Case 62. This American girl of French descent is a preco- cious type, and has been getting into difficulties since childhood. The history of inheritance is as follows: father alcoholic, ar- rested for breaking and entering, and died in State prison two months before the birth of this girl. Her mother's brother was insane. One of her brothers was insane, and another was a deserter from the navy. Little is known of her childhood history except that the girl was persistently disobedient and impudent. She attended three convent schools and was dismissed from each one. Later she went to live with her mother, who kept house for her uncle and cousins. They lived in a congested and pernicious neigh- borhood, and while the home was neat and tidy, it was here that she first manifested her immoral tendencies with her cousins. Her mother was weak, could not speak English, and had no control. The girl said that she was fond of her mother, but could not live with her. Soon she began to run away frequently and stayed out late at night, associating with low companions, and was very friendly with a 15-year-old girl who was a vagrant, staying anywhere she could. At last her mother was glad to send her to an institution. Here she did well, was considered exceptionally bright, was enthusiastic about her work, and tried hard. Gradually she lost control of herself, displayed violent temper, was suspicious, ran away, and became promiscuous. Finally she was transferred to an institution where the restraint was more rigid. She was confined at 19 at the expense of the State. Apparently her child was very healthy, and she was very fond of it, and felt keenly her dis- grace. She made an attempt to disappear, but failed. Con- tinually through this history she made repeated efforts to be good, and as control broke down, she felt that her inheritance was against her, and shifted the responsibility for her acts to her father's criminal tendencies. She says that her interest in sex matters was first aroused 1 Healy, William, op. cit., p. 545. MENTAL ABNORMALITY 245 in her own home, where she had intercourse with her cousins. At times she seemed obsessed with sex desires. She was a strong, precocious type, and her passions were continually overcoming her inhibitions. Finally she so gave vent to her sex feelings that she entirely disregarded community standards, and with heredity for an excuse gave herself over to extreme promiscuity. There were no facts given concerning the father of the child. Case No. 62. Causative factors: (a) Mentality: De- fect in self-control. Incorrigible. Ran away often. (6) Heredity: Girl's father alcoholic and criminal. Girl's brother insane. Another brother deserter from Navy, (c) Abnormal Sexualism: Always overcoming inhibitions. Strong type, (d) Bad Home Conditions: Girl's mother weak and no control. Girl first immoral with cousin with whom family lived, (e) Bad Companions: Girls of low sort. One a vagrant at 15. Sex + ++• Age 19. Case 63. This is the case of a girl of Irish parentage who had an illegitimate child when 18 years old, and another at the age of 20. Her father died when she was two years old, whereupon her mother remarried, the stepfather being a hard drinker who has a court record. The mother's reputation was by no means good, and she seems to have taken very little in- terest in her daughter. The family includes one sister and three brothers, the oldest of whom has been in an insane asylum for the last five years. This girl lived with relatives in Canada until the age of 9, and thereupon came to a near-by industrial town to live with her mother. The home is fair as far as the needs of life are concerned, but the girl was always a center of quarreling on account of the fact that her stepfather disliked her because she was not his child; there was a general opinion that the child was abused. She was unusually dirty and apparently starved, and seeming to receive absolutely no care from her parents. The developmental history shows her to have had scarlet fever, mumps, and measles, and to possess at the age of 14 the physical development of a grown woman. At 15 she weighed 130 pounds and was 4 feet 11 inches tall. We have no school history, but she succeeded in passing the most difficult Binet tests, and was considered not feeble-minded or insane. Her behavior, however, was such as leads us to believe that this girl represents one of a class who, although passing the ordinary tests easily, are yet unable to adapt 246 THE UNMARRIED MOTHER themselves to life in the community owing to some special defect, such as a defect in self-control. At about the time when she was 12 years old this girl began to show signs of a tendency, manifesting itself in a desire to steal. She claims that she was born with this temptation, and that she was utterly unable to resist it. At this time we find that she had absolutely no normal friendships among her own sex, and that she roamed around at will during the day, while her mother worked out, nor does she seem to have been at all desirous for the companion- ship of other girls, her chief obsession being for little boys. This girl is one of the few cases in which we have been able to secure definite information regarding a tendency to become intimate with young boys strong enough to cause her to coax them into the house when she was there alone. We still hes- itate to call this an abnormal manifestation in adolescent girls. Her commitment to an organization giving institutional care was on the charge of larceny, and may have come as a relief to her parents, whom she refused to obey, and who seemed desirous of getting rid of her. While under correctional in- fluence she proved herself an affectionate child, not troublesome, but somewhat precocious. After nearly three years she was placed at housework, and soon began to associate with boys. She seems to have been able to control her desire to steal for a short time only, for within three or four months we find her refusing to work, and taking things without confessing that she had done so. At this time she was employed near a boys' reformatory, and her employer one day took her into the build- ing and told her that if she persisted in thieving she would be sent to a similar place; since this time she has never been known to steal. It was necessary to move her from this position because she got to know the men in the reformatory, a desire for whose companionship became an obsession, and she was returned to the institution. While there she poured oil on a lighted fire, burning her face severely. When once more put into the community, she seemed to make a determined effort to improve, but soon became slack and unwilling to work, and the fact that she was pregnant was revealed. Her child, a six and a half pound girl, was born after a Caesarian opera- tion, and the girl was placed in a wage home. It is interest- ing to note that she immediately began to improve, and when allowed to do factory work, succeeded in earning from $10 to $14 a week, only to be found pregnant again. This time the child, an eight and a half pound boy, born after another Caesarian operation, died the next day of septicaemia, and the MENTAL ABNORMALITY 247 mother was returned to the institution. Upon coming of age we hear of this girl as working, having given up the child to the State, and it is probable that she is still unable to control her sexual desires. It is easy to see that the girl in this case is possessed of strong desire for sexual intercourse. Although we have no history of any immorality before her commitment, this is not surprising when we remember that she was at that time only 12 years old. Within two months of her reinstatement in the community, when not quite 15, she succeeded in being immoral, allowing the grocery boy to have relations with her twice in her em- ployer's house. Nothing could be done to establish the pater- nity of this child, and she was soon immoral again, and once more pregnant, the child dying within two months. She claims that she only saw the father of the second child once, and that she did not know his name. It appears, however, that she met him at a moving-picture show, and that she was immoral with him when her employer supposed her to be at the theater. The father was the cause of another girl's pregnancy soon after this girl became pregnant by him, and he disappeared. The girl took medicine until seven months pregnant, and laced extremely in the attempt to produce an abortion. She claims that her pregnancy was the result of five or six sexual relation- ships with this boy, and advances the ingenious theory that during December and January her craving for men is so strong that she cannot resist. Owing to the fact that both of her chil- dren were born in October it seems probable that the idea of her extreme desire during the ninth month previous was some- thing of an afterthought, and that had they both been born in March she would probably have considered her period of great- est sex desire to be in June. This girl claims that if her mother had given her proper care she would not have become delin- quent. She is neither penitent nor frightened at her condition, and is the possessor of a robust belief which holds that even if she has been bad " she will be better." Case No. 63. Causative factors: (a) Mentality: Not feeble-minded or insane. (Exam.) Special defect in self- control. (5) Bad Home Conditions: Girl illegitimate. Lived with her mother as sister. No sympathy and ques- tionable standards. No control. Starved. Lies and steals. Sex + + + + • Age 18. Mental Aberration. Aberrational mental conditions, while frequently resisting definitive classification, may yet be grouped 248 THE UNMARRIED MOTHER into major and minor divisions. Among the former one finds the well-defined psychoses which may be either temporary or chronic. Under this heading belong dementia praecox, paresis, melancholia, manic-depressive insanity, epileptic psychoses, and paranoia. Under the head of minor mental aberrations may be included traumatic psychoses, menstrual mental aber- ration, mental aberration due to bad sex habits, and hysteria, with the aberrations of adolescence and those resulting from the use of alcohol and drugs. Dementia Praecox. The advent of this psychosis is usually heralded by symptoms arising during adolescence. An indi- vidual suffering from dementia praecox may very evidently be free from mental defect, while exhibiting symptoms of a well-marked abnormal tendency. Among these manifestations appear extreme shyness and fear which may give way to vio- lence. Authorities in this field find that the early symptoms are frequently accompanied by bad sex practices, such as mas- turbation, with the result that it is sometimes difficult to con- vince the relatives that the patient's disease itself is not caused by such habits. Those suffering from dementia praecox are given to obsessional mental states, often entertaining the idea of suicide. Doctor Healy's study of a thousand youthful delinquents revealed only twenty-five cases in which the in- dividual was possibly suffering from this psychosis. In only two or three instances have we felt justified in char- acterizing a girl or woman in this study to be suffering from this form of insanity, and then only on the basis of mental exam- ination. Case 64. This is the case of an American girl of Irish-Por- tuguese descent. She was short, undeveloped, and had a weak face. By the age of 11 she was continuously on the street, and was known everywhere as a wayward child, running away, and having sexual relationships with boys from the age of 12. The inheritance history is very significant. For years the father has been grossly immoral, spending much money on prostitutes; he was also alcoholic. Her mother was mentally defective, and probably epileptic; she would fall on the floor and be unable to get up for some time. The children all came MENTAL ABNORMALITY 249 very fast, and of the seven children all died under six months, except the girl in this case. Owing to the bad reputation of the family, they were forced to move constantly, always living in low-grade neighborhoods. The father was illiterate, but an efficient mechanic. He often deserted the family, and stayed away at one time for four years. As a young boy he was arrested for breaking and enter- ing. He used the vilest language at home, and the mother often accused him of immorality before the girl. The mother worked out, and had absolutely no control over her daughter. This girl was a full-term child, apparently normal, and was breast-fed. The parents were 39 and 38 at conception, and during pregnancy the mother was subject to " fits." As a child the girl developed slowly, though she had no serious ill- nesses, and she was impudent, disobedient, deceitful, and always on the streets. She left school at the sixth grade to take care of her mother. Her conduct while there was good, her attend- ance was irregular, and she was especially backward in arith- metic. Later she did a little housework, was considered willing and neat, but not dependable. As a little girl her father took her to saloons and fishing smacks to sing to the men, and she thoroughly enjoyed these trips. Later she became very pro- miscuous in these same places. No decent girl would associate with her, and she later consorted with her father's prostitutes. At 17 she became a mother, and was cared for at a maternity home. The child weighed seven pounds at birth. When it was a few weeks old she began to act strangely; she said God told her that she would be put away, waked other patients and asked them if they were cold, and would not eat for four days. She lost interest in her child, and would bite him instead of kissing him, and said she was going to Heaven. A psycho- pathic examination revealed this condition to be a dementia praecox, and advised segregation in an insane hospital. This girl claims that she was first immoral with a boy of 18 at the age of 12, and thereafter was extremely promiscuous; she visited beaches and boats, picked up men, and lived the most abandoned kind of a life for two or three years. She ran away to Canada twice, and the last time was found with a man, and was arrested and sent to an organization giving institutional care. Because of her excessive immorality, it was impossible to prosecute the father of her child. Case No. 64. Causative factors: (a) Mentality: De- mentia Prsecox. (Exam.) Excessive sex record. To be committed. (6) Heredity: Girl's father immoral, intem- 250 THE UNMARRIED MOTHER perate. Deserted family and lived with women. As boy committed for breaking and entering. Mother mentally defective and possibly epileptic. Six children all died under six months, (c) Bad Home Conditions: Girl's father fought and separated from wife. He took girl to saloons and fishing smacks to entertain men. Family received public aid. (d) Bad Companions: Went with one of her father's mistresses. No good girls would go with her. (e) Physical: Girl's mother had fits during pregnancy. Took much paregoric. Sex + + + + • Age 17. Case 65. We have here the case of a woman of 30 of Scotch parentage, who became an unmarried mother, and who is suf- fering from dementia praecox, and who neglects her child so as to injure its health. This woman's father, who was tuber- cular, lost his life in an accident in a paper mill. Her mother, who is below par mentally, is lonely and helpless. The frater- nity includes a tubercular brother of excellent reputation now in a sanitarium, and a sister who died of the same disease. The family lived in a house, the rent of which was paid by the mill in which the father was killed. Conditions indicate that the mother is fully aware of her daughter's mental condi- tion, and is unwilling to commit her because of her kindness to her. She is unable to exert any control over her, however, with the result that her daughter behaves as she pleases. For a short time she was employed as nursemaid and general maid in a doctor's family, never associating with any one, and we find her later committed to an asylum only to be released at her mother's request when not recovered, but only somewhat improved. After this she was lost sight of for several months previous to her confinement. This woman always gave indi- cations of mental subnormality; she was nervous and easily excited, very susceptible to being falsely judged, once even threatening to take her life; she begged to be sent to an insane asylum, shrieking and weeping continually. Shortly before her pregnancy she fell into the habit of stealing. She wishes to be committed at one moment, and is afraid that she will be committed the next. The father of this woman's child told her to find some other man on whom to place the blame, claiming that his relations with her could not have been the cause of her pregnancy. This woman tells a story of being twice assaulted by men, and claims that she escaped the first time by pleading that she was virtuous, with which the man agreed, and let her go. The MENTAL ABNORMALITY 251 second assault occurred soon after a Thanksgiving dance, at which she had made an engagement with a man. When out walking with him he playfully ran after her and threw her on the ground. She was once discharged because of her attention to the male members of the family in which she worked. This woman claims that a foolish man of 50 is willing to marry her, and that that would perhaps be a way out of her troubles. Case No. 65. Causative factors: (a) Mentality: De- mentia praecox. (5) Bad Home Conditions. Woman's father dead. Mother mentally low grade, (c) Heredity: Mother defective. Woman's father tubercular. Woman's brother and sister tubercular. Stole. Sex + +. Age 30. Hysterical Mental Aberrations. " The term hysteria rep- resents an abnormal condition of the nervous system which is evidenced by the most numerous and variable signs and symp- toms of mind and body that are to be found in any disease." 1 Hysteria frequently is found in forms where the individual is not subject to any particular attacks of excitement, although it ordinarily has its well-known emotional disturbances, being much more common in females than in males. The offenses which follow in the wake of this condition are " false accusations and other excessive lying, threatening suicide, running away, vagrancy, begging and obtaining money by false pretences, petty stealing, notorious obscenity, and the more passive sex offences." It is impossible to begin to discuss at this place the enormous field of actions arising from a hysterical condition, but it has seemed worth while to include three cases in which the girl or woman seemed to us justly classifiable as hysterical or psychoneurotic. Case 66. This is the case of a girl born in this country of English parents, who had an illegitimate child at 20, and another at 22. At 19 she weighed 119 pounds and was five feet tall, showing good development in spite of the fact that she had been delicate all through her childhood, and was suspected of tuberculosis at 14. A psychopathic examination, though prov- ing her not feeble-minded or committable, yet revealed what we may consider marked aberrational tendencies. Her par- ents had made a forced marriage, and had never succeeded in 1 Healy, William, op. cit., p. 645. 252 THE UNMARRIED MOTHER establishing a stable home. Her father's occupation varied from that of a sewing-machine agent to that of actor; he was intemperate, grossly immoral, and non-supporting, and died of typhoid pneumonia the year that this girl was born. His mother was tubercular. The girl's mother is a truly pathetic figure, ignorant but hard-working, having done her best to support her children by working in a twine factory. Her brother died of tuberculosis. With her mother and one sister this girl occupied three rooms at low rent, which by constant effort her mother succeeded in keeping in neat and orderly condition. Another sister was married, living off and on with her husband, and contributing to the immoral and quarrelsome environment surrounding this girl's youth. One sister had an illegitimate child at an early age, another contracted a forced marriage, became most immoral, and is now a common prostitute. We can hardly overestimate the moral degradation enclosed within the four walls of this so-called home. There is nothing of significance in the antenatal or childhood history of the girl. We do not know whether her father died during her mother's pregnancy or not; under any conditions his death cannot have been a severe blow, he had so long been immoral and non-supporting. This girl passed her first menstrual period at 15 without trouble, but she was always irregular, menstruation once ceasing for seven months. It was at this time, at the age of 15, that she seemed tubercular, although no bacilli were found, and " she felt so miserable as to wish herself dead." In school she reached the seventh grade at the age of 14, and although not considered especially bright, we find that her conduct, with the exception of some truancy, was good. Her behavior out of school, how- ever, was becoming more and more culpable, due to her wretched environment and her inherent traits. Her mother soon found herself incapable of control or supervision, as she was away at work each day, and became fearful of the girl's immoral tendencies. She consequently gave her over to the care of a private society, who placed her in a series of homes. In each of these she started well, exercising temporary control over herself, but always ending in outbreaks of violent temper so marked that it became necessary at the age of 17 to place her with a society giving institutional care. While here she seems to have shown some improvement in self-control, and to have learned something of housework and sewing. She was, however, unpopular among the girls and matrons, manifesting a trouble- some disposition, accompanied by her old attacks of insane MENTAL ABNORMALITY 253 temper. Her mental history is interesting. She passed the Binet test at 11.2 when 19 years old, showing no basis for commitment in the opinion of her examiners. Her aberrational tendency seems to be well marked, however, for she was subject to hysterical attacks accompanied by an insane temper, she often threatened suicide, and made frequent and temporarily successful attempts to escape from the institution in which she was confined. With this she was dishonest and deceitful, and while in one of her attacks would " throw things" and scream. Later, while pregnant for the first time, she would hold up the baby clothes on which she had been sewing, hug them, and go off into an attack of hysteria. She used vile language continually, and once while placed out, when prevented from seeing a young man, she flourished a butcher knife and threatened to kill both herself and her employer. After two years spent under reformatory influence, she was again given an opportunity to do housework in the community, but after a few months' trial it was found necessary to return her to the institution. When another attempt was made, she was immoral and became pregnant. Placed out with her child at the age of 20, she kept control of herself with occasional sexual lapses until the next year, when on returning to live with her mother she again became pregnant. At the age of 21 she supported herself, as best she could, by working in a restaurant and in a chocolate factory. She now seemed to have her hysterical attacks less frequently, though they had continued from 14 to 21. We wish, however, to draw particular attention to another trait, her almost insatiable desire for men. This girl exhibited what we feel justified in calling an abnor- mal sex desire. Her mother had not been able to prevent her immoralities with boys, which began when she was 14. She was later literally unable to keep away from men, and while placed out she succeeded in having sexual intercourse with strangers, with surprising regularity. She said: " I can't be good, and I don't want to be." Boys and men alone interested her. " I never had a girl friend, and I never wanted one." So marked was her sexual demand that she attempted to escape during one of her menstrual periods from the institution where she was placed, for the sole purpose of intercourse. She boasted of her strong sex desire, and was proud of her pregnancy. " I am not sorry to be pregnant," she said, " because