SEVERAL REPORTS HAVE SUGGESTED A RELATIONSHIP BETWEEN HERPESVIRUS HOMINIS INFECTION AND VARIOUS PSYCHIATRIC DISORDERS ON THE BASIS OF AN INCREASED FREQUENCY OF HERPESVIRUS ANTIBODY TITERS IN A STUDY POPULATION WHEN COMPARED WITH NONPSYCHIATRIC CONTROLS AND INDIVIDUALS WITH UNRELATED PSYCHIATRIC DISORDERS. TO INVESTIGATE A LINK BETWEEN HERPESVIRUS AND AGGRESSIVE PERSONALITIES, RESEARCHERS DETERMINED HERPESVIRUS ANTIBODY TITERS IN THE SAMPLE OF RACIALLY MIXED MALES RANGING IN AGE FROM 14 TO 60 YEARS. PSYCHOLOGIC AND PSYCHIATRIC STAFF AT THE INSTITUTION CATEGORIZED SUBJECTS AS DEFECTIVE DELINQUENTS IF THEY EXHIBITED THE FOLLOWING CHARACTERISTICS: PERSISTENT AGGRESSIVENESS AND ANTISOCIAL BEHAVIOR, PROPENSITY TO CRIMINAL ACTIVITY, AND INTELLECTUAL OR EMOTIONAL IMBALANCE. ANTIBODY LEVELS, MEASURED BY THE INDIRECT HEMAGGLUTINATION TECHNIQUE AND STATISTICALLY ANALYZED USING THE LAYERED CHI SQUARE, FAILED TO SHOW ANY SIGNIFICANT VARIABILITY IN EITHER FREQUENCY OR ABSOLUTE ANTIBODY TITERS TO TYPES ONE AND TWO BETWEEN THE TWO GROUPS OF CHRONIC CRIMINAL OFFENDERS. FURTHERMORE, ANTIBODY PATTERNS DID NOT DIFFER FROM THOSE OBSERVED IN NORMAL POPULATIONS. FURTHER STUDIES WITH LARGER SAMPLES ARE NEEDED TO MAKE CONCLUSIVE STATEMENTS. REFERENCES AND TABULAR DATA ARE PROVIDED. (DAG)