I love the little one, but it is so sad to bring a child into the world without home and father." And she wrote to the father of her first child, " I will take great comfort in the little one because you 254 THE UNMARRIED MOTHER are its father. Won't you marry me for the baby's sake? " Throughout her whole life we find the belief that she could get married, as her mother and two sisters had done, by becoming pregnant. The knowledge of their irregularities may have removed what few inhibitions she herself possessed. " How can I expect to be good when my mother and sister both had to get married? " she said. She began by being promiscuous with boys before 14, she herself seeking the opportunity, and continued both with schoolboys and men. She was immoral at 16 over a considerable period of time with her employer's husband during his wife's absence. Her first pregnancy was the result of three or four relationships with a switchman whom she had just met. He settled the case by paying $300. The second father was a conductor whom she met on the cars; when her mother called on him, he denied ever having seen the girl. It was felt that her record was so bad that prosecution would be useless. She seems to have been fond of her first child, she was really attached to its father, and to have hoped that " the Lord would take her second." After attempting to support both children for a time, the younger child contracted whooping cough and died at the age of three months. When last heard of, the oldest child was being brought up in the same poverty and immorality that surrounded its mother in her youth. Case No. 66. Causative factors: (a) Mentality: Binet 11.2, age 19. Not feeble-minded. Not committable. Hysterical. Insane temper. Threatens suicide. (6) Bad Home Conditions: Girl's father dead. Neglected family. Mother works out. Sister had illegitimate child; another a prostitute, (c) Abnormal Sexualism: Excessive sex desire and experience. " Crazy about men always." (d) Bad Companions: Never wanted girl friends. Bad boys, (e) Heredity: Girl's father and mother immoral. Uncle and mother tubercular. Her father died of pneumonia. Sister " bronchial trouble." Her father alcoholic and deserter. (J) Physical: Delicate. Menstruation ceased seven months. Question of tuberculosis. High strung; nervous. Sex + + 4-+. Age 20. Case 67. In this case a New England woman of 29 was found to have had psychoneurotic tendencies for years. An alienist examined her when she was 15, following several attacks of hysteria which had ended in a nine days' trance, and he said that he thought that she showed a strong tendency to insanity. MENTAL ABNORMALITY 255 When this study was made, this woman had had three illegit- imate children by different men. Her mother was a reputable woman of 73, and for some time had suffered from nervousness and spells of depression. Her father died four years ago at the age of 75, cause unknown. One sister has been divorced. This woman's home showed every sign of prosperity, and her mother was loyal to her daughter throughout her experiences, and even lied to shield her from blame. She refused to consider institutional care for her daughter, and forbade agents interested in her daughter's welfare to enter her home. It was learned that this woman had never been controlled at home, and she was on the streets a great deal of the time with a group of low boys and men. For years her mother had kept a large boarding house, and one of the alleged fathers was a boarder. At 15 this woman had chorea and hysteria. She left school in the sixth grade at 15. The neighbors had felt that she was not bright. In later years, when examined by a specialist, she was found to be 10 years old by the Binet test. Her learning ability was excellent, but she was found to be very suggestible. Diag- nosis, psychoneurosis. Wassermann negative. Her manner was noted to have been very peculiar and abrupt, and she appeared to be somewhat stupid. She talked incessantly and disconnectedly, and her mind was ever dwelling on sex matters. She often complained that people were staring at her on the street cars. Her mother attributed her laxness and peculiari- ties to the conflict which her daughter had gone through when the alleged father of her first child deserted her when she was 18, and in a pregnant condition. She worked for a few weeks as a salesgirl in a department store, earning $6 a week, but was discharged because she was unable to make measurements correctly. She was engaged at 17 to a German who deserted her previous to her confinement. Her family had him arrested, but the case was dropped as the child died at the age of two months of marasmus. Two years later she became engaged to a Welshman, a boarder in her mother's home, and all ar- rangements were made for the wedding, according to their story, but after procuring a license he disappeared. This sec- ond child was born at the mother's home, but its whereabouts were never known, except when aided by a charity. The third father, a widower living in the neighborhood, was forbidden to come to her home, and so she visited him at his room in his boarding place. This man stated that he would marry her, but would not live with her. He took out a marriage license, and then left for another State. Shortly after this he was 256 THE UNMARRIED MOTHER reported to have died of blood poisoning. The woman and her baby were being cared for by a child-helping agency at our last report. Case No. 67. Causative factors: (a) Mentality: Psy- choneurosis. Binet 10. Hysteria; tendency to insanity. (6) Bad Home Conditions: Allowed to run streets without control. Family would not allow man to come to house, so woman visits him. (c) Bad Companions: Went with group of low men. Deserted by three men. Sex + + • Age 18. Case 68. A physician who examined this girl, who became pregnant at the age of 15, considers that she may be perhaps in the early stages of dementia prsecox. She is an extremely hysterical type, and causes a good deal of general disturbance. Her father, a Canadian, has been a teamster for some time, and for some years has been very intemperate. He has suffered from nervous prostration and melancholia, having attempted suicide and being in need of treatment by a specialist. His father died in the insane asylum, and his brothers and sisters are also reported to be insane. His mother had attacks of insanity following childbirth, as a young woman, and his sister was sexually immoral for years. The girl's mother, an angular woman of fair intelligence, who has had several miscarriages, is somewhat lax in discipline, allowing her children a great deal of liberty. Her father died of cancer some time ago, and she herself suffers from severe headaches. The fraternity in- cludes an immoral sister, of coarse and sensuous type, a young sister who is nervous, and two brothers, one of whom has suf- fered from melancholia. This family occupies a cottage which they own in a good locality, and appear to be in comfortable financial condition. The father's immoral sister, who lived with them for some time, was finally forced to leave, but the moral atmosphere of the home does not seem to have been permanently improved. As we have indicated, this girl's older sister bears a very poor reputation, being considered a streetwalker, and given to the use of objectionable language. The girls are continually on the street with men and boys, it being impossible for the mother, who is easy-going, to control either of them. The result has been that the girl in question has associated with a very promis- cuous crowd of girls and young men, with little to protect her in the way of standards or supervision. It became so habitual for the police to order this girl off the street that her father MENTAL ABNORMALITY 257 complained that he would go to the mayor on the matter unless they ceased doing so, he believing her innocent. The police urged the mother to request her daughter's commitment to an institution, which she refused to do. The girl's sister claims that she herself has never been immoral and says: " I would smash any fellow in the face who got fly with me." There is absolutely nothing against this girl contained in her school history, where she proved herself to be talented, enjoying his- tory, mathematics, and music, and graduating with honors. Her conduct was good and her scholarship excellent. We note the fact of unusual premature puberty in this case, her men- strual periods establishing themselves at the age of 10, since which time she has matured rapidly, and has been subject to frequent spells of hysteria. This manifested itself later as the result of a mental conflict under which the girl seems to have been living because of her continual struggle, during her immorality, between what she was doing and what she knew she ought to do. Her hysteria became localized in abdominal pains for which the physicians found no physical basis, their prognosis being that the only cure lay in a new environment and in a new circle of friends. Upon leaving school we find her working at home, reading novels and newspapers, and being possessed of a desire to become an artist. She had no particular duties, at this time, with the result that she went to bed late and got up late, becoming increasingly more willful and fretful. Although small for her age, we find her mature looking, well developed, and attractively dressed, although she gives the impression of talking for effect, often mentioning her desire to commit suicide in order to attract attention and sympathy. She claims that she was at one time severely frightened by the fact that a lodger who came home intoxicated mistook her room for his, causing her to experience a great shock. At times this girl will lie on the floor and scream for a period of two hours, complaining of terrible pains in her head and of numbness, this occurring especially during her menstrual periods. That some of this is imagination is indicated by the fact that she will sometimes suddenly forget her attack, and will go out of doors, and play with her friends all afternoon. Her mind is constantly on her ailments, and she speaks of what she enjoys in the past tense, having given up all hope of ever being well. At the same time she uses extremely vile language, is shameless in her frank interest in boys and young men, and treats each situation that arises in a quick and offhand manner which is at times attractive. 258 THE UNMARRIED MOTHER This girl states that she suffers because of the fact that she has no control over herself when with men, and tells long and complicated stories of immoralities dating from the time she was 12 years old. She is a type interesting to boys, and seems to have become acquainted with sex matters at an early age, a girl friend stating that this girl was with her on various oc- casions when she had intercourse with different men. One day she and her sister were visited by two men, and her sister took one of them with her into another room. The girl states that one of the men, who was lying on the couch near her while she was sitting on a chair, drew her on to the couch and assaulted her, as a result of which she was ill the whole night following. The man in question, when accused, stated that he " never troubled girls of that age ", and furthermore added that the girl herself was so dirty and disheveled at that time that no man would care to have intercourse with her. Her sister admits having left her alone with this young man, but does not believe that she was assaulted, because of the fact that she made no outcry whatever. The man, who was 36 years of age, has been arrested, but his case has not yet come up for trial. The girl shows some shame and a distinct mental conflict over the fact that she cannot avoid intercourse with men, admitting that she has no real affection for them beyond that of a purely sexual demand. She realizes the gravity of her behavior, and feels that life is all over for her. Case No. 68. Causative factors: (a) Mentality: Ex- tremely hysterical. (Exam.) (6) Bad Home Conditions: Girl's father had melancholia. Intemperate. Mother unreliable. Sister immoral. Ignorant. No control, (c) Mental Conflict: Because unable to resist men. (d) Bad Companions: On streets with low-class friends, (e) Heredity: Paternal grandmother insane. Paternal grand- father insane. Mother's uncle also insane, and mother's aunts, (J) Physical: Premature puberty. Menstruated at 10. Sex + + . Age 15. Psychic Constitutional Inferiority. This form of mental peculiarity may be recognized by chronic abnormal mental and social reaction to the ordinary conditions of life. Such traits cannot be classified in any of the groups of insanities, neuroses, or mental defects. This is the class which had often been dealt with under such terms as psychopathic personality, psychopathic inferiority, degeneracy, and morbid personality. MENTAL ABNORMALITY 259 Such individuals are frequently egocentric, selfish, irritable, and very suggestible. Some of them may be regarded as dis- tinctly bright, even geniuses, although incapable of meeting the steady demands of the world. They are often subject to general nervousness, but under proper supervision may be capable of remarkably good behavior. The following case should illustrate this form of mental peculiarity. Case 69. We have, in the case of this Jewess, the history of a girl of marked capacity along certain lines. She had one child, born when she was 19 years old. At 16 this girl behaved and looked as if she were 20, and showed a good carriage and bearing. She is the possessor of what seems a special language ability, and has the magnetism necessary for holding the at- tention of a group. Her manner of speech is striking and con- vincing, and she has all her life been desirous of becoming an actress. Her father, a tailor, has spent his life in an attempt to support his family; he does not drink, but is somewhat lacking in patience, and makes the mistake of beating his children in a most abusive manner when they disobey. The mother is temperate and intelligent, but somewhat delicate. This girl is the second of six children, all of whom have shown no evidences of delinquency. Her older sister dances and is engaged in theatricals. The family formerly lived in a near-by town, and moved to the city two years before the girl's commitment. They occupy a five-room tenement in a congested section, which they keep in good order. Throughout this girl's whole history we find the parents making every effort at control, the difficulty lying in their lack of intelligence, and in the fact that they were simply incapable of understanding so talented and complex a person as their daughter. Whenever she did anything wrong, the father engaged in a fight with her, beating her and pulling her hair. As she was not the sort to take this complacently, pitched battles often ensued, and the result was that she spent less and less time at home. The parents spoke Yiddish and the children English, and a further source of trouble lay in their continued opposition to the girl's plan for going on the stage. She had no children's diseases excepting diphtheria, and matured normally, menstruating at 13. She became nervous at this time, and indulged in strange whims, such as insisting that her youngest brother call her " mother", a desire which she retained for some years. She was at this time extremely melancholy. 260 THE UNMARRIED MOTHER A psychopathic examination revealed interesting facts; she was not considered defective but suffering from a "difficulty of tem- perament ", a psychopathic personality, or, to use a more illumi- nating phrase, this girl seems to be suffering from psychic con- stitutional inferiority. It is difficult to give an account of her complex mental peculiarities; she writes letters with no inten- tion of sending them, and has lapses of memory in regard to certain experiences which she has gone through. She shows great instability, and starts her work well only to go to pieces suddenly. Later, while doing housework, she dropped a tray of dishes, and when asked why she did it she said that she couldn't help it, that life was to her an acted drama, and that at the time when she dropped the dishes she had been in the midst of a love scene, had become engaged to the hero, only to have the engagement terminated; she dropped the tray at the moment when he told her that they could not marry. We note in her letters a tendency to dramatize all of her experiences and to look upon herself with self-pity, a state of mind which will justify almost any action. She is very sensitive, and feels that God planned her work. This girl graduated from grammar school and showed her interest for the stage, running away from home several times, once with a theatrical troupe. She was placed on pro- bation. At this time she studied at a dramatic school, learning various parts and exhibiting real talent. She could not be moral, however, and persisted in staying away from home, drank a little too much at her friends' bohemian gatherings now and then, and is described as " artistic but not moral." She also attempted to do a little work, but the opportunities which offered themselves did not suit her tastes. Her par- ents found themselves absolutely unable to control her, and she was committed to an organization giving institutional care at the age of 16, after repeated efforts had been made to give her a good start in the community. While there she felt that she was going insane, and imagined herself haunted by some one. After a little over a year she was placed out at housework. We can understand this girl's hatred of this occu- pation. She seemed to do well at first, only to prove herself after five months' trial under various employers, as incapable on account of impudence and absent-mindedness, due to her preoccupation with the part she was " acting." She was thus allowed to go home to work for her father, which did not please her, and she began to look for an opportunity to lecture. To the surprise of those who had her in charge this girl next an- MENTAL ABNORMALITY 261 nounced herself, from a small city in upper New York, as a crew manager for a bookselling concern at a salary of $25 a week. In this capacity she canvassed many of the towns in that section of the State during the next six months. She soon got into trouble, however, contracted gonorrhoea, and became pregnant, word of her condition being forwarded by a charitable agency in a neighboring State. When attempts were made to per- suade her to return to this State for treatment and confinement, she refused to do so until it became necessary to use subterfuge. She met two men in a New York city one afternoon, who in- vited her to take an automobile ride. When she consented they carried her across the State line and dropped her in one of the towns, whereupon she was apprehended. After the birth of a normal child, weighing eight and a half pounds, she was boarded with her child, and later allowed to take up her old occupation within the limits of the State. We append letters which we consider exceedingly interesting as revealing her state of mind and her thought processes. Extract from letter when pregnant. " You do not under- stand me at all. . . . I am sure I will be unhappier, if possible, in than here. The sufferings I have gone thro mentally and the dreadful privations I have and am still suffering entitle me to some consideration. ... You can not feel that I have been helped by the or the people attendant to them. I have long given up the hope of explaining myself to any one. ... It seems rather unjust to be blamed for the natural results of your life. You ask whether I do not honestly think that I have proven that I can not take care of myself. Emphatically not. In spite of what mistakes I may make, I consider that I have proven myself the equal in character to any whose duty it has been to judge me. You ask me to come back to and I tell you that of my own free will I will never go to Hades." Extract from another letter. " I understand that you have promised a scoundrel who is afraid of getting his just deserts that I will be sent back to , so I am sending you my address to lessen any trouble you might have in reaching me. The delicious irony of it! The last time I was sent to 1 was a good girl - I came out with all the seeds of bitterness and hatred ready for fruition. They have borne good fruit, and though you send me to a million times you can not make me a particle more bitter, so that it does not matter. The chances are anyway, that I shan't live, so that your sense of satisfaction will be short-lived. For this I apologize. Before I renounced God and turned atheist I prayed and prayed for 262 THE UNMARRIED MOTHER a friendly hand, for just one word of faith in me from some one. I have had my answer. Even my own mother believes without a moment's hesitation the vile lies a common prostitute says about me for money. As for you, you say my troubles are all of my own making. You are right; I had had my lesson and should have known more than to believe a human being, but there is no danger of my doing so again. My brain and my body are so tortured and nerve-racked that a little more pain won't make any difference - so don't hesitate to turn the thumb screws. You can always have my address from my attorney, as I have no permanent address to give you as when I have no money I have to sleep out of doors anywhere, for I am so mean that I won't allow my friends (?) to triumph by turning prostitute. They tell me I am going insane, so after all I have one thing to be thankful for. Thanking you for your frank treatment and for the faith you have (?) had in me, I am, sincerely yours...." When allowed to resume her occupation within the limits of the State she wrote: " You can thank for me for nothing. It is absolutely out of the question for the firm to give me any work in this state. I don't know what Mr. P. or D. P. as he calls himself, is trying to do only yesterday he told me an oper- ation was absolutely necessary. I'm sure it's absolutely im- material to me . . . the only reason why I would want it is because of the chance that I might not pull through. My mother wrote and told me that she refused to help me. " If I ever do another decent or helpful act to any human being I hope it kills me." This girl's immorality before her commitment seems to have consisted of one episode. Her mother once followed her and saw her go into a hotel with two men and stay two hours. She found a letter referring to a plan of living with a man in New York. Her real career began while she wras canvassing for the book company. Her life on the road seems to have been a series of late dinners and promiscuous relations, coupled writh days of absolute poverty. She once lunched out with a man in a New York city, who had been flirting with her on the street, and afterwards took him to a shop and made him responsible for a dress costing $110. He seems to have given her money besides, and she took out a warrant for his arrest, alleging that he was the cause of her being six months pregnant. A woman who had been with her on her business trips made an affidavit that this girl had been grossly immoral and addicted to mor- phine. The case was dismissed. There is little chance that MENTAL ABNORMALITY 263 this man is the father of her child. She still feels herself com- pletely misunderstood, is antagonistic towards all efforts made in her behalf, and feels that society owes her something for what she has suffered. Case No. 69. Causative factors: (a) Mentality: " Psy- chopathic personality." (Exam.) Psychic Constitu- tional Inferiority. Special language ability. (6) Bad Home Conditions: Family intelligence incapable of con- trolling girl. (c) Bad Companions: Poor associates while traveling on business. Lies. Sex 4--|-. Age 19. Conclusions. On the basis of what has been said in this chapter, the relationship between feeble-mindedness in particular and mental abnormality in general to illegitimacy should be evident. A feeble-minded girl is in constant danger of becoming pregnant. Emphasis has been laid on the fact that her pregnancy results not so much from abnormal sex desire but from an inherent incapacity to adjust herself sexually to the life of the community. Most authorities are emphatic in their demand that such girls and women should receive institutional care during the child-bearing period, exception being made in such instances as those in which absolutely adequate supervision can be provided by friends or relatives. The public should also realize the twofold injustice attendant upon the presence of the mentally abnormal in our training schools for delinquents, reformatories, and prisons. Such institutions as aim at the reform of normal individuals find their work made well-nigh impossible by the presence, in in- timate association, of a group of incapable and often trouble- some defectives and psychopaths. Nor can the feeble-minded girl herself be benefited by being sent to a reformatory institu- tion. In her case there is no cure and but little progress pos- sible. The behavior which results in giving birth to an illegitimate child is thus found in this type of case to be largely conditioned by the mentality of the girl in question. It must not, however, be assumed that feeble-mindedness itself is solely responsible for the misconduct, and it is well to remember that less well- marked mental states (such as adolescent instability) may be 264 THE UNMARRIED MOTHER equally productive of unfortunate sex experiences. All forces, both environmental and inherent, focus themselves in the mental processes of the individual, and when this is taken into consideration, it becomes evident that the study of the mental condition of the girl or woman in question should concern itself not only with the easily recognized forms of abnormality but with the whole range of subtle mental traits which directly affect behavior. To know " the mind of the girl " should be the endeavor of all concerned with the welfare of the unmarried mother, and it should be remembered that the mental content of the individual is not fully revealed by many of the routine methods now in use. CHAPTER XVII The Unmarried Mother in Various Communities General considerations - Occupation of the unmarried mother - Age of unmarried mother at first pregnancy - Localities from which unmarried mothers come - Later marriages among un- married mothers - Legal status of the unmarried mother. General Considerations. After the former chapters which have discussed the predicament of the unmarried mother from the standpoint of case histories, it will be well to turn to a more general consideration of the problem as a whole. The liter- ature referring to illegitimacy is chiefly in German, more having been done in that country than in any other towards the bettering of the lot of the illegitimate child. In the pages that follow an attempt will be made to review the situation existing in Europe and in other sections of this country, in order that these findings may be related to the results of this special subject. No discussion of the causes of illegitimacy can overlook the large number of mentally defective girls to be found among the unmarried mothers. The lessening of the burden of illegitimacy involves the segregation of a con- siderable percentage of our female population during the child- bearing age, and the adoption of such measures of social hy- giene as will strike at the forces now producing such mental abnormalities. There are indications that the community is gradually becoming conscious both of the need to protect such women from the consequences of their own behavior, and to safeguard society from an increased burden of feeble-minded- ness. Important as is the question of mental abnormality in a study of the unmarried mother, yet in this analysis the greater 265 266 THE UNMARRIED MOTHER number of causative factors group themselves under the broad head of Environment, including Bad Companions, Sexual Sug- gestibility by One or More Individuals, and above all Bad Home Conditions, the latter group dividing itself into twenty-three separate divisions. It thus becomes evident that the problem of the unmarried mother is closely associated with those con- ditions in which the girl grows up, with her companions, and with that whole complexity of influences which constitutes her external life. These influences of course react upon the indi- vidual's character, forming well-defined tendencies towards certain sorts of behavior, with the result that environment and social custom determine the right or wrong of many actions. Particularly is this true in the field of sex behavior, where morality seems more than usually relative, with the result that a girl in one community will feel no compunctions about actions which to another would seem extremely blameworthy. No reference is here intended to a distinction in the intensity in the sex impulse itself, or even a group classification along the lines of morality, for it is probable that the morality of one section of a community differs from that of another chiefly in its ability to keep hidden what in the other is common knowl- edge. A certain amount of notorious behavior may give to a law-abiding community a reputation which its inhabitants individually by no means deserve. Occupation of the Unmarried Mother. The appendix on Statistics indicates the wage of 312 unmarried mothers grouped according to occupation, 55 of whom earned between $5 and $6, of whom 18 were domestics, whose board is naturally included in the wage; 43 received between $6 and $7, of whom 9 were in domestic service, and 43 received a wage of between $4 and $5, of whom 19 were domestics. Much importance is attached to the distribution of the unmarried mother in regard to occupa- tion both here and abroad, and interesting statistics may be found on this subject. According to Prenger1 the occupation of 100 unmarried mothers in Dresden in the years 1899 to 1910 is as follows, 1 Prenger, G.: "Die Unehelichkeit im Konigreich Sachsen", Leipzig, 1913. CONDITIONS IN VARIOUS COUNTRIES 267 there being no reference to the occupational distribution of all women of child-bearing age to the total population. Industrial Workers, Factories 37.37 Domestic Servants £8.87 Seamstresses, Milliners, Laundresses, etc 11.55 Independent Artists, Lodging House Keepers, House Daughters, etc. . 7.71 Mercantile 5.69 Waitresses . ." 5.07 Nurses, Manicures, Teachers, Governesses, etc 3.74 100.00 From this table it appears that the largest percentage exists among the industrial workers in factories, and the next largest that of domestic service, in contrast to the ordinary statistics in which the percentage engaged in domestic service is ordinarily the highest. According to Speich 1 the mothers of illegitimate children in the city of Zurich for the years 1904-1910 grouped themselves as follows: Manufacturers of clothing and ornaments 18.68 Textile workers 3.47 Printing and paper manufacturers £.77 Factory workers 4.86 Mercantile . 5.55 Waitresses 10.91 Domestic service 41.40 Helpers £.£9 Other occupations £.45 No occupation 6.81 In this instance two fifths of all women were engaged in domestic service, factory workers, including manufacturers, tex- tile workers and printers and paper manufacturers, coming next. Neumann 2 states that out of 206 unmarried mothers in Ber- lin in 1890 tabulated in regard to their keeping the child or placing it at board, the occupational distribution after confine- ment was as follows. It seems fair to assume that the majority of mothers continued in the same occupation after their con- 1 Speich: "Die Unehelichen Geburten der Stadt Zurich'', Glarus, 1914. 2 Neumann, H.: " Handworterbuch der Staatswissenschaft ", Supplement, 1895. 268 THE UNMARRIED MOTHER finement which they had followed before, so that this table has the double value of indicating the distribution according to occupation as well as showing in which occupation it was most possible for the mother to care for her child herself. Child Placed Out Child Placed With Mother Domestic 40.0 10.7 Dressmakers, Cleaners .... 13.2 33.0 Laborers 27.3 51.5 Nurses 10.2 Landladies 3.0 i Mercantile 2.5 - Pianist - 0.4 Unknown 3.0 4.4 ■■ 1 ■ ■ ---- 100.0 100.0 According to the study of the Boston Conference on Illegiti- macy,1 the occupation of 331 girls who gave birth to illegitimate children may be found from the following table. Domestic (in private family) 126 Factory worker 73 Waitress 29 At home 26 At school 8 Clerk 7 Attendant nurse 6 Stenographer 6 Tailorshop 5 Bookkeeper 4 Nursemaid 4 Laundress 4 Milliner 4 Cook 4 Cashier 3 Salesgirl 3 Seamstress 3 Chambermaid (in hotel) 3 Teacher 2 Office work i 2 Book-bindery 2 Printing office 2 Telephone operator 1 1 Studies of the Boston Conference on Illegitimacy, September, 1914. CONDITIONS IN VARIOUS COUNTRIES 269 Here one finds the largest number to be domestics in private families, the next most important group being factory workers. Mangold and Essex 1 give the following table for St. Louis. Occupations Number Per Cent of Known Occupations Housework 1212 60.3 Factory 153 7.65 Laundry 91 4.5 Waitress and cook 54 2.7 Store 33 1.65 Office 42 2.1 Clerk 27 1.35 Seamstress and millinery . . . 63 3.15 Telephone 19 .95 School attendance or student . . 43 2.15 Teachers, including music teachers 25 1.2 No occupation 210 10.4 Miscellaneous 38 1.9 2010 100.00 Total 1911-1913 According to this table there is a great preponderance of num- bers in the group doing housework, although we venture to state that the large number of illegitimate births occurring among colored women increases unduly that occupation which is their traditional means of livelihood. Aronovici2 has made a study of " Unmarried Girls with Sex Experience ", which indicates that out of 1197 girls and women committed to the House of Correction, the prostitutes reported 69.57 per cent as having been engaged in housework, and 4.17 per cent as waitresses. He states furthermore that an analysis of the figures in Philadelphia during 1909 indicates that over 70 per cent of the girls and women giving birth to illegitimate children were either domestic servants or were living and work- ing at home. The author claims that this is clearly against 1 Mangold and Essex: "Illegitimate Births in St. Louis", St. Louis, 1914. 2 Aronovici, C.: "Unmarried Girls with Sex Experience." Bulletin No. 1, Bureau for Social Research of the Seybert Institution, Philadelphia, 1916. 270 THE UNMARRIED MOTHER the general opinion that industrial life stimulates immorality and shows so quickly the danger of a lack of occupation or domestic service that he questions the wisdom of training girls in institutions solely for housework. It is probable that the difference between the occupational grouping, both abroad and in other sections of the country, and those found in Phila- delphia by the author just quoted, must be explicable by a study of the special conditions existing in Philadelphia which prevent the group of industrial and factory workers from occupying the place among unmarried mothers which other investigations give this occupation. There has been much speculation among European authors in regard to the causes which produce such a high percentage of illegitimate births among domestics and factory workers. According to Spann 1 the preponderance of unmarried mothers among domestics is due both to the influence of the occupation and to the inherent ethical standards of the women so em- ployed. They ordinarily come from the country; for instance, of 5387 unmarried mothers studied in Frankfurt by the author,2 84.3 per cent were born outside of the city. Of these 84 per cent came from cities having less than ten thousand inhabit- ants. The greatest percentage, then, come from the country and small towns possessing a different standard of sex ethics, and being, according to this author, accustomed to viewing inter- course before marriage with leniency. This attitude is reinforced by the fact that in the country sections such extramarital in- tercourse is so frequently followed by marriage that the girls and young women brought up in such an environment naturally come to look upon marriage as a normal result of such behavior. The situation is further made difficult for the young country girl, because when she brings this point of view to the city, she finds herself in a different ethical environment where illicit sex intercourse implies slight obligation. 1 Spann, O.: "Die Uneheliche BevOlkerung in Frankfurt am Main." 2 Spann, O.: "Die Unehelichen MUndel des Vormundschaftsgerichtes in Frankfurt am Main", and "Die Lage und das Schicksal der Unehelichen Kinder", Leipzig, 1909, CONDITIONS IN VARIOUS COUNTRIES 271 The resulting conflict of standards tends to leave the girl unprotected, a fact which is made doubly unfortunate by her having lost the protection of her own family without securing anything in its place. Instead of taking the place of the girl's relatives, the employer is more likely to place a barrier be- tween her own family and her servants; instead of helping the girl, she pushes her away. There is also an undoubtedly bad influence to be attributed to the sons of many families in which such girls are employed, as well as to the long hours of work existing in this occupation. The fact that such a girl has but few opportunities for meeting men is responsible for the tendency on her part to make up for quantity by intensity in her relations with men. Thus these two broad lines of influence - that connected with her former environment and that of the difficulty met with in the city environment - re- inforce each other, making the position of the girl employed in domestic service peculiarly precarious. The factory girl, on the other hand, comes from a group ordinarily possessed of higher intelligence than that from which the domestic is drawn. Because city bred and accustomed to the hardships which she sees unmarried mothers undergo in a city environment, she naturally looks upon sex intercourse before marriage with less favor, and is consequently less likely to be led into it by some designing male. The factory worker, furthermore, usually does not have to leave her family in early life, and is consequently deprived of the necessity of adapting herself to a new environment and to new standards. She is also continually in touch with men during her working hours, with the result that she ordinarily has a larger group from which to choose, and can consequently be less hasty about marriage. The situation is also made less dangerous by the factory girl's attitude towards life, which is ordinarily more serious than that of the domestic, for the servant girl who can earn her board with ease is not likely to have experienced the effect of unemployment and poverty, as has the industrial worker who may find herself at any time without a means of support. A factor very frequently cited as responsible for the large per- 272 THE UNMARRIED MOTHER centage of illegitimate births among servant girls is that of the limited accommodations for the entertainment of men in their employers' homes. Although this is undoubtedly true in many instances, with the result that such a girl is forced to spend her time on the streets and in the parks with her male friends, thus being open to special temptations, we are by no means certain that the girl who lives at home is often pos- sessed of better opportunities for entertaining men. A large number of those who become unmarried mothers come from that group in the population whose home conditions are unattractive and overcrowded. Younger brothers and sisters make any sort of privacy difficult, so that a girl under such conditions also finds herself forced to meet her friends out of doors. One suspects that the percentage of domestics in this group in this section of the country is augmented because they often represent young girls who have just left home, many of them coming from Ireland and the provinces, being thus away from all controlling influence. Certainly the per- centage is large enough to make it desirable that employers should see to it that their servants have suitable accommoda- tions for use during their free hours, and that they should exercise some sort of directing influence over the life of a young girl who has no one else to guide her. Age of Unmarried Mother at First Pregnancy. Our figures in regard to the age of the unmarried mother at the time of her first pregnancy are undoubtedly low because one hundred of our cases were selected from a group of girls who were in their minority. The result is a slightly greater distribution between the ages of 16 and 20 than the actual situation warrants. The figures show that the greatest number of these unmarried mothers become pregnant at 20, the next highest number being 18, and an equal number at 19 and at 17. Three hundred and sixty- five of these girls became pregnant before the age of 21. According to a survey of the situation in Washington made by Ottenberg,1 the greatest number there became pregnant at 1 Ottenberg, Louis: "Fatherless Children of the National Capital", The Survey, January 30, 1915. CONDITIONS IN VARIOUS COUNTRIES 273 18. It is only fair to draw attention to the fact that of the 333 young women who gave birth to illegitimate children be- tween the ages of 16 and 20 in this study, 294 were colored. 1913 White Colored All Births, 1913 4,668 2,235 6,903 Births, illegitimate .... 113 487 600 Ages of Mothers of Illegitimate Births 12 years 1 1 13 " 1 1 14 " 3 3 15 " 3 20 23 16 " 1 49 50 17 " 9 64 73 18 " 12 71 83 19 " 10 61 71 20 " 7 49 56 Total under 21 years . . . 42 319 361 Under 16 years 3 25 28 16 to 20 years 39 294 333 21 and over 71 168 239 Total 113 487 600 Mangold and Essex1 give the following table comparing St. Louis with two other cities. Age of Mothers Locality Percentage of Mothers Under Mothers 21 AND OVER 16 18 21 Per cent St. Louis 4.25 21.0 f58.8 41.2 Washington 5.0 23.9 57.4 42.6 Baden, Germany .07 3.37 31.8 68.2 1 Mangold and Essex: "Illegitimate Births in St. Louis", St. Louis, 1914. 274 THE UNMARRIED MOTHER According to the Boston study,1 out of 317 girls and women, 139, representing the largest group, were between 20 and 25. Between 14-20 years of age 106 " 20-25 " " " 139 " 25-30 " " " 47 " 30-35 " " " 19 " 85-40 " " " 5 " 45-50 " " " 1 Prenger, in his book on " Illegitimacy in Saxony," 2 states that one hundred mothers in the year 1899 to 1900 grouped themselves as follows, according to age. Under 18 3.85 18-19 15.87 20-24 50.44 25-29 19.42 30 and over 10.42 100.00 This author finds a tendency to increasingly earlier sex inter- course, which he attributes to the influence of city life, a con- dition which he considers unfortunate because he believes that the children of such young mothers are likely to swell the infant mortality rates, owing to their physical inferiority. Speich3 maintains that the unmarried mothers in Zurich during the years 1904 to 1910 were classifiable as follows: Under 20 8.41 20-25 45.40 25-30 28.18 30-35 12.02 85-40 4.80 40-45 1.13 This author compares this group, of whom 45 per cent were between 20 and 25, to a group of prostitutes examined in Zurich of whom the percentage under 20 was three times as great as that of the women giving birth to illegitimate children, a 1 "Studies of the Boston Conference on Illegitimacy", September, 1914. 2 Prenger, G.: "Die Unehelichkeit im Konigreich Sachsen", Leipzig, 1913. 3 Speich: "Die Unehelichen Geburten der Stadt Zurich", Glarus, 1914. CONDITIONS IN VARIOUS COUNTRIES 275 condition which the author claims needs no explanation be- cause obviously younger women are more desirable as prosti- tutes. This author's study is so penetrating that we indicate his results at some length. Localities from which Unmarried Mothers Come. The un- married mothers in Zurich from 1905 to 1910 according to Speich's investigation could be divided into various groups in relation to their place of residence in Zurich, the largest group coming from a community where the chief places of amusement existed, and the next greatest number being found in that section of the city given over to the dwellings of the laboring class. This first or amusement section was inhabited in 1900 by 11,640 men and 14,280 women, giving the women a numerical preponderance in the ratio of 122 to 100. Of these women 2,233 were between the ages of 20 and 25, and the fact that they were chiefly women living away from home is indicated by the place of their confinement, which in 1909 occurred in hospitals in 70.8 per cent of the women from this section. Of the births registered as illegitimate in Zurich from 1904 to 1910, first births represented 73.10 per cent. It was the second illegiti- mate birth in 20.76 per cent of the cases, whereas 6.14 per cent had three or more children. Our figures, according to which 20 per cent of our cases were women who had two or more pregnancies, approximate those of Speich by accident, because our numbers were influ- enced by the practice common among agencies of refusing to accept " unmarried mother cases " in instances where it is not the woman's first pregnancy. It is interesting to note that of the approximately six hundred births taking place in Zurich annually from 1904 to 1906, one half took place among women whose residence in the city had been less than nine months in length, the largest percentage of whom came from towns of over five thousand inhabitants. This reinforces our belief in the bad effect of a recent environmental change. The following table in regard to the unmarried mothers studied in 1908 indicates the fate of these women. 276 THE UNMARRIED MOTHER Child born 1904 1905 1906 1904 1905 1906 1904 1905 1906 11.65 16.18 27.10 Remained in Zurich. 55.02 55.13 51.96 Moved away. 32.08 28.00 20.37 Married. Only .84 per cent of these women, a negligible quantity, died. The majority left the city during the first month fol- lowing their confinement, half of them being domestic ser- vants, 70 per cent of whom were confined outside of private houses. Those confined in private homes showed a greater opportunity as regards marriage. Later Marriages among Unmarried Mothers. According to Prenger,1 in Saxony during the years from 1904 to 1910 out of every hundred women giving birth to a living illegitimate child 35.9 per cent married the father of their child. These men were employed as laborers and servants in 82.36 per cent of the cases. More girls than boys were legitimized by such marriages, Prenger accounting for this by stating that the birth rate of girls is known to be higher than that of boys, whereas the infant mortality rate is higher among boys than among girls, with the result that this leaves a larger number of girls to be legitimized. Of all the unmarried mothers who gave birth to children in Zurich in the years 1904 to 1906 there were married within a year after their confinement, 14 per cent. The fathers of these illegitimate children ranged between 20 and 30 years of age in 73 per cent of the cases. The illegitimate births for the years 1904 to 1910 were distributed as follows, according to the marital condition of the mother. Unmarried women 94.48 Widows 2.61 Divorced women 2.91 Our figures on this subject indicate that 5 per cent of the cases were women who had been or were still married, and 1 Prenger, G.: "Die Unehelichkeit im Konigreich Sachsen", Leipzig, 1913. CONDITIONS IN VARIOUS COUNTRIES 277 that 17 per cent of our girls and women married either the father of their child or some other man. The Legal Status of the Unmarried Mother. The situation which pertains in regard to the unmarried mother both abroad and in this country, as far as it is indicated by statistics, em- phasizing the nativity, the nationality, and the schooling of such women, has now been reviewed. Place has also been given to an analysis of the occupational distribution of these girls and women in Europe and in this country, to their marital condition, the American situation being viewed in the light of European experience. It now remains for us to indicate briefly the position which the unmarried mother holds in vari- ous countries before the law, in relation to the support of her child by its father, and to its legal relationship to him. The situation is one in which there is a considerable variety of practice, dependent chiefly upon the traditional influences which have gone to make up the common law, the Latin countries for instance being much more affected by the Code Napoleon, which prevents an investigation into paternity of an illegiti- mate child. So complex is the situation abroad, and so in- fluenced by custom, that it is difficult to estimate the various measures in existence in their true light without knowing the economic and social background of the communities where such laws operate. We assume that the situation which we are about to portray will be modified when after the present war there comes a need for a higher birth rate. One of the war's evil effects will undoubtedly be this pressure, which will cause a lowering of standards in regard to intercourse occurring outside of marriage. Although prophecy is ordinarily vain, it is safe to indicate that a decreasing number of marriageable men invariably increases the percentage of illegitimacy, whereas a decrease in the number of women considered in relation to the number of men would have no such effect. Two or more women can give birth to children by the same father during the same period of time, whereas one woman, with no matter how many men she has sexual intercourse, can only bear one child in a period of nine months. 278 THE UNMARRIED MOTHER In England, which had an illegitimate birth rate of forty to the thousand for the years 1901 to 1905, there has been no revision of the law in regard to legitimation since 1873. It was part of the Roman law that a child could be made legiti- mate by the subsequent marriage of its parents, but the early Germanic codes did not recognize such a possibility. In 1236 the barons refused to accept the principle of legitimation. The English law takes account of the fact only that marriage precedes the birth of the child, and only an act of Parliament can legitimize a child born out of wedlock. The illegitimate child has no birthright, and its life is cheapened by a legal stigma to a degree which finds no parallel anywhere. This attitude is due to the influence of the Norman Conquest, with its class legislation resulting in the concept that the community was made for the law, not the law for the com- munity.1 In France the illegitimate child can inherit one half of the property which would ordinarily be the share of a legitimate child, and two thirds of this property if no half brothers or sisters are born in wedlock. In Germany we find a subsequent marriage sufficient to legiti- matize a child,2 and furthermore an illegitimate child may, upon the application of the father, be declared legitimate by order of the public authority,3 and by this declaration of legiti- mation the child acquires a status of a legitimate child.4 Ref- erence has been made to the system of professional guardian- ship existing in Leipzig and other German cities which con- stitutes such an advance in the child's care. In Switzerland, where the rate is forty-five illegitimate births per one thousand births, the influence of the Code Napoleon is broken by the new law of January 1, 1912. (One may mention here that although investigation into the pater- nity of the child is prohibited in France, proceedings may be 1 Durran, W.: "The Illegitimate Child", The Ethical World, May 1, 1914. 2 Art. 1719, German Civil Code of 1900. 3 Art. 1723, German Civil Code of 1900. 4 Art. 1736, German Civil Code of 1900. CONDITIONS IN VARIOUS COUNTRIES 279 instituted on the ground of " general injury.*') The new Swiss law provides among other things,1 that 1. An illegitimate child can choose its own religion when 16 years of age. 2. Such a child has the same educational rights as has the legitimate child. 3. The mother has the right of establishing the paternity by legal process, or the father may acknowledge his child voluntarily. 4. Paternity can only be established by legal action in a case in- volving breach of promise, rape, or abuse of authority. 5. Paternity cannot be declared if the father of the child is al- ready married. (The Swiss people refused to permit the passage of a law compelling married men to support their illegitimate children with a wife's consent, maintaining that such a law would be an insult to the Swiss family life as implying the existence of a condition which they did not believe common.) 6. If the legal action instituted by the mother is only for pecuniary aid, the standard of living is that of the mother, and the child bears her name and is liable only to her authority. 7. If the aim is the recognition of paternity the standard of living is that of the father of the child. 8. The marriage of the parents makes the child legitimate with- out declaration. 9. The illegitimate child inherits from its mother equally with her legitimate children, and has the same rights before the law. 10. The establishment of paternity in a case involving breach of promise, rape, or abuse of authority, gives the illegitimate child the same legal rights as the father's legitimate child possesses. 11. If there are legitimate children the illegitimate child can inherit only one half of what would have been its share had it been legitimate. This is the only distinction existing between legitimate and illegitimate children. In Hungary, where the illegitimacy rate is ninety-four per one thousand births, we find the only country where the child has a right to claim a maintenance from the State until 12 years of age, the State being called upon to care for every child 1 Correvan, G.: " Actes du Congres Penitentiaire International de Washing- ton", Vol. 4, Groningen, 1912. 280 THE UNMARRIED MOTHER that needs assistance. Every abandoned child has this right, as well as a child that is neglected by its parents. The condi- tions existing in Hungary are described by Szilagyi of Budapest as follows:1 1. Children of a marriage which has been annulled are illegitimate. 2. The marriage of the parents makes the child legitimate unless within the prohibited degree. 3. The child can be legitimized by royal consent, in which case the consent of the mother to the proceeding is necessary, as well as that of the father's wife, if one exists. 4. An adopted child acquires the name of the family adopting it, as well as a right to support and an equal share in the inheritance. 5. The recognition of paternity has no constitutional effect, although if made in person before the court the fact is designated in the civil record. 6. The illegitimate child bears its mother's name and inherits from her. 7. The obligation to support his child falls on the father only as long as is necessary, usually until the child is 14, and the amount of support is based upon the social condition of the mother and the economic condition of the father. 8. The father of an illegitimate child can plead "exceptio plurium concubentium" (promiscuity on the part of the mother). 9. The support of such a child becomes retroactive if the mother can prove that for some reason she was unable to bring action before. 10. The man is not responsible for confinement expenses unless he has promised marriage or seduced the woman. 11. An illegitimate child has an equal right of state support with other children. 12. If the mother has not been promiscuous the father is compelled to pay her confinement expenses and support her for six weeks after the birth of her child under certain conditions. 13. The mother has a right to send her child to an asylum under certain conditions. 14. The mother must nurse her child at the breast if she is capable of doing so. During this time she gets a pension which is continued until one month after the child is weaned. 1 Szilagyi: "Actes du Congres Penitentiaire International de Washington", Vol. 4, Groningen, 1912. CONDITIONS IN VARIOUS COUNTRIES 281 It is interesting to note the figures in refutation of the oft- repeated statement that such institutional and public care as Hungary gives would result in the increase of illegitimate births. In nineteen cities where asylums were established where the unmarried mother could secure assistance in the support of her child, the total birth rate during the years 1904 to 1908 increased 2.37 per cent, whereas the illegitimate birth rate decreased 5.29 per cent. We have not studied the causes underlying this situation, and are not able to state the reason for such a remarkable decline in the rate of illegitimacy. Turning to Norway one finds the most radical of all measures for the support of the illegitimate child, submitted in 1909 and only adopted in 1915, thus representing the result of a well- digested public opinion. This law rests on the following prin- ciples 1: 1. Legitimate and illegitimate children have equal rights before the law. 2. The rights and duties of both parents are the same. 3. Society is entitled to know not only who is the mother, but who is the father of every child that is born. The law furthermore provides: 1. The illegitimate child has a right to its father's name, and thus belongs to the father's family as well as the mother's. 2. Such a child is to be supported by both parents in accordance to the financial status of that parent whose economic condition is the better. 3. The mother of such a child is not allowed to receive any sup- port from the child's father beyond her confinement expenses, and she is furthermore obliged to contribute her share to the child's support. 4. The State and not the mother is the mediator between the child and its father. The State takes the initiative in claiming support for the child, and the mother cannot connive at its disinheritance. 5. A man named by the mother under oath must either acknowledge that he is the father of her child, or prove that he is not. 1 Anthony, K.: "Norway's Treatment of the Illegitimate Child", The New Republic, August 21, 1915, 282 THE UNMARRIED MOTHER 6. The mother of such a child is subject to a fine, imprisonment, and a suit for damages, if she makes a false assignment of paternity. 7. The "exceptio plurium concubentium " does not hold. Unless a man can show non-access to the mother of an illegitimate child dur- ing a period extending from 302 to 180 days before the child's birth, he is required to contribute to its support. If more than one man comes under this definition, each must share in the support. 8. In cases where more than one man are involved in the support of the child, the child is not allowed to inherit. 9. Under ordinary conditions illegitimate children inherit equally with legitimate children. The preceding paragraphs clearly indicate the attitude of recent legislation towards the unmarried mother, as empha- sizing the fact that the State's chief concern consists in the welfare of the illegitimate child as such. Most of the legisla- tion referred to is seeking to help the mother, if by so doing it helps the child. There is thus an absence of the retributive element in the State's attitude, and a frank acknowledgment that the situation exists, and that nothing should interfere with the State's interests in the child who is to be a future citizen. Obviously this conflicts with that type of public opinion which is fearful that by helping the child it will remove from the mother a stigma which now operates in a preventive manner, and that there will be a resulting increase in illegitimacy. That there may be such a close bond be- tween the unmarried mother and her child that nothing can be done for one without influencing the other, is true, but that the State should take a hand in handicapping the child because of its mother's misdeeds is an argument which few would uphold. This chapter has considered the experience in Europe and in other sections of the United States in regard to the unmarried mother and her child, reviewing some of the statistical results found by investigation. There seems to be a certain agree- ment in regard to the figures of this country, where other con- ditions do not exert undue influence. Thus, a general survey of the situation leads to the belief that there is a similarity in CONDITIONS IN VARIOUS COUNTRIES 283 the problem wherever it is met. Such was the opinion of the International Prison Congress, which met in Washington in 1910, and which gave special attention to the following ques- tion : " Should special measures be taken for the protection of children born out of marriage, and what should these meas- ures be ? " 1 This matter will be considered in the following chapter. 1"Actes du Congr^s Penitentiaire International de Washington, Octobre, 1910", Vol. 1, p. 284 Groningen, 1913. CHAPTER XVIII Conclusions General considerations - Bad environment - Bad companions - Recreational disadvantages - Educational disadvantages - Bad home conditions - Early sex experience - Abnormal physical condition - Sexual suggestibility - Sexually suggestible by one individual - Abnormal sexualism - Mental conflict - Heredity - Assault, incest and rape - Abnormal mentality - The nativity of the unmarried mother - The nationality of the unmarried mother - Number of pregnancies of 500 unmarried mothers - Mental examination of 500 unmarried mothers - Distribution of gonorrhoea and syphilis - Later marriage of the unmarried mother - Unmarried mother herself illegitimate - Wage of unmarried mother according to occupation - Discrepancy in age between the unmarried mother and the father of her child - Age of the unmarried mother at first pregnancy - General conclusion. General Considerations. The preceding chapters have dealt with a study of the unmarried mother, based upon case histories and grouped according to their causative factors. Since these factors have been built up inductively, and were founded solely on the conditions as they existed in the case histories, it should now be possible to evaluate their importance as conducing to pregnancy outside of marriage. It may be well to repeat that none of these factors operates singly in a given case, and that an analysis of those forces which affect human behavior must by its very nature fail to indicate all of the complexities of life. If, however, a scientific approach to so vital a matter is to be at all possible, that method should be most successful which deals most closely with the individual who is the subject of the study. 284 CONCLUSIONS 285 There has been no attempt here to catalogue causative fac- tors solely for the sake of classification. It has never seemed necessary to characterize a factor as belonging in one group, because no other logical place for it could be found. Once more it should be said that the material submitted is in many instances hypothetical. A causative factor, as used in this study, indicates not the dogmatic evidence that the influence noted was necessarily operative, but that on the basis of the material at hand, all things considered, it has seemed justifiable to designate such a factor as of prime or minor importance in the life of a girl or woman. The following pages should summarize the material submitted in the preceding chapters, and indicate the outstanding facts in the problem of the unmarried mother. The reader is further advised to consult Appendix " A " on " Statistics " in this connection. Although the foregoing pages contain only 69 illustrative cases it should be remembered that the con- clusions and statistics are based on five hundred analyzed and summarized histories. All of these could obviously not be in- cluded in this book. Bad Environment. In the chapter under this head are con- sidered those forces which were obviously environmental, such as " Contaminating Employment Conditions", " Vicious Neigh- borhood", " Away from Home Influence without Protection", etc. The statistics show that this factor entered 29 times as a major force, and 56 times as a minor factor in 500 cases. In 185 cases bad environment of some kind appeared to be of sufficient influence to warrant its being considered as causative of illegitimacy. Of the various kinds of bad environment considered, the most potent was that in which the girl or woman was " away from home influence without protection." To this situation as a prime influence there were attributed 15 cases. " Away from home influence without protection " was also a preponderant minor factor in this group, appearing 28 times out of a total distribution of 56 instances in which bad environment was a minor factor. 286 THE UNMARRIED MOTHER The next most important division of this group was that entitled " Employment Conditions Contaminating," which was followed by " Vicious Neighborhood." Without going into a summary of the situation described in the chapter on " Bad Environment ", it thus appears that these three subdivisions were of chief influence in this group in determining the behavior of the individual concerned. Bad Environment as such, if judged by its frequency as a prime factor, appears to contain the third largest number of cases in which it may be considered a chief cause. The facts thus brought out are discussed more fully in the general chapter under this heading, indicating that the girl who is living away from home without protection finds herself in a peculiarly dangerous situation. Unfortunately it is often difficult to find a solution for such a predicament, because in many instances economic conditions make it necessary for girls to leave their homes in order to seek employment else- where. Much is being done to bring the help of settlement houses and religious organizations to girls and women who are thus deprived of the support of their old associations, but even then supervision and protection are rarely possible, so that the difficulty for most girls remains unsolved. It should be possible to extend the influence of certain charitable organizations over lodging houses in centers where girls are likely to congregate. Thus, by means of a room registry kept by settlement houses or other organizations, inexperienced girls might be prevented from securing lodgings with untrustworthy individuals, and might be placed with women who could exercise a friendly oversight towards them. Reference has been made to the difficulty involved when employment conditions prove contaminating, and here the possible solution lies in educating the parents of working girls, so that they take interest not only in what their daughter earns, but in how she earns it. Certain organizations have sprung up whose object it is to investigate the conditions under which women are employed, and it may be hoped that a further de- velopment of these societies will succeed in remedying some of CONCLUSIONS 287 the more obvious abuses which exist to-day. The suggestion referred to, that rest rooms should be provided where girls and women can spend their leisure hours, particularly in such oc- cupations as that of waitresses, should do something to remove the strain by affording recreation and rest. Obviously, the situation determined as that of " Vicious Neighborhood " presents great difficulties. Proper police protection might remove some of the graver evils attendant upon contact of young girls with the habitues of saloons and disreputable houses. At best the problem of improving com- munities in our large cities must be slow, and there is little hope but that vicious individuals will continue to be corrupting in- fluences in certain sections, notwithstanding all that may be done to better the living conditions under which girls now grow up. The conclusions thus reached indicate the importance of the environmental factors in the life of those girls and women who become unmarried mothers, and suggest the necessity either of removing such individuals as seem to be in danger of becoming sexually lax to institutions or to other less con- taminating living conditions, and of improving the environ- ment in which a girl works and lives, as far as lies within the power of social agencies. In certain instances the State will have to step in and take supervision of the girl, while in others it may be sufficient to build up inhibitions within the mind of the individual which will enable her to overcome the tempta- tions of the communities in which she lives. Bad Companions. The chapter on " Bad Companions " has dealt with conditions in which a girl or woman was under the influence of some other individual to such an extent that this individual became in a sense responsible for her pregnancy. There was no limitation as to the age or sex of such an associate, and in rare instances the man with whom a woman had cohabi- tated for years was considered a bad companion. In only 8 out of 500 cases did this factor appear as of major importance, although the influence of bad companions seemed sufficient to allow its being designated in 136 instances as a minor factor. 288 THE UNMARRIED MOTHER No attempt has been made to analyze this main division, because of the obvious complexity of the situation. Bad companions are as varied as are individuals, so that it was not possible to classify them according to age, sex, marital condi- tion, or in any other manner which suggested itself. The question of a girl's associates is linked with that of pa- rental supervision. Many a young girl has friends whom her parents do not know, and frequently parents make no attempt to supervise their daughters' selection of friends. That this is difficult in modern city life, with the breakdown of the indi- vidual home and the frequent overcrowding which ensues, needs but slight comment. The situation has been discussed in the chapter referred to. It may be said that aside from super- vision on the part of the parents, efforts may be made by social agencies working with girls and young women to substitute good companions for objectionable ones. Thus by means of settlement clubs and entertainments, the standards of girls in regard to the selection of their friends may be raised. Par- ticularly important is this when one considers the association between the sexes. It is probable that many girls would rather associate with any member of the opposite sex, rather than with none at all, and that where her opportunities of meeting the right sort of friends are limited, she will be forced to form some more or less unfortunate attachment. Recreational Disadvantages. In this chapter that situation has been discussed in which a lack of friends or normal oppor- tunities for self-expression may have led a girl or woman to impulsive behavior of a sexual nature. In no single instance did recreational disadvantages appear as a major factor, and it was enumerated as a minor factor in only 22 cases. This by no means implies that all of the other girls and women studied possessed sufficient recreational opportunities, but that in only 22 instances was the disad- vantage sufficiently well marked to warrant its being consid- ered as causative of unmarried motherhood. Most important in this group is that situation in which there seems to have been no normal social life. The same may be CONCLUSIONS 289 said of cases where a girl or woman possessed no friends, and so attached herself to the first man who manifested a sym- pathetic attitude towards her. In several instances there was evidence that the home was too strict, and that the girl had but slight opportunity for normal enjoyment. Of a similar nature is such a situation as one in which the parents refused to allow a girl to entertain friends in her home. Here again, social agencies, by explaining to over-severe parents their daughters' need of recreation, and by affording suitable recreation for such girls as find but slight opportunity for such enjoyment, can do much to bring an element of pleasure into otherwise barren lives. Much has been said in this chapter in regard to demoralizing recreational opportunities, and of its influence in lowering the standards of girls and young women. This factor has been enumerated only once, because it was impossible to associate it with a subsequent pregnancy in more instances. A review of the cases submitted throughout this study will indicate that the recreational opportunities were demoralizing in many instances, without necessarily figuring as a causative factor, capable of being tabulated. This chapter should indicate the necessity of recreation for girls and young women, particularly under the strain of modern industrial and city life. It should show the need of proper supervision over recreational centers, and of an extension of the use of public buildings, so that they may be serviceable for purposes of recreation. There is such a close connection between those factors in life which cause enjoyment and those which stimulate the sex impulse, that it is necessary to exer- cise extreme care in order to prevent the opportunities for recreation from offering at the same time conditions which may lead to sexual misconduct. Educational Disadvantages. Attention has here been di- rected to such cases as those in which the individual girl or woman failed to acquire the ordinary standards of good behavior existing in the community in which she lived, or such common information as might seem necessary in order that she might 290 THE UNMARRIED MOTHER be able to adapt herself to her environment. The cases dealt with are such as indicate that this lack of what may broadly be called education was often due to lack of opportunity for the acquiring of the necessary information. It did not seem justifiable to consider educational disadvan- tages as a major factor in any one case, and it appeared as a minor factor in only 20 instances. It must be said again that this does not imply adequate educational opportunities in the cases not included in this chapter, but that in only twenty instances was the absence of such opportunities in any way directly associated with the girl's or young woman's pregnancy. The first among the various types of educational disad- vantages is that connected with insufficient instruction in sex matters. This subject has been discussed in detail in this chapter, and the need of sex education illustrated. In support of this belief, reference has been made to Freud and the School of Psycho-Analysis, as well as to Stanley Hall and others, as supporting the conviction that the sexual life of the child begins at an earlier age than is generally recognized. The need of some system of sexual hygiene for adolescent girls was also discussed here, and its importance as a preventive of later delinquency outlined at some length. It is evident that lack of instruction in sex matters is frequently associ- ated with pregnancy outside of marriage, and that many of the maladjustments of later life are occasioned by shocks due to the initiation of the girl into a knowledge of sex matters for which there has been no preparation. The community is becoming more aroused to the need of such in- struction, and there can be no question but that it will soon become part of the school curriculum in some form. With this must go an educational campaign to bring to the atten- tion of the parents the necessity of preparing their daughters for entrance into maturer life at adolescence, which should be accompanied by a movement tending to spiritualize the public attitude towards the sex relation. In a group of cases the girl was backward in common infor- mation through no fault of her own, and in a few she was illiterate. CONCLUSIONS 291 Such conditions require little comment, because of their obvious character. Our figures in regard to the schooling of the unmar- ried mother in 500 cases, while indicating that the school history was unknown in 183 cases of this group, yet show that 45, or 9 per cent of the whole number, graduated from the grammar school, 44 or 8.8 per cent left school after the seventh grade, whereas 242 or 46.4 per cent did not go beyond the grammar grades. On the other hand 12 attended high school for one year, and 13 were high school graduates. One was a col- lege student. These figures corroborate the belief that the majority of the unmarried mothers represent a group which seeks employment at the age of 14, although attention must be drawn to the fact that the schooling indicated in these cases here considered should show a preponderance of girls who have had but slight education, because of the nature of the sources from which the case records were drawn. Bad Home Conditions. This chapter has dealt with the various forces operating on the immediate family of the girl or woman in an attempt to trace their influence on her behavior. The definition of " home " here implies more than a place of residence, and assumes the existence of a more or less normal family life. Thus a girl or woman living alone in disreputable lodgings is not considered as living in " a bad home " but in a bad environment. By far the most important factor in this study has been that of bad home conditions. It appears 194 times as a major factor, and is, with abnormal mentality, responsible for the large majority of the cases studied. As a minor causative factor, bad home conditions figure 158 times, and thus is only less important as a subsidiary cause than is bad companions. The chief difficulty is thus found to lie within the home itself, leading to the belief that nothing can be more important in human behavior than the influence of the parents and the home environment during the formative period of a girl's life. The analysis of the general group denominated as " bad home conditions " shows that quarreling, abuse, or irritating conditions in the home figure equally with lack of supervision 292 THE UNMARRIED MOTHER through parental neglect, each appearing 27 times as major factors. Next in order of importance is " no control because of parental inability ", such as illness or low mentality, or else because of simple incapacity to exert supervision over a somewhat difficult daughter. The large number of domestics found among the unmarried mothers has given prominence to the situation called " family not immigrated ", whereas a low-standard family is equally productive of sexual laxness. Other subdivisions of this general head have been discussed in the special chapter on " Bad Home Conditions." The problem of lowering the number of girls and women who become unmarried mothers is thus largely one of improving the home conditions. Social agencies are vigorously at work in this direction, so that such factors as " quarreling and abuse in the home ", " alcoholism on the part of the parents ", " im- morality in the home ", etc., may be reduced to a possible min- imum. Workers are constantly coming into closer touch with the parents, and when lack of control is due to a cause which can be removed, suggestions to the parent should bear fruit. It is interesting to draw attention to the importance of the broken home in which one of the parents is dead or has deserted, or in which both are deceased. In 11 cases the death of both parents was considered the prime causative factor in the girl's pregnancy. Here again social agencies are doing much towards family rehabilitation, and by means of the placing-out system and widow's pensions, it may be hoped that in situations where a broken home exists something may be done to offer at least a substitute. Most of the remedial measures to be used in building up the family setting, in order to assure the cooperation between a girl and her parents, have been discussed in the chapter on " Home Conditions." It is probable that any far-reaching change can hardly be accomplished without the adoption of a radical attitude on the part of the community which would justify more frequent friendly visiting on the part of social agencies. This should be done in the belief that society is sufficiently concerned in the development of normal family CONCLUSIONS 293 life to warrant more far-reaching intervention in cases where the home does not seem to be productive of capable citizens. If one eliminates the mentally abnormal, one finds by far the most important cause of sexual laxity which frequently results in illegitimacy to be centered in the home itself. In this lies a cause for hope, for it is evident that the home may be ap- proached by already existing organizations, and that the good results already obtained may be multiplied. With the control and colonization of the feeble-minded girl, adequate endeavor on the part of social agencies should succeed in alleviating the problem of the unmarried mother in many communities. Early Sex Experience. By early sex experience is meant a physical contact or strong mental suggestion of a sexual nature, experienced by a girl before the age of 15 years, and it is with cases involving such conditions that the chapter bearing this title has dealt. It has again been impossible to assign to this causative factor a single instance in which it was of prime importance, although as a minor factor early sex experience has been found operative in 25 cases. Seven of the girls involved in this study were known to have begun sexual intercourse at the age of 14, four at 12, and four at 11. One girl seems to have been promiscuous at 9, one at 12, and one at 13, and still another at 14. Two girls were led into immoral practices before 15 by parents or relatives, and one by an older person to whom she was not related. These figures are cited as illustrative of those cases in which the facts were certain. It is obvious, considering the over- crowding and the breakdown of modesty found in so many homes, that many experiences of this sort must have occurred which have not been included in the case records. It must not be forgotten, furthermore, that this tabulation leaves out of consideration entirely those cases in which the sex experi- ence is of a nature which could not be described as actual intercourse. In many instances young girls have undoubtedly been tampered with, with distinctly unfortunate results, while there must have occurred that sort of sexual initiation which 294 THE UNMARRIED MOTHER produces familiarity with sex matters through the contagious proximity to other individuals. In many ways this relates itself to bad home conditions in that it is an indication of lack of supervision on the part of those in authority over the young girl. One might add, however, that such supervision is frequently impossible on account of the living conditions so often met with in city life. The tenement dweller, unless he would keep his children confined within his own few rooms, is unable to exert control over their movements or to supervise their associates. Overcrowding has further complicated the matter by familiarizing the growing girl with acts which she is not able to view with any perspective, so that she is in danger of growing up without any standard in regard to sex matters. All that has been said in regard to bad home conditions and bad companions applies here. It will remain difficult under modern conditions to remove from the lives of many growing girls the possibilities of such early sex experiences as may permanently distort their mental attitude towards matters of this kind. Abnormal Physical Condition. The influence of abnormal physical condition upon behavior is of a twofold variety. There are such pathological states as produce weakness, and there are conditions productive of irritation. Both of these have a direct bearing upon behavior. In this study abnormal physical conditions have been found to be operative as a major factor in only 6 instances. Four of these were cases of epilepsy, one case of probable epilepsy, and in one instance the young woman was suffering from a deformed hip. It is obvious that the latter cause was not directly connected with her becoming an unmarried mother, in the sense that the deformed hip merely represented a reason for her being over-desirous of sympathy and affection. In epilepsy, however, the case was different, and associated with a definite lack of control. Among the minor factors, physical abnormality appeared 53 times, the highest single subdivision being that of tuber- culosis, and the next that of hysteria, followed by anemia. CONCLUSIONS 295 A weakened physical state is one which would naturally cause the individual to possess less capacity for withstanding temptation of any sort, whereas a condition of prolonged irri- tation frequently results in impulsive action of an unfortunate kind. Many of these pathological conditions should respond to clinical treatment, and it should be possible to educate the community to a better understanding of the importance of physical well-being, and a more frequent use of dispensaries and out-patient departments. There still remains, however, the problem of removing from the home such conditions as might produce disease or illness. This involves far-reaching policies of social alleviation, the increased knowledge of food values, and diet kitchens, and above all, the reduction of the extent of poverty. So obvious is the importance of health in human behavior, that the necessity of a sound hygiene should be apparent. Sexual Suggestibility. That girl or woman has been con- sidered sexually suggestible who, while mentally and physically normal, is yet unable to withstand the advances of various men who are sexually attracted to her, and so accepts such advances with nothing more than a momentary emotional attachment. No analysis is needed of the 27 cases in which this factor has appeared to be of prime importance. It is, however, worth noting that there is a type of girl and woman whose sexual nature is such that she finds it impossible to keep out of difficulties if allowed to remain at large in the community. Such individuals frequently become what is known as " charity girls " or such as indulge in indiscriminate intercourse without the intention of financial profit. Well-marked cases of this type should be segregated or placed under sufficient control of some kind. Sexually Suggestible by One Individual. That girl or woman has been considered sexually suggestible by one individual, who while mentally and physically normal has yet been sexually intimate with one man for a protracted period, without being in any sense promiscuous. 296 THE UNMARRIED MOTHER One of the difficulties to be met in a study of the unmarried mother concerns itself with this type of individual, who to all intents and purposes maintains a relationship with some man, frequently bearing him several children, which differs from the marriage state only in the fact that there has been no ceremony. In 38 cases in this study, the individual has appeared to be so sexually suggestible by one individual as to justify this being considered a major factor in her behavior. Here again one finds it impossible to analyze the situation, although there is usually some specific reason for the fact that such couples have never married. It is worth noting that this group must be distinguished from all other divisions in that it represents individuals who are mentally and physically normal, and in no sense promiscuous. Abnormal Sexualism. It has been so difficult to define abnormal sexualism that one case only is included here, and that one in which an examination reveals a well-marked case of nymphomania. Aside from heightened sexual desire, due to local irritation, there undoubtedly exists a group in whom the instinct is con- genitally overdeveloped. The difficulty lies in properly diag- nosing such individuals, particularly on the basis of case records. Where such cases appear, restrictive measures of some sort are necessary. One girl of this type may prove a plague spot in the whole community, both as a spreader of disease and as an agent in introducing other boys and girls into dangerous practices. Mental Conflict. Mental conflict is a state of mental tension produced by some emotional experience, usually of a sexual nature. Such states frequently lead to impulsive and anti- social behavior. In the chapter under this head various types of mental conflict have been considered, and a discussion of a subject related to this by nature/is included in the chapter on " Educational Disadvantages." ^The methods of sexual hygiene advocated there would do much to prevent conflicts of this kind. In this study mental conflicts seemed operative as major factors in 3 instances, and twice as minor factors. Two of these dealt with conflicts over sex matters, and one involved CONCLUSIONS 297 a question of a girl's parentage. In a minor instance it ap- peared that there was a logical relationship between a girl's frustrated ambitions and sexual laxness resulting in pregnancy. Heredity. Although heredity appears as a minor factor in 48 cases, it has seemed unwise to give it a position as a major factor in this study. Where such traits appeared in the ancestry of the individual as might throw light on her be- havior, they have been enumerated for descriptive purposes only. An attempt to make an analysis of these traits indicated such a wide distribution that the resulting table possessed little statistical value. It is evident that heredity enters largely into the problem of the unmarried mother, although it is ex- tremely doubtful whether the predisposition to give birth to illegitimate children is an inheritable trait. Most studies of this nature find little to indicate that any special form of delinquency is transmitted through heredity. Assault, Incest, and Rape. In this chapter have been in- cluded a few cases in which the girl's story of assault has re- mained unshaken after severe cross-examination, or such as those in which the man has received a sentence for assault, incest, or rape. Obviously this cannot be considered a causa- tive factor in behavior. A girl who is assaulted is thus removed from the subject of this study in so far as it deals with the anal- ysis of forces inherent and environmental. In fourteen instances a girl's pregnancy was due to one of the above causes, in 3 she had incestuous sex relations with her uncle, in 3 she was raped, in 2 cases the girl had sexual inter- course with her stepfather, and in 2 others with her own father. It may be said here that in many instances the girl or woman at first maintained that she had been assaulted, but that in- vestigation proved that this was hardly the truth. Greater privacy in the home and less overcrowding would do something to reduce the chances of incest. Abnormal Mentality. A study of the unmarried mother would have little value which did not at least refer to the large element of mentally abnormal girls and women who become un- married mothers. This has been done in the chapter under this 298 THE UNMARRIED MOTHER heading. As has been indicated there, the problem is one of recognizing the mentally abnormal individual, and of segregating or controlling her in some way during her child-bearing period. In 167 instances mental tests or suggestive histories indicated these girls and women to be positively mentally abnormal. It may be repeated here that a further study of the mental processes of the unmarried mother would reveal much that is illuminating, and that case workers should not hesitate to place upon record the attitude of the girl or woman herself towards the whole field of sex behavior. The material from which these cases were drawn frequently contained much that was illustrative of the mental processes of the girl, as should appear from the summaries included in this study. It was often impossible, however, to use a case record, because it consisted of little more than a schedule of facts, and gave no indication of the person- ality of the subject. Wherever possible, direct quotations should be incorporated into the case histories, and conversa- tions recorded verbatim. If this is not feasible, certain snatches of conversation or characteristic expressions should be included. One can hardly evaluate individual responsibility without know- ing more of the thought processes of a girl or woman than many records contain. Particularly difficult was it to find any mate- rial which would tend to indicate the girl's attitude towards her community before pregnancy, for the purpose of later comparison. A girl's attitude towards the most important function of her life is always of interest, as indicating the in- fluence of public opinion. So much has been said about sex behavior to-day which it is impossible to verify that case work of this kind might tend to clear up certain debatable points. Are women kept from intercourse outside of marriage primarily through fear of pregnancy? Is intercourse condoned if preg- nancy does not result? Such questions can only be answered by the collection of material which will tend to exhibit the sincere opinion of girls and women to whom matters of this kind are of paramount importance. The Nativity of the Unmarried Mother. The distribution of the unmarried mother according to nativity throws light CONCLUSIONS 299 upon the preponderance of those who were either foreign born, or whose parents were not born in the United States. This table shows that 32.8 per cent of the girls or women in this study were native born whites of native parents, 5.4 per cent were colored. The native born, with both parents foreign born, represented 25 per cent, and those with one parent foreign born, 5 per cent. Those girls and women who were themselves foreign born reached a total of 30 per cent. If one totals up the number who were foreign born, together with those who although born in this country had one or both parents born abroad, the figures reached 60 per cent, as com- pared to 32.8 per cent native-born girls of native parents. It is thus either the foreign born girl, or those who represent first-generation Americans, who fall most readily upon private and public agencies for assistance or control. The community is thus expending a considerable amount of time and money upon immigrants or their children. It must be said here that it has not been possible to relate the figures cited above, to the distribution of native-born women of native parentage, foreign-born women, etc., in the population at large, because of the variety of communities from which these cases have been drawn. The Nationality of the Unmarried Mother. The parentage of the unmarried mother is unknown in nine cases. The largest number of those who are either foreign born or of for- eign parentage, came from English-speaking countries. Of these the highest single number, namely 84, were Irish; and the next largest group were English-Canadians, represented by 64 individuals. If one adds to this the French-Canadian group of 28, which have been included under the head of " Non- English Speaking", the proportion of the non-English speaking is decreased, and the total for Canada, both for French and English, raised beyond that represented by the Irish. There is a considerable drop between these figures and those of English parentage, who are represented to the number of 18, and who are followed by the Russian Jews with 14. Here again it is necessary to draw attention to the fact that 300 THE UNMARRIED MOTHER it has not been possible to relate the Canadian percentages as well as the Irish percentage, with the numbers of those nationalities represented among women of child-bearing age in the population at large. The preponderance of the Irish in this study of the unmarried mother is due to the large number of immigrant girls who seek employment here, and live as domestics away from home protection. It should be remem- bered that the illegitimacy rate for Ireland is one of the lowest in the world, a figure which indicates the importance of en- vironment in a problem of this kind. The same may be said, to a lesser degree, of the English-Canadians who immigrate to Massachusetts from the Provinces in considerable numbers. Many of them are girls and women away from home without protection. Number of Pregnancies of 500 Unmarried Mothers. Dif- ficult as it is to secure information of this sort, the figures cited should contain a basis of truth. There may be a tendency to deny the existence of a previous child on the part of some girls and women, but in the majority of cases the contact between the visitor and the girl is intimate enough, and of sufficiently long duration for the fact of a previous pregnancy to be discovered. Out of 500 unmarried mothers, 31 were pregnant for the first time at the time of the investigation, and 360 had given birth to one child. Only 58 acknowledged having had two children, whereas 13 had given birth to two children and were again pregnant. One woman had had three children and was again pregnant. These figures are influenced by the unwillingness of many social agencies to accept an unmarried mother case unless it is her first pregnancy. It should be said, nevertheless, that the experience of having an illegitimate child is considered to be such a severe one that many social workers are of the opinion that a woman of normal mentality rarely ever gives birth to more than one illegitimate child. There is a movement on foot which would tend to segregate automatically all women who give birth to two children, a system which would seem to CONCLUSIONS 301 be somewhat too arbitrary. A considerable number of women of normal mentality go through more than one illegitimate preg- nancy. In this study 80 per cent of the women experienced one pregnancy, and 20 per cent became pregnant two or more times. Mental Examination of 500 Unmarried Mothers. Mental examinations were recorded in only 26.2 per cent of the cases reviewed, thus signifying that 131 girls only had been observed. It is obvious that this number is decidedly low. Although it should not be necessary to submit every girl or woman who is about to give birth to an illegitimate child, or has already done so, to psychological observation, such an individual should not be given the benefit of the doubt. There is no reason why a mental examination, skillfully administered, should have an unduly upsetting effect upon an individual, nor should the fact of pregnancy alter the results of such an examination in any important particular. So many girls who become un- married mothers are suffering from mental abnormalities which are not related to feeble-mindedness, such as psychic constitu- tional inferiority, defective self-control, adolescent instability, etc., that social workers who rely on the classification of feeble- minded or normal will fail to diagnose many individual cases. It is particularly in such instances that thorough observation may be the only means of pointing out the correct treatment. Distribution of Gonorrhoea and Syphilis. In the cases studied, 54 girls were found to have gonorrhoea, 17 were suffering from syphilis, whereas 15 had both gonorrhoea and syphilis. Including so-called doubtful cases, 18 per cent were thus in- fected with venereal disease. The remainder cannot be considered free from disease, and so must be designated as " not known to be diseased." Referring to the status of the mother and child in regard to venereal diseases, it appears that in 3 per cent, or 15 cases, the mother and child were both known to be infected. In 82 per cent of the cases, neither the mother or child were known to be infected. Obviously, a percentage of those cases labeled " not known to be diseased " include individuals who have not been sub- 302 THE UNMARRIED MOTHER jected to a Wassermann test for syphilis, or a microscopic ex- amination for gonorrhoea. The figures are thus interesting, as indicating the method of case work being done, rather than as evidence of the actual prevalence of these diseases among girls and women who became unmarried mothers. It is pos- sible that with the development of a more scientific method of case work, an increasing use of the tests for venereal diseases will be made. Later Marriage of the Unmarried Mother. It appears that 48, or 9.6 per cent, of the women in this study married the father of their illegitimate child, either before or after confinement; 37, or 7.4 per cent, married a man not the father of their child. Figures in regard to the marriage of the unmarried mother are probably considerably lower than they would have been had it been possible to observe the situation longer. According to the German experience, over 30 per cent of the mothers of illegitimate children marry before their child reaches the age of three years. A study of married women giving birth to illegitimate children indicates 25, or 5 per cent, of the mothers in this study to have been married. Although it is extremely difficult to secure information in regard to the fathers of the illegitimate children, it was found that in 48 per cent of these cases the father was unmarried, and that in 15.6 per cent he was a married man. The marital condition of the father was unknown in 36.4 per cent of the cases studied. It may be stated here that by far the weakest part of the case work done in regard to the problem of the unmarried mother is that relating to the father. It is probable that this is due to a considerable extent to the remarkable ease with which the fathers of illegitimate children disappear from view. It should, however, be possible in those cases where the father is known to secure a larger amount of information concerning him. Possibly a man would find it easier to make the approach in this instance, and there might be wisdom in having the fathers interviewed by male social workers, instead of by women, as is now so frequently the case. CONCLUSIONS 303 Unmarried Mother Herself Illegitimate. Although it was possible to verify the birth record in only part of the cases, it appears that not more than 3.2 per cent of the girls and women in this study were themselves known to be illegitimate children. In regard to the remainder, it can only be said that they were " not known to be illegitimate." A study of unmarried mothers who were themselves illegitimate children would undoubtedly point towards many interesting conclusions. The Wage of the Unmarried Mother according to Occupation. So much has been said recently in regard to the relation between wages and sexual laxness, that any grouping of the girls and women who have become unmarried mothers should be of interest. The largest percentage of these women was drawn from the group engaged in domestic service, this occupation being represented by 31.6 per cent of the number. Out of 158 girls thus engaged, 19 were earning between $4 and $5 a week, 18 between $5 and $6 and 13 less than $4. It must not be forgotten that this remuneration does not include the board and lodging which domestics receive, and which may be esti- mated roughly at four dollars. If this amount be added to the wages, it appears that the majority of girls and women in this occupation were earning the equivalent of from $8 to $10 per week. The wage was unknown in 91 of the 158 cases. The occupation next in importance is that of factory workers, 26.2 per cent being thus occupied. Out of a total of 131 in- stances, 21 girls and women received between $5 and $6 per week, 21 between $6 and $7 and 20 between $7 and $8. In 32 cases the wage was unknown. On the basis of these figures, it is evident that the factory worker averages a lower wage equivalent than does the woman engaged in domestic service. There is a considerable drop from the percentage of women engaged in factory work, namely 26.2 per cent, to the next classification, which indicates that 9.2 per cent did housework in their own home. Following this comes the occupation of waitress, which claims 5.8 per cent of the cases in this study. It may be repeated here that the relationship between low wages and illegitimacy seems relatively slight. Although girls who 304 THE UNMARRIED MOTHER give birth to illegitimate children may later become prostitutes, in only two or three cases in this study has a girl's pregnancy resulted from sexual intercourse for the sake of financial gain. It is by no means implied that there is not a relation between poverty and sex irregularity, but it is probable that poverty operates through bad home conditions, overcrowding, lack of sufficient nourishment, or recreation, etc., rather than as a direct cause. In this light it may be stated that the largest number of girls and women in this study are engaged in domestic service at ordinarily good wages. These obviously cannot feel a pressure of necessity, because of the fact that they are assured their board and lodging. It is noteworthy that most investiga- tions indicate that the largest percentage of prostitutes is also recruited from those women employed in domestic service. Comment has been made on this fact elsewhere. Discrepancy in Age between the Unmarried Mother and the Father of Her Child. There is an opinion among many people that the unmarried mother is ordinarily a young girl who has been seduced by some man usually considerably her senior. It is this group to whom the girl constantly represents an innocent individual in the toils of some designing male. Such a belief cannot be upheld by the results of this study. In 226 cases both the age of the father and that of the girl or woman were known, and it appears that in 26 of these the father was four years older than the mother of his child ; in 22 instances he was only one year older, in 21 instances he was two years older. In 135 cases the age of the father varied from six years seniority to an age equal to that of the mother of his child. In one case the woman was twelve years older than the boy in question, whereas in another the man was forty-nine years older than the girl. These figures, far from emphasizing the element of seduction of young girls by older men, point towards what one might naturally believe, namely, that the discrepancy in age between the unmarried mother and the father of her child conforms to the laws of sexual attraction. The preponderant group of the parents of illegitimate children conceive these children at an CONCLUSIONS 305 age when they were biologically most productive, and sexually most attractive to each other. Age of the Unmarried Mother at First Pregnancy. In the light of what has been said in the paragraph concerning the discrepancy in age between the unmarried mother and the father of her child, it is interesting to note that the largest number of girls became pregnant for the first time when 20 years of age, and the next largest group was that of those girls who were 18 years of age. The former included 65 cases, and the latter 61. Fifty-nine girls became pregnant at 19, and the same number at 17. The age of 16 shows a distribution of 44 cases, whereas only 34 became pregnant at 21. Thus 288 out of 500 girls conceived their first child between the ages of 16 and 20. There is an interesting discrepancy between the ages of 20 and 21, the former age including 65 girls and the latter only 34. It becomes apparent from these figures that the chance of illegitimacy begins when physical maturity is fairly well estab- lished, and drops by the time that a girl reaches the age of 21. Some of this is undoubtedly due to the fact that with each increasing year the number of unmarried women in the com- munity becomes smaller, as well as to the added self-control which girls acquire between 16 and 20. Beyond this the girl of 21 is more likely to understand the use of contraceptive methods, so that the figures quoted do not indicate the prev- alence of extra-marital intercourse, or reflect upon the sex ethics of the various ages. They show, however, a relation between youth and illegitimacy, and if one may assume that the sex instinct is as great at the period of from 20 to 25 as it is from 15 to 20 years of age, one reaches the conclusion that environmental factors, together with lack of proper standards, must be largely responsible for the large percentage of women giving birth to illegitimate children between the ages of 15 and 20. This is reinforced when one remembers that, in this study at least, the girls in this age group do not represent a class who are preyed upon by much more mature and designing males, but that in the largest number of cases, the men who became the fathers of their children ranged in age from that equal to 306 THE UNMARRIED MOTHER their own to one in which they were not more than six years their seniors. This and the detailed information contained in the cases submitted in the various chapters reinforces the belief that the responsibility for the birth of an illegitimate child is in most instances evenly distributed on both parents. Many a girl of 16 is emotionally and physically as mature as a young man of 20 or 21, and because of her natural preoccupation with affairs of sex, often better able to understand the sources of her im- pulses than he is. That this has not been recognized before, save by a few psychologists, is largely due to the popular belief in the higher morality of women, as compared with men, which leaves out of consideration the relative strength of the sex impulse in men and women, and emphasizes its expression. There can be little doubt but that lack of opportunity, the fear of pregnancy with its attendant social ostracism, together with the emphasis placed upon the need of feminine virginity as a prerequisite for marriage, is responsible for much that has been called feminine virtue. The youth of these girls who become unmarried mothers, although involving tragedy in many individual cases, is at the same time an indication of what may be done by the social policies suggested in other chapters. Many of them are still under family control, and still in a position to receive higher standards of behavior. Thus at a plastic period they are at once open to good influence as well as evil, and so susceptible to those social endeavors which aim at improving the home, and at raising community standards in general. When one considers the age of the unmarried mother in rela- tion to her occupation, it appears that a larger percentage of factory workers become pregnant at an early age, than is the case among domestic service. Out of 131 girls and women employed in factories, 86 became pregnant between 14 and 20 years of age, and 38 between 20 and 25 years of age. On the other hand, out of 158 girls and women employed in domestic service, 72 became pregnant between 14 and 20, and 56 between 20 and 25 years of age. It is possible that the figures for the CONCLUSIONS 307 latter group would be still lower were it not for the fact that most of those girls who are so antisocial in their behavior as to necessitate their commitment to institutional care fall into this group. Almost invariably such girls are placed at housework. These individuals represent the group most given to indis- criminate sexual indulgence, and so most likely to give birth to illegitimate children. That so many factory workers become pregnant at an early age, is probably largely due to their intimate association with men during working hours, and to their ability to spend their free hours as they please. Out of 46 girls and young women who became pregnant while living at home, 31 fell into the group between 14 and 20 years of age, and 10 between 20 and 26. Of the 23 girls who conceived their illegitimate children while at school or college, 20 were between the ages of 14 and 20 years. Only 3 out of the total number of 500 girls and women in this study became pregnant before 14 years of age. These figures indicate the necessity of increased supervision over young girls, both by parents and employers, and an im- provement of the conditions under which these employees work. Reference has been made elsewhere to the peculiar difficulties to which domestic servants are subjected. It is, however, impossible to isolate occupations as in themselves greatly responsible for illegitimacy, or to look upon working girls as peculiarly liable to temptation. The alleviation of the problem of the unmarried mother must rest upon improved home conditions, and mainly upon the function of the care, control, and education of children. The chapters on Bad Home Conditions, Bad Environment, and Educational Disadvantages have suggested preventive policies of this sort. General Conclusion. The attitude of social workers and those interested in the problem of the unmarried mother, as well as that of the thinking general public, towards the whole problem of illegitimacy, falls into two main divisions. There is a group which looks upon illegitimacy as a manifestation of those forces menacing the home and monogamy. Their attitude towards the unmarried mother is almost always personal. She repre- 308 THE UNMARRIED MOTHER sents to them an individual who has sinned and who should be made to feel the full burden of her behavior. The members of this group are consequently guided by the fear that anything which tends to ameliorate the condition of the illegitimate child will remove from the mother part of the burden which she should bear because of the fact of her sin. To them the very basis of our civilization is menaced by this example of sex indulgence outside of marriage. The thought of this group is more in terms of ethics than of biology, and the ethics which it upholds are chiefly based upon a belief that human beings are by nature promiscuous, and that any relaxation of the severity on the part of society towards the unmarried mother will be immediately followed by sexual indulgence resulting in an in- creased number of illegitimate births. Instead of being monog- amous by nature, as Westermarck maintains,1 they feel that men and women are monogamous only on account of the mar- riage law. Such students of the problem would not lighten the burden of the illegitimate child in regard to the social stigma which he now bears because of his mother's illegal sexual intercourse. They would hesitate to allow the State to relieve the mother of part of the burden of the support of such a child in fear of the results portrayed above. A group of this kind, for instance, would oppose the extension of mother's pensions to unmarried mothers, regardless of the fact that an illegitimate child may be as much in need of such help as is his more fortunate brother, and that the mother may be capable of good care. There is another group of thinkers and workers to whom the problem of illegitimacy represents an unfortunate indication of social and biological maladjustment. To them the unmarried mother represents an individual, by no means devoid of personal responsibility, through whom the reproductive force of the sex instinct has operated in a manner unfortunate for the individual and for society. Conscious of the prevalent loose thinking which associates monogamy and morality, and makes virtue dependent upon a negative quality, they hold that in specific 1 Westermarck: "The History of Human Marriage", London, 1903. CONCLUSIONS 309 instances there may be an estimable and honorable maternity outside of marriage, just as there may be an immoral maternity within marriage. This group, far from condoning the sexual laxness of the unmarried mother, is yet of the belief that the evil results which come from the high rate of infant mortality, from infanticide, from the tremendous impetus which the public attitude towards this problem gives to hypocrisy and dishonesty in regard to sex questions, is disproportionate to the benefit gained for society by striking the mother through her child. The thought processes of moralists frequently center themselves on what is most concrete, with the result that society penalizes that sex intercourse which results in the birth of an illegitimate child, and overlooks those who, through the use of contraceptive methods and by the resort to abortions, pre- vent the same act from becoming known to others. As Spann 1 says, illegitimate children are born with as good chances of bodily and cultural development as have the legiti- mate children of their own social stratum. Their large partici- pation in crime is, according to this author, due to the fact that they remain in the lowest walks of society. Here they are subject to bad influences and insufficient care. This is indi- cated when an unmarried mother marries a man not the father of her child, by the fact that the illegitimate child grows up no better and no worse than the legitimate children of its own class. Much of the crime among individuals born out of mar- riage is the result of a lack of vocational training as well as of inferior methods of maintenance. Those who look upon illegitimacy as an instance of biological maladjustment are convinced that although there may be a question in regard to the morality of the mother, there can be no such question in regard to the needs of the child. They advocate such measures as would assure the child sufficient training and an opportunity to develop into a desirable citizen of the State. They submit that it is open to question whether the mother should not be judged on her desire to give her child 1 Spann : "Die Uneheliche Bevolkerung in Frankfurt am Main", Dresden, 1912. 310 THE UNMARRIED MOTHER good care and her success in doing so, rather than on the fact that she has given birth to a child outside of marriage. To them the test lies there; they hold that the mother who, through hardship and opposition, brings up an illegitimate child so that he may be an asset to society cannot be classed with the un- married mother who neglects her child, thus allowing it to swell the number of the criminal class. The sex act is based upon the free-will consent of two people, and society provides a punishment in instances where it does not represent the free will of the woman. At present the woman bears a disproportionate amount of the burden, for which the man is equally responsible. In case both parents die, the State under certain conditions assumes the responsibility in regard to the support and education of the orphan child. It seems equally logical and right that in the instances in which the father of an illegitimate child disappears, the State should assume the re- sponsibility by assisting the mother in the support of the child. In accordance with the above may be cited the results of a discussion held during the session of the International Prison Congress in Washington in 1910, and recommendations indorsed by them.1 1. Legislative measures and social propaganda are necessary for the protection of illegitimate children. 2. The position of an illegitimate child should be made as nearly equal as is possible to that of the legitimate child in reference to care, maintenance, and inheritance. 3. Soon after the nursing period a decision should be reached in regard to which parent should have the care of the child, with an eye to its best development as a future citizen. 4. The parent who does not have the care of the child should also contribute to its support and education. 5. Since illegitimate children are often the result of ignorance, there should be a moral propaganda designed to instruct youth in regard to sex questions, and in their relation to life and public welfare. A movement should be inaugurated to produce the adoption of a single standard of morals on the part of both men and women. 1 "Actes du Congres Penitentiaire International de Washington, Octobre, 1910", Vol. 1, p. 284 Groningen, 1913. CONCLUSIONS 311 6. In hospitals and institutions where young mothers are likely to go for advice, there should be qualified persons who will teach the mother prenatal care and instruct her in infant nursing, who will seek to establish the paternity of illegitimate children and secure support from the father, and who will protect the unmarried mother and act as guardians of her child. There is often unquestionable social value in the condemna- tion which society traditionally heaps upon those whose behavior offends the social conscience, but it is evident that conventions and morals are relative, and that they may outlive their useful- ness, becoming themselves a check to progress. A study of the relationship between legitimacy and marriage and the share which, for instance, the need of heirs to carry on the domestic religion of Rome played in its development,2 indicates how necessary it is that one should continually value anew the bases of sex morals and conventions. Unusually interesting is the attitude of society towards the individual in the light of its own practice. In communities in which intercourse before marriage is frequent, one finds no less strict an attitude towards the unmarried mother. It is con- ceivable that the situation in Saxony as indicated by Prenger, and probably repeated in other communities, might stimulate a certain amount of leniency on the part of the inhabitants towards the mothers of illegitimate children, and yet we are not conscious of any such state of mind. Out of every one hundred born within the first year following the marriage of the parents, for the year 1891, 53.76 per cent were born before the end of the seventh month, and must certainly have been con- ceived before marriage. If we add another month, the percent- age rises to 59.27. As indicating the custom of marrying the woman when her pregnancy became evident, we find a figure of 9.78 born in the third month, the first three months containing 20.73 per cent of the births during that year. An accident might thus have made illegitimate nearly 60 per cent of the children born w'ithin a year after the marriage of their parents. That the rate of illegitimacy is more dependent upon the 2 Ayer: "Legitimacy and Marriage", Harvard Law Review, Vol. 16, No. 1. 312 THE UNMARRIED MOTHER distribution of population, and upon economic factors delaying the age of marriage, than it is upon ethical and religious con- ditions, is thought to be true by most careful thinkers. The realization of this fact by the community in general would result in greater adaptibility of mind to the needs of the illegiti- mate child. There will be such, undoubtedly, who will oppose the extension of State guardianship because of the fact that a step of this kind would relieve the mother of the burden of her support, an opinion with but slight foundation. There is in the minds of many a misconception about the whole matter of the support of the illegitimate child, it being believed that the mother derives a benefit from such assistance which she does not deserve. An extension of the German system to Amer- ican conditions would relieve a mother who was incapable of supporting herself and her child of the burden she faces, but only in case that her incapacity was due to some reason beyond her own control. Hardly any one will maintain that it would be unwise for the State to prevent the death by starvation of an illegitimate child in a case of this kind, because doing so would be bad for the morals of its mother. As a matter of fact the development of the recent laws in Europe de- prives the mother of any benefit from the support of the child, and enforces upon her the necessity of continuing her own contribution. It is probable that a system by which the illegitimate children born in an American State would fall automatically into the care of some State organization would be a step productive of great benefit to the community as a whole. If this department were empowered to institute proceedings against the father of an illegitimate child in order to establish paternity and to secure support, the tendency would probably be an increased caution on the part of men in regard to illicit sexual intercourse, and a greater degree of certainty in the establishment of paternity. Spann has so thoroughly shown the relation between the care that a child gets in its first years and its later delinquency, that a system of State guardianship should do much to prevent the entrance of such individuals into the criminal classes. By CONCLUSIONS 313 means of vocational guidance and the insistence upon good physical care, much could be done to reduce the percentage in this group. Here again it appears that society makes her own criminals, and that illegitimate children are congenitally no more handicapped than are others of the same social group. What has gone before has dealt with the attitude of the State towards the illegitimate child with the intention of sketching a plan for the alleviation of its condition. What of the whole problem of the unmarried mother viewed from the angle of prevention ? What can be done to decrease the number of illegiti- mate births, and by what means can girls and young women be removed from that environment which has operated as a causa- tive factor in so many instances in this study ? Again emphasis should be placed on the need of segregation for the psychopathic and feeble-minded girls and women in the population as being of prime necessity, if one would lower the birth rate of illegitimate children and alleviate the burden of human misery. But, as we have indicated, a goodly percentage of the girls and women whom we have been considering have been of normal mentality, in whose lives environment and all that it includes has operated towards a breakdown of that standard of sex morality which is ordinarily considered necessary for the social good. Strange contradictions to popular belief are to be met with in this field, chief among them being the fact that the condemnation of society can rarely act as a con- scious check in moments of temptation, when the consequences of actions that are prompted by passion are but slightly con- sidered. The fear of punishment, according to an English author, is practically negligible.1 The same author insists that no girl will go through the stress and agony of bearing an illegit- imate child simply because she is assured of help from the State, and offers the following suggestions, some of which deal spe- cifically with the situation of the child itself. 1. The equalization of illegitimate children with those born in mar- riage when paternity has been established in regard to inheritance, but not to the exclusion of lawful issue. 1 Chesser, E. S.: "Woman, Marriage, and Motherhood", London, 1918. 314 THE UNMARRIED MOTHER 2. The father should support the child until 16, and the amount of support should vary according to the parent's standard of living. 3. Illegitimate children should be placed by statute under the protection and guardianship of the State. 4. Unmarried mothers should be placed under the guardianship of women probation officers who will assist them in finding work. 5. Universal motherhood insurance should be established. 6. In cases of infanticide the court should hold the man partly responsible if it can be proved that he knowingly left the mother in necessitous circumstances. 7. State homes may be necessary where destitute mothers may work for the support of their children. Lindner 1 says that the chief influence, aside from the proper education of youth, which may be enlisted to reduce the number of illegitimate births, is that which would be brought about by making marriage easy and economically possible. He suggests the entrance of the State in the support of the child whom its father refuses to support, and State assistance, under great precaution, of properly fitted young men and women who are anxious to marry. Statistics in regard to illegitimacy are of three kinds: 1. The coefficient of fecundity, which is computed by esti- mating the relation between the total number of illegitimate births and the total number of unmarried women between 15 and 50 years of age in a given community. 2. The illegitimacy rate based upon the number of illegitimate births to every 100 births in the community. 3. The illegitimacy rate based upon the number of illegitimate births per 1000 inhabitants, in a given section. It is interesting to note that while the last two birth rates vary over a given period of time, the coefficient of fecundity for illegitimate births fluctuates only very slightly. From the following table2 one finds the coefficient for legitimate births varying to a greater degree than that for illegitimate. 1 Lindner: "Die Unehelichen Geburten als Sozialphanomen", Leipzig, 1900. 2 Prinzing, F.: "Die Uneheliehe Fruchtbarkeit in Deutschland", Zeitschrift fur Sozialwissenschaft, V. Jahrgang, Berlin, 1902, CONCLUSIONS 315 Germany Coefficient Legit- imate Coefficient Illegit- imate 1872-1875 29.7 2.90 1879-1882 27.4 2.98 1889-1892 26.5 2.83 1894-1897 26.7 2.92 Prinzing explains this situation by indicating that the co- efficient of legitimate births is dependent upon marriage, which in turn is influenced by the economic conditions of the period. The thought of support, however, does not enter into the minds of those who are the parents of illegitimate children, consequently there is little deviation due to economic conditions. According to him the chief determinant of illegitimacy lies in the ratio of the number of unmarried males capable of paternity to the number of unmarried women capable of bearing children in a given community. Other factors, such as the improvement of social conditions, legislation, and the increase of the use of contraceptive measures, figure only incidentally in the birth rate. The greater the circle from which a man can choose, the easier will it be for him " to seduce one woman and then to marry another "; the smaller the prospect of marriage is to a woman, the less will she hesitate to do the uttermost to bind a man to her. In proof of this belief Prinzing quotes the following table for Belgium. Fob Every 100 Men from 20-60 Years THERE WERE UN- MARRIED Women from 15-50 YEARS Coefficient of Illegit- imate Fecundity 1851-1855 116.4 1.73 1855-1860 114.7 1.73 1861-1865 113.8 1.75 1866-1870 115.2 1.82 1871-1875 117.1 1.90 1876-1880 121.4 1.99 1881-1885 123.2 2.11 1886-1890 123.9 2.12 316 THE UNMARRIED MOTHER The situation in Germany can be understood from this table For Every 100 Men from 20-60 Years THERE WERE UN- MARRIED Women from 15-50 YEARS Coefficient of Illegit- imate Fecvndity 1871-1875 141.7 2.90 1879-1882 143.7 2.98 1889-1892 145.4 2.83 1894-1897 141.6 2.92 The Bavarian situation is as follows : For Every 100 Men from 20-60 Years THERE WERE UN- MARRIED Women from 15-50 YEARS Coefficient of Illegit- imate Fecundity 1874-1877 131.2 4.44 1879-1882 132.7 4.36 1886-1890 139.2 4.11 1894-1897 140.0 4.00 According to Prinzing, the law will have little to do with changing the figures of illegitimate births when it operates upon marriage gradually. The enforcing of the support of the child upon the father would, he feels, make a difference, except- ing in those cases where the father is a pauper or a vagabond, and in those instances where the girl or woman does not know who the father of her child may be. According to him, the better the home environment is in which a young girl grows up, the more will she be able to withstand the moral dangers which threaten her. There can be little doubt but-that Prinzing has come close to the truth in regard to the problem of illegitimacy in his em- phasis upon the distribution of population. Where there is a preponderance of unmarried women over men in a community, one may always look for illegitimate births. His figures, show- ing but slight variability in the coefficient of illegitimacy, must not, however, be taken to indicate that a certain ratio between CONCLUSIONS 317 men and unmarried women in a given section will always pro- duce the same coefficient of illegitimacy. Other factors are rarely ever identical. A study of 500 unmarried mothers reveals the necessity of four distinct lines of social activity, and it is reassuring that the organization for such effort is already formed. Some of our social agencies may affect the problem, but the need becomes one of adding strength and purpose to the endeavors for gen- eral social betterment. First, steps should be taken for the control or segregation of the mentally abnormal woman during child-bearing age. In all probability between 30 and 40 per cent of the girls and women in this study were suffering from some sort of mental defect. They are incapable of self-control, unless subject to some sort of supervision. Second, an attempt should be made to enact laws which will reflect the European experience in regard to the unmarried mother. The general emphasis of this legislation should aim towards the care of the child, and it should be realized that the State's chief concern lies in the quality of its citizenship. With this should go a propaganda tending to remove many of the misconceptions surrounding the unmarried mother, and indi- cating to how large an extent society forces both the mother and the child into criminality. Third, there should be an extension of the efforts towards general social betterment which have already been under- taken, and which have been outlined in detail in the various chapters of this study. Of greatest importance are those that seek to improve conditions in the home, to enlist the cooperation of parents in the lives of their daughters, to supervise the girl who gives indications of waywardness, and make the atmosphere of the home one that will meet the needs of an adolescent girl. The value of recreation should be frankly recognized, and opportunities for enjoyment and social intercourse should be offered. Only next in importance is the environment surrounding the girl or young woman during her working hours. Here one might 318 THE UNMARRIED MOTHER expect a greater understanding between the employer and the girl engaged in domestic service, and a more stringent super- vision of factories, hotels, and restaurants. Fourth. There is great need for a revision of the attitude of the public towards questions of sex in general. No longer can one feel that so important a factor as the sex instinct can be left out of consideration in the education of the growing girl. This suggests the need of a carefully thought out policy of sexual hygiene, and of the value of impressing the parents with the importance of a frank understanding of their daughter's mental and physical make-up. More important still, and ex- tremely difficult of attainment, is that social state of mind in which the whole question of sex will have been lifted from the filth of the street into its proper spiritual setting. No single cultural advance could be of greater importance to society. Such are the conclusions reached in the study of a problem which covers the whole field of human motives. It has been a study of life. Those who have followed the argument of these pages will have come to a new realization of the tragedies hidden in the lives of many girls and women to-day. It will have suggested itself, undoubtedly, that some of this misery, at least, is unnecessary and serves no social purpose. Those who recognize the extent of mental defect among unmarried mothers will have but slight sympathy with the purely ethical solutions advocated. They will see in illegitimacy but another instance of social maladaptation, but they will realize that the solution of the problem lies through the individual. Mentally normal girls and women should be able to reach maturity without definite sexual experience, and that woman will have shown herself possessed of a character most needed by the community who has refused to use her sex function in opposition to the public conscience. APPENDIX "A" STATISTICS General Considerations. The statistics contained in the following chapter are based upon an inductive study of 500 cases, 72 of which have been used in this book. The result is that they should afford interesting matter for the understanding of the problem of the unmarried mother. It is probable that the most valuable material is that which deals with the analysis of the causative factors which were found to be operative in the various cases. These figures should indicate the social environ- ments in which lives the girl or woman who becomes an un- married mother, as well as such contributing factors as physical condition and mental state. Owing to lack of space and similarity of material only 69 cases have been used to illustrate the discussion in the preceding pages. The figures which follow, however, are based partly on a study of 500 cases, and partly upon 333 cases. The larger base is used for the building up of such tables as have nothing to do with causative factors, such as the age of the unmarried mother, her occupation, her nativity, and so forth. In this group of 500 cases, a considerable number, namely 167, suggested the possibility of mental abnormality or peculiar mental char- acteristics which could not be considered certain, and for this reason are not included in the present analysis of causative factors. In thus confining this study, however, it has been necessary to leave out of consideration, from the point of view of operating forces, 167 of the most complete and most interest- ing case histories. The statistics here submitted come from cases selected purely on the basis of fullness of material. As has been stated, these 319 320 APPENDIX A cases have been received from private and public agencies, and in- dicate work done by them during the last ten years. No attempt has been made to limit the selection to girls and women of any par- ticular age, nor to any particular form of occupation or nativity. Table I presents an enumeration of causative factors by groups, giving in each group the instances in which the specific factor appears either as a major or minor cause. This is followed by Tables II to IX, inclusive, where the groups enumerated in Table I are analyzed into their component parts. The remain- ing tables deal with material of general interest in regard to the unmarried mother, and it is these tables that are based on a distribution of 500 histories. Summary of Causative Factors by Groups and Totals in 500 Cases TABLE I Groups of Causative Factors Number of Times a Major Factor Number of Times a Minor Factor Total Number of Times Ap- peared as Factor Bad Environment .... 29 56 85 Bad Companions .... 8 136 144 Recreational Disadvantages . 22 22 Educational Disadvantages . 20 20 Bad Home Conditions . . . 194 158 352 Early Sex Experience . . . 25 25 Physical Abnormality . . . 6 53 59 Sexual Suggestibility . . . 27 16 43 Sexually Suggestible by One Individual 38 4 42 Abnormal Sexualism . . . 1 1 2 Mental Conflicts 3 2 5 Total Defects of Heredity . . . 48 48 Assault, Rape, Incest . . . Not Analyzed 14 13 333 14 Suggestive of Mental Abnor- mality and not included for this reason 167 500 APPENDIX A 321 Attention has been called to the distribution of those factors into major and minor divisions under the head of the various chapters in the cases which have been submitted. In 13 cases the information, although valuable statistically, did not lend it- self to an analysis of causative factors. TABLE II Analysis of Bad Environment Groups of Causative Factors Number of Times a Major Factor Number of JTimes a Minor Factor Away from home influence without protection 15 28 Vicious neighborhood 3 14 Living conditions contaminating 2 1 Lived with low-standard relatives .... 1 2 Employment conditions contaminating . . 7 5 Uncongenial surroundings 1 1 Moved about among relatives 3 Unsupervised recreation 29 2 Bad Companions It has not seemed necessary to submit an analysis of that group of cases which have been included under the head of " Bad Companions ", a causative factor which is considered of sufficient importance to be designated as the major factor in only 8 cases. As a minor factor, however, it appears 136 times throughout this investigation. The different kinds of bad companions who have been influential in the lives of the various girls and women throughout the study are described in a special chapter on the subject of " Bad Companions." 322 APPENDIX A TABLE III Analysis of Recreational Disadvantages Groups of Causative Factors Number of Times a Major Factor Number of Times a Minor Factor No friends 5 No normal social life 6 Home too strict 3 Not allowed to entertain friends at home . . 3 Unable to afford recreation 1 Lived in isolated community 1 Recreational opportunities demoralizing . . 1 Work too hard 1 Insufficient recreation 1 TABLE IV Analysis of Educational Disadvantages Groups of Causative Factors Number of Times a Major Factor Number of Times a Minor Factor No instruction in sex matters 8 Girl herself illiterate 3 Girl unable to speak English 1 Education hampered by frequent moving . . 1 Backward through no fault of her own . . 7 APPENDIX A 323 TABLE V Analysis of Bad Home Conditions Groups of Causative Factors Number of Times a Major Factor Number of Times a Minor Factor Quarreling, abuse, or irritating conditions 27 5 Father alcoholic, immoral, criminalistic, non- supporting 2 4 Mother alcoholic, immoral, criminalistic . . 7 11 Both parents alcoholic, immoral, criminalistic 10 0 Other members alcoholic, immoral, criminalis- tic 1 10 Poverty 8 2 No control through Ignorance 2 4 Illness 2 3 Father away 1 0 Mother away, working 10 7 Inability 17 3 Family not immigrated 15 7 Parental neglect, no supervision .... 27 36 Moved frequently 2 3 Immorality in the home 13 0 Lived out (lodgings or institution) .... 12 19 Non-English speaking 2 Family low standard 18 8 Broken home Father dead or deserted 2 17 Mother dead or deserted 6 3 Parents separated or divorced 1 7 Parents dead 11 4 Girl or woman married Husband deserted or abused her .... 3 1 Husband dead 2 1 Separated from husband 1 Total 194 In this table a certain amount of overlapping occurs, among the minor factors, because a girl may have had an immoral home, her father may have been dead, and the family may have moved frequently. In such a situation each would have been counted separately, making bad home conditions thus operative in three 324 APPENDIX A ways in one case. The same does not apply to the major factors, where the causative factors have been evaluated, and thus the most dominant type of bad home conditions has been counted only once. A girl who had an immoral home, whose father was dead, and whose family moved frequently, would thus in a case of major factors be listed only once under " immoral home ", should that have appeared as the most influential factor. TABLE VI Groups of Causative Factors Number of Times a Major Factor Number of Times a Minor Factor Sexual Intercourse at 9 0 " " "10 1 « « << II 4 " " "12 4 « « « ig 2 " « « 7 Promiscuous at 9 1 " "10 - " "11 - " "12 1 " "13 1 " "14 1 Led into immoral practices before 15 by parent or relative 2 Led into immoral practices before 15 by older person 1 Analysis of Early Sex Experience TABLE VII Analysis of Abnormal Physical Conditions Groups of Causative Factors Number of Times a Major Factor Epilepsy 4 Probable epilepsy 1 Deformed hip 1 6 APPENDIX A 325 Sexual Suggestibility No analysis is needed of the 27 cases in which " Sexual Sug- gestibility " has appeared to be the main causative factor. It was manifestly impossible to subdivide this group or to ana- lyze the forces operating upon the suggestible individual which resulted in her pregnancy. Sexual Suggestibility by One Individual It was equally impossible to attempt an analysis of the group of cases which have been classified as " Sexually Suggestible by One Individual." In 38 cases the individual has appeared to be so sexually suggestible by one individual as to justify this being called the major factor in her behavior. This condition appears as a minor causative factor in 4 cases. Abnormal Sexualism In only one instance has " Abnormal Sexualism " been con- sidered the main causative factor in a girl's pregnancy. TABLE VIII Groups of Causative Factors Number of Times a Major Factor Number of Times a Minor Factor About sex matters 2 1 About parentage Because of frustrated ambitions .... 1 1 Total 3 Analysis of Mental Conflicts Heredity Although the element of heredity enters as a minor factor in 48 cases, it has seemed unwise to designate it as a major factor in a single case, for reasons which are explained elsewhere. An early attempt to make an analysis of the situations in which heredity entered as a minor factor resulted in such a wide dis- 326 APPENDIX A tribution of inheritable traits that the resulting table possessed little statistical value. In relatively few case records was a girl's or a woman's ancestry studied further back than her own parents. TABLE IX Analysis of Assault, Incest, and Rape Groups of Causative Factors Number of Times Occurred Incestuous sex relation with uncle 3 Incestuous sex relation with brother 1 Incestuous sex relation with father 2 Raped 3 Incestuous sex relation with stepfather .... 2 Incestuous sex relation with brother-in-law . . 1 Question of rape 2 Total 14 TABLE X The Nativity of the Unmarried Mother Nativity of Girl or Woman Number Per cent Native-born, native parentage .... White 164 32.8 Colored 27 5.4 Native-born, foreign parentage Both parents foreign 125 25.0 One parent foreign . 25 5.0 Native-born, parentage unknown . . . 1 0.2 Foreign born 150 30.0 Unclassified . 8 1.6 Total 500 100.0 A table of this kind is lacking in statistical value because of the fact that it has not been possible to indicate the extent to which native-born women of native parentage, native-born women of foreign parentage, and foreign-born women appear in the population at large, related to the distribution of these women according to child-bearing age. APPENDIX A 327 TABLE XI The Nationality of the Unmarried Mother Nationality Number English Speaking English 18 English-Canadian 64 Irish 84 Scotch 11 Other nationalities . 4 Non-English Speaking French-Canadian 28 Italian 11 German 9 Russian (Jews) 14 Swedish 11 Other nationalities 28 Mixed parentage 18 Native born 191 Parentage unknown 9 Total 500 TABLE XII Schooling Number Per cent Grammar school 2 2 0.4 3 5 1.0 4 16 3.2 5 33 6.6 6 36 7.2 7 44 8.8 8 39 7.8 9 12 2.4 Graduated 45 9.0 High School 1 12 2.4 2 9 1.8 3 7 1.4 4 3 0.6 Graduated 13 2.6 Private School 8 1.6 School until 14 yrs 12 2.4 Miscellaneous 21 4.2 Unknown 183 36.6 Total 500 100.0 Schooling of the Unmarried Mother in 500 Cases 328 APPENDIX A TABLE XIII Age of the Unmarried Mother at the Time of her First Pregnancy Age Numbeb 13 3 14 13 15 29 16 44 17 59 18 61 19 59 20 65 21 34 22 31 23 22 24 9 25 6 26 15 27 4 28 9 29 3 30 7 Over 30 22 Unknown 5 Total 500 APPENDIX A 329 Wage Age CD ri than d Ies 85 d les 86 d les 87 d les 88 d les 89 d les 810 nd le 815 nd ! not n r 14 3. an •20 3. an •25 3. an •30 3. an rot n a o Less $4 84 an than 85 an than 86 an than 87 an than 88 an than | 89 an than 810 a than $15 a over Wage know Unde 1 yrs. 14 yr undei 20 yr undei 1 25 yr undei 30 yr over Age i know 3 o g Domestic . . . 13 19 18 9 7 1 91 72 56 17 11 2 158 31.6 Laundress . . 13 4 3 5 2 3 1 11 2.2 Waitress . . . 3 3 7 1 3 2 10 10 17 2 29 5.8 Hotel service 13 12 1 10 4 8 3 2 1 18 3.6 Factory worker . 3 13 21 21 20 11 5 3 2 32 86 38 3 4 131 26.2 Office service . . 1 4 4 3 2 3 7 5 3 2 17 3.4 Mercantile . . 11 3 1 2 1 12 1 14 3 3 21 4.2 At home . . . 1 31 10 1 3 46 9.2 At school . . . 1 20 2 23 4.6 Miscellaneous 32 1 4 1 3122 21 13 18 5 4 40 7.8 Occupation not known . . . 6 3 2 1 6 1.2 Total .... 24 43 55 43 33 22 6 12 5 188 3 265 161 37 29 5 500 100.0 TABLE XIV Wage and Age of the Mother Grouped according to Occupation in 500 Cases APPENDIX "B" SUGGESTED LEGISLATION For the convenience of those who may be interested in the most advanced legislation concerning the unmarried mother and her child in the United States there follow the recommendations of the Missouri Children's Code Commission. Individuals may disagree with some of the matter recommended, and the author aims only to place before the reader what has been con- sidered progressive legislation on this subject in the community cited. The Missouri Children's Code Commission has recommended the following laws in regard to the illegitimate child. Rights of Children Born Out of Wedlock An act to amend the following sections of the Revised Statutes of Missouri, 1909; Sections 340 and 341, concerning inheritance of children born out of lawful wedlock; and Section 344, con- cerning certain slave marriages. Be it enacted by the General Assembly of .the State of Missouri as follows: Section 1. That Section 340 of the Revised Statutes of Missouri, 1909, be and the same is hereby repealed and there is substituted in lieu thereof a new section to be known as Sec- tion 340, as follows: Section 340. Children Born Out of Wedlock Shall Inherit When and How. A child heretofore born out of wedlock shall be capable of inheriting and transmitting inheritance from its mother, and such mother may inherit from such child in like 330 APPENDIX B 331 manner as if it had been born in lawful wedlock. A child hereafter born out of wedlock shall be capable of inheriting and transmitting inheritance from both of its parents, and its parents and other blood relatives shall be capable of inheriting and transmitting inheritance from such child in like manner as if it had been born in lawful wedlock. Section 2. That Section 341 of the Revised Statutes of Missouri, 1909, be and the same is hereby repealed and there is enacted in lieu thereof, a new section to be known as Section 341, as follows: Section 341. Children Born Out of Wedlock Deemed Law- ful Children When. If a man having a child by a woman, shall hereafter marry such woman, such child shall be deemed the lawful child of both father and mother as from the time of its birth. Court Proceedings to Establish Parentage of Child Support of Child Born Out of Wedlock Support of Child Whose Paternity Cannot be Established An act to determine the parentage of children, and the liability of parents or possible parents for the support of their children, with sections to be known as Sections 1679 to 1685 of Article 2 of Chapter 20 of the Revised Statutes of Missouri of 1909. Be it enacted by the General Assembly of the State of Missouri, as follows: Section 1679. Every Child the Child of Its Natural Parents. Every child hereafter born, and whether born in or out of law- ful wedlock, shall be deemed in law the child of its parents, and the legal relation of parent and child shall not depend upon the parents being married; provided that if a child's mother is married at the time of its birth, the child shall be deemed the child of its mother's husband at the time of its birth until shown by a preponderance of evidence not to be the child of her husband. Section 1680. Suit to Determine Parentage. Any interested 332 APPENDIX B person may, with special permission of the judge, institute a suit in the juvenile division of the circuit court for the purpose of determining the parentage of a child; such suit shall be conducted as a proceeding in chancery and at the discretion of the court the hearing shall be private, in the presence of in- terested parties only, and the record and proceedings may be withheld from the public. The child and, if its mother be alive, the mother shall be necessary parties to such proceeding and any person alleged to be the father of the child may be made a party; provided that no such proceeding shall be allowed for the purpose of establishing the parenthood of a person deceased at the time of the filing of the petition. The decree of the court in such a proceeding shall be conclusive evidence of the facts found by the court relating to the parentage of the child, in so far as the parties to the proceeding are concerned. Like pro- cess and proceedings shall be had in such causes as are had in other civil suits. Section 1681. Husband or Wife May Testify as to Sexual Intercourse. In any proceedings to establish the parentage of a child, and in any proceeding in which proof of parentage may be material, it shall be competent for a husband or wife to testify as to sexual intercourse with his or her spouse in so far as such testimony may relate to the question of parentage. Section 1682. Parents Liable for Child's Support. The natural parents of a child under the age of sixteen years shall be responsible for its support without regard to whether the child was born in lawful wedlock and without regard to the emancipation of the child; and the liability for the support of the child shall not be dependent on the custody of the child. Section 1683. Suit to Enforce Duty to Support Child. Either parent or any interested person may institute a suit in the juvenile division of the circuit court to enforce a parent's liability for the support of child under the age of sixteen, and such suit shall be conducted as a proceeding in chancery and like process and proceedings shall be had in such cases as in other civil suits. The court may order the defendant to provide such maintenance for the child as from the circumstances of APPENDIX B 333 the case and the situation of the child and its parents shall seem reasonable, and the court may determine the amount of support which should be furnished by each or either parent, having regard to the needs of the child and the ability and situation of the parent. The court may enter judgment against the defend- ant for past support and may decree further maintenance and may order the defendant to give security for such maintenance; and upon his neglect to give the security required of him, or upon default of himself and his sureties, if there be any, to provide such maintenance, the court may award an execution for the collection thereof, or enforce the performance of the judgment or order by sequestration of property, or by such other lawful ways and means as is according to the practice of the court. The court may from time to time make such alteration to the order of maintenance as may seem proper. Section 1684. Liability of Possible Father for Support of Child. Where it is impossible to establish the paternity of a child because of its mother having had intercourse with several men during the period in which the child must have been begotten, each man who had intercourse with the child's mother during such period and who might possibly have begotten the child shall be liable for the support of the child during its minority; and in a proceeding in the juvenile division of the circuit court brought by any interested person to secure the child's support, every such man may be ordered to contribute to the support of the child during its minority in such measure as the court may determine in consideration of the circumstances of the case and the needs of the child, and the provisions of the preceding section as to enforcing the order of the court shall be applicable. The Minnesota Child Welfare Commission has this year recommended to the legislature certain bills affecting the un- married mother, some of which have been passed. As a result of their efforts a State Board of Control has been created which is charged with the fulfillment of the State's care and guardian- ship of all children, with special reference to the illegitimate child. Furthermore, certain laws relating to illegitimacy have 334 APPENDIX B been revised, and the father of a child born out of wedlock is now subject to the same degree of responsibility as though the child were legitimate. Absconding where issue is born of forni- cation has been made a felony. The reader is referred to the Report of the Minnesota Child Welfare Commission for the recommended laws in detail. Those interested in the legal status of the unmarried mother should not fail to consult the recent pamphlet of the Boston Conference on Illegitimacy, entitled " A Manual of Laws relat- ing to Illegitimacy." This booklet contains material of value to all social workers. See also Miss Emma O. Lundberg's " Illegitimacy in Europe as Affected by the War " and the Children's Bureau's " Sum- mary of Child Welfare Laws Passed in 1916." REFERENCES "Actes du Congres Penitentiaire International de Washington, Octobre, 1910", Vol. 1, p. 284 Groningen, 1913. Anthony, K.: "Norway's Treatment of the Illegitimate Child", The New Republic, August 21, 1915. Aronovici, C.: "Unmarried Girls with Sex Experience", Bulletin No. 1, Bureau for Social Research of the Seybert Institution, Philadelphia, 1915. Aschaffenburg: "Crime and Its Repression," Boston, 1913. Ayer: "Legitimacy and Marriage", Harvard Law Review, Vol. 16. Blagg, H. M.: "Statistical Analysis of Infant Mortality and Its Causes in the United Kingdom." Bonger, W. A.: "Criminality and Economic Conditions", Boston, 1916. Boston Conference on Illegitimacy, Studies of, September, 1914. Bowen, L. deK.: "The Girl Employed in Hotels and Restaurants", Chicago, 1912. "TheRoad to Destruction Made Easy in Chicago", Chicago, 1916. Chesser, E. S.: "Woman, Marriage and Motherhood", London, 1913. Correvan, G.: "Actes du Congres Penitentiaire International de Washington", Vol. 4, Groningen, 1912. Durran, W.: "The Illegitimate Child", The Ethical World, May 1, 1914. Ellis, Havelock: "Studies in the Psychology of Sex", 6 Vols., Phila- delphia, 1911. "The Task of Social Hygiene", Boston, 1912. Encyclopaedia Britannica, 11th edition. Article on "Illegitimacy." "Feebleminded Adrift." The League for Preventive Work. Boston, 1916. Forberger: " Moralstatistik Siiddeutschlands", Berlin, 1914. Freud, S.: "Selected Papers on Hysteria and Other Psychoneuroses", New York, 1912. "Three Contributions to the Sexual Theory", New York, 1910. 335 336 REFERENCES German Civil Code of 1900. Goddard, H. H.: "Feeblemindedness, Its Causes and Consequences", New York, 1914. Guillaume : "Journal de Statistique Suisse", Berne, 1895. Hall, G. Stanley: "Educational Problems", 1911, New York. Healy, W.: "The Individual Delinquent", Boston, 1915. "Pathological Lying, Accusation and Swindling", Boston, 1916. "Mental Conflicts and Misconduct", Boston, 1917. Heller-Schiller-Taube: "Handbuch des Kinderschutzes und der Jugendfiirsorge", Leipzig, 1911. Holt, E. B.: "The Freudian Wish", New York, 1915. Jones, E.: "Papers on Psycho-Analysis", New York, 1913. Jung, C. G.: "The Psychology of the Unconscious", New York, 1916. "The Theory of Psycho-Analysis", New York, 1915. Klumker: "Zeitschrift fiir Sozialwissenschaft", Berlin, March, 1906. Kneeland, George J.: "Commercialized Prostitution in New York City", New York, 1913. Lefiingwell, A.: "Illegitimacy", London, 1892. Lindner: "Die Unehelichen Geburten als Sozialphanomen", Leipzig, 1900. Mangold and Essex: "Illegitimate Births in St. Louis", No. 4, Re- ports of Social Investigation, Washington University, St. Louis, 1914. Missouri Children's Code Commission, Report of. Moll, A.: "The Sexual Life of the Child", New York, 1912. Moore, H.: "The Care of Illegitimate Children in Chicago." Neumann, H.: " Handworterbuch der Staatswissenschaft ", Supple- ment, 1895. "Die Unehelichen Kinder in Berlin", Jena, 1900. Ottenberg, Louis: "Fatherless Children of the National Capital", The Survey, January 30, 1915. Philadelphia Municipal Court Report, 1915. Prenger, G.: "Die Unehelichkeit im Konigreich Sachsen", Leipzig, 1913. Prinzing, F.: "Die Uneheliche Fruchtbarkeit in Deutschland", Zeitschrift fiir Sozialwissenschaft, V. Jahrgang, Berlin, 1902. Rost: "Beitrage zur Moralstatistik", Paderborn, 1913. "Social Evil in Chicago, The", Chicago, 1911. REFERENCES 337 Speich: "Die Unehelichen Geburten der Stadt Zurich", Glarus, 1914. Spann, C.: "Die Uneheliche Bevolkerung in Frankfurt am Main." "Die Unehelichen Miindel des Vermundschaftsgerichtes, in Frankfurt am Main." "Die Lage und das Schicksal der Unehelichen Kinder", Leipzig, 1909. Streeter, H.: "The Feebleminded in Relation to Parish and Com- munity." Szilagyi: " Actes du Congres Penitentiaire International de Washing- ton", Vol. 4, Groningen, 1912. Taube, M.: "Das Haltekinderwesen", Berlin, 1899. Tugendreich: "Die Mutter und Sauglingsfiirsorge", 1910. Westermarck, E.: "The History of Human Marriage", London, 1903. "White Slave Traffic, So Called." House No. 2281, Boston, 1914. Wright, Helen M.: "Routine Mental Tests as the Proper Basis of Practical Measures in Social Service." Boston Medical and Surgical Journal, December, 1916. Woods and Kennedy: "Young Working Girls", Boston, 1913. "Zeitschrift fiir Sexualwissenschaft", Bonn, October, 1915. INDEX Abnormal mentality, conclusions, 297 physical conditions, general state- ment, 183 conclusions, 294 sexualism, conclusions, 296 general consideration, 211 difficulty of definition, 212 Actes du Congres Penitentiaire In- ternationale de Washington, quoted, 283, 310 Adolescence, mental state of, 84 ff. Anthony, K., quoted, 281 Appendix A, statistics, general consid- erations, 319 B, suggested legislation, 330 Aronovici, C., quoted, 269 Aschaffenburg, quoted, 109 Assault, incest, and rape general consideration, 222 not causative factors, 222 general conclusions, 297 Ayer, quoted, 311 Bad companions, 60 ff. conclusions, 287 environment, general statement, 35 conclusions, 285 home conditions, general statement, 102 ff. conclusions, 291 Blagg, H. M., quoted, 10 Bonger, W. O., quoted, 109 Boston Conference on Illegitimacy, Studies of, quoted, 6, 12, 15, 268, 274 Bowen, L. de K., quoted, 51, 68 Case records, a study of, 20 study, method of, 22 Causative factor cards built up in- ductively, 26 Causative factors, classification of, 29, 31 Chesser, E. S., quoted, 313 Chicago, The Social Evil in, quoted, 42, 49, 50, 69, 108 Children and sexual stimuli, 80 Community responsibility, 16 Companions, age of, 63 Conclusions, general considerations, 284 Correvan, G., quoted, 279 Definitions of groups, 27 Dementia Prsecox, 248 Demoralizing recreation, lake steam- ers, motion picture theaters, cabarets, 68 ff. Durran, W., quoted, 278 Early sex experience, general con- siderations, 178 conclusions, 293 Educational disadvantages, general statement, 77 conclusions, 289 Ellis, Havelock, quoted, 79, 88, 212 Emotion-producing experiences, 216 Employment conditions contaminat- ing, 48 Englemann, G. J., quoted, 185 Epilepsy, 186 ff. probably, 189 339 340 INDEX Families, low-standard, 160 Family, other members of alcoholic, immoral, or criminalistic, 122 Father alcoholic, immoral, or criminal- istic, 112 dead, 164 Fatigue and sexual laxness, 48 " Feeble-minded Adrift," quoted, 231 Feeble-minded morons, 240 Feeble-mindedness, 239 extent of, 230 Forberger, quoted, 8 Freud, S., quoted, 81, 86 Freud and the School of Psycho- analysis, 81 General Conclusions, 307 ff. German Civil Code of 1900, 278 Girl away from home, 157 Goddard, H. H., quoted, 230 Gonorrhoea and syphilis, distribution of, 301 Groups, contaminating influence of, 60 Guillaume, quoted, 9 Hall, G. Stanley, 78, 81-87, 91, 96 Healy, William, quoted, 23, 73, 76, 178, 183, 185-187, 195, 196, 203, 211, 216, 217, 230, 236, 244, 251 Heller-Schiller-Taube, quoted, 5 Heredity, general consideration, 181 general conclusions, 297 Holt, E. B., quoted, 98, 100 Home influence, away from, without protection, 36 Hotels and restaurants, contaminating influence of, 51 ff. Husband deserted, 174 dead, 175 Hysterical mental aberrations, 251 Illegitimacy, derivation of the term, 1 rate as a guide to sexual morality, 2 the attitude of the State towards, 2 distribution by nationalities and cities, 3 Illegitimacy, Continued comparative tables, 4 ff. distribution according to religious belief, 7 influence of a specific creed, 8 comparative tables, 8 Illegitimacy and infant mortality, 9 comparative tables, 10, 11 Illegitimacy and crime, 13 Illegitimate child, nurture of, 14 need of a new attitude toward, 18 children, disposition of, 14 Illegitimacy rates, 314 Immorality in the home, 152 Immoral neighborhoods, effect on chil- dren, 43 Incest, 223 Increase of Criminals, Mental Defec- tives, etc., quoted, 230 Individuals, bad effect of, 61 Infantile sexualism, 81 Infant mortality, causes of, 11 Ingram, quoted, 4 Institutional treatment, ill success of, 62 Insufficient data on heredity, 181 Jones, E., quoted, 86, 97 Jung, C. G., quoted, 86 Klumker, quoted, 17 Kneeland, Geo. J., quoted, 107 Leffingwell, A., quoted, 15 Lindner, quoted, 314 Living conditions contaminating, 46 Low-standard relatives, girl lived with, 46 Mangold and Essex, quoted, 6, 12, 15, 269, 273 Marriage, attitude of girls toward, 90 Mental aberration, 247 Mental Abnormality, general consid- eration, 229 classifications, 236 conclusions, 263 INDEX 341 Mental conflict, general consideration, 215 conclusions, 296 Mental conflicts presuppose some emotional disturbance, 216 not solely of sexual nature, 217 Mental defect incurable, 229 Mental subnormality, 237 Moderate suggestibility normal, 195 Moll, A., quoted, 80 Moore, Howard, quoted, 7, 15 Mother alcoholic, immoral, or crim- inalistic, 115 dead, 166 Moving, frequency of, 150 Neumann, H., quoted, 14, 267 Ottenberg, Louis, quoted, 272 Parental control, lack of, 128 through ignorance, 129 through illness, 131 father away, 133 mother away, 134 parental inability, 137 family not immigrated, 141 Parental neglect, no supervision, 144 Parents alcoholic, immoral, or crim- inalistic, 118 dead, 171 separated, 168 Philadelphia Municipal Court Report, 1915, quoted, 107 Poverty, 124 Prenger, G., quoted, 266, 274, 276 Prinzing, F., quoted, 314 Professional guardianship in Ger- many, 16 Psychic constitutional inferiority, 258 Psychological examinations, 233 Quarreling, abuse, etc., in the home, 110 Recreational Disadvantages, gen- eral considerations, 67 school centers, settlement houses 73. conclusions, 288 References, 335 Rost, quoted, 8 Schedule for case study, 23 Sex and education, conclusions, 91 ff. matters, lack of knowledge on, 78 knowledge, sources of, 79 pedagogy, early need of, 82 experience by suggestion or contact, 178 Sexual enlightenment for adolescent girls, 86 suggestibility general consideration, 195 conclusions, 295 Sexually suggestible by one individual, general consideration, 203 conclusions, 295 Special defect, self-control, 243 Specialized mental defects, 235 Speich, quoted, 267, 274 Spann, O., quoted, 12, 13, 270, 309 Streeter, quoted, 232 Suggestible type, the, 196 Summaries illustrate the causative factors, 32 outline for, 32 Szilagyi, quoted, 280 Taube, M., quoted, 17 Tubercular and cancerous hip, 193 Tugendreich, quoted, 11 Uncongenial Surroundings, 57 Unmarried Mother, the problem of, 1 in various communities, general con- sideration, 265 occupation of, 266 age at first pregnancy, 272 localities from which they come, 275 later marriages among, 276 legal status of, 278 ff. nativity of, 298 nationality of, 299 number of pregnancies, 300 mental examination of, 301 later marriage of, 302 wage according to occupation, 303 herself illegitimate, 303 dead, 166 342 INDEX Uncongenial Surroundings, Con- tinued discrepancy in age between self and father of child, 304 age at first pregnancy, 305 Vicious neighborhood, 40 Weakness or irritation, conditions causing, 184 Westermarck, quoted, 308 White Slave Traffic, So Called, quoted, 231 Women suggestible by one man, 203 not promiscuous, 204 Woods and Kennedy, " Young Work- ing Girls," quoted, 43, 49, 50, 74, 75, 89, 103 Working methods, 20 Wright, Helen M., quoted, 232 "Zeitschrift fur Sexualwissen- schaft," quoted, 10 THE INDIVIDUAL DELINQUENT A TEXT-BOOK OF DIAGNOSIS AND PROGNOSIS FOR ALL CONCERNED IN UNDERSTANDING OFFENDERS BY WILLIAM HEALY, A.B., M.D. DIRECTOR OF THE PSYCHOPATHIC INSTITUTE, JUVENILE COURT, CHICAGO ASSOCIATE PROFESSOR MENTAL AND NERVOUS DISEASES, CHICAGO POLYCLINIC TTHIS volume is the result of five years' study and investigation by the Juvenile Psychopathic Institute of Chicago. The part played by heredity, disease, mental abnormality and environment in the pro- duction of criminals is clearly shown, and the best method of study and diagnosis in- dicated. It is the first text-book on a vitally important subject. What the Reviewers say of'The Individual Delinquent: This remarkable work is perhaps the first great expression of the new epoch upon which criminology is now entering. It is also a culmination.-Harvard Law Review. It is hoped that the book will be widely read and freely consulted; it will not fail to be a most valuable guide, philosopher and friend to both the practical worker and to the investigator of detail.-American Political Science Review. It is a book with which everyone who has to deal with offenders should be familiar. It has a message for teachers, religious leaders and parents no less than for the judge, the court officer and the institutional authority.- Yale Law Journal. It is certainly one of the most significant books of the last decade.-Boston Medical Journal. I wish that some public benefactor could make a gift of your book to every judge, every prosecuting attorney, every probation officer, every educator, every clergy- man and every family physician in this conntry.-John H. Wigmore, Dean of the Law School, Northwestern University, Chicago, III. 862 pages. 8vo. Cloth. $5-00 net. LITTLE, BROWN & CO., Publishers, BOSTON CRIMINAL SCIENCE MONOGRAPHS PUBLISHED UNDER THE AUSPICES OF THE American Institute of Criminal Law and Criminology PATHOLOGICAL LYING, ACCUSATION, AND SWINDLING A STUDY IN FORENSIC PSYCHOLOGY By WILLIAM HEALY, M.D., A.B., and MARY TENNEY HEALY THE authors have studied thoroughly practically the entire literature on the subject, almost none of which is in English, in addition to the long and thorough case studies made by the Juvenile Psychopathic Institute of Chicago. The result is a work of great value for all who have to deal not only with crime, but with the vagaries of the juvenile mind; a book of prac- tical service for lawyers, doctors, parents, teachers and social workers. $2.50 net. STUDIES IN FORENSIC PSYCHIATRY By BERNARD GLUECK, M.D. THIS volume presents the results of a long period of investigation in the criminal department of the Government Hospital for the Insane. It is aimed to present a series of well-rounded-out case histories of criminal types as studied from the psychopathologists' view-point. No attempt is made at hard and fast formulations, but it is felt that this clinical material emphasizes sufficiently the necessity of the psychopathological mode of ap- proach to the problem of criminology. $2.50 net. THE UNMARRIED MOTHER A STUDY OF FIVE HUNDRED CASES By PERCY GAMBLE KAMMERER WITH AN INTRODUCTION BY WILLIAM HEALY, M.D. THE question of the unmarried mother and her child is one of the most important social problems of the present day. It is in the belief that enlightened public opinion may see fit to modify the community atti- tude towards the unmarried mother and her child that Mr. Kammerer has prepared his study of the situation-founded on an analysis of over five hundred cases. The statistics presented are taken from official reports not only in America, but in foreign countries as well. They show only too plainly the futility of the present method of treating such cases, and the necessity of a different viewpoint from the average if the social evil is to be remedied. $3-00 net. Published by LITTLE, BROWN & CO., Boston, Mass.