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"Affluenza" Defense Falls Under Scrutiny

Houston – "Affluenza," is the term that was used by a psychologist to argue that a North Texas teenager from an affluent family shouldn't be sent to prison for killing four pedestrians after drunk driving. However, "affluenza" is not a recognized diagnosis and shouldn't be used to justify bad behavior argued another psychologist on Thursday.

Affluenza is a non-medical term that was coined in the late 1990s by author Jessie O'Neill, the granddaughter of a past president of General Motors in her book, "The Golden Ghetto: The Psychology of Affluence."

Affluenza has been used to describe a condition where children from richer families have a sense of entitlement, are irresponsible, make excuses for bad behavior and in some cases dabble in drugs and alcohol, explained Dr. Gary Buffone, a psychologist in Jacksonville, Fla. Who advises on family wealth.

Affluenza was also used by an expert defense witness in a trial involving a 16-year-old driver who avoided a sentence that could have reached 20 years in prison after he confessed to intoxication manslaughter in the fatal accident involving the four pedestrians. Instead of getting up to 20 years in the four deaths, District Court Judge Jean Boyd gave him 10 years probation.

Prosecutors in the case argued for the maximum prison sentence for the June 15 accident; however, the boy's defense attorneys said that he needed rehabilitation and not prison. Psychologist Gary Miller testified in court that the boy grew up in a house where his parents were preoccupied with arguments which ultimately led to divorce and that the boy suffered from "affluenza."

According to authorities the teen and his friends were seen on surveillance video stealing two cases of beer from a store. The boy had seven passengers in his Ford F-350, had a blood alcohol level that was three times the legal limit, and was speeding when he slammed into four pedestrians, killing each one of them.

The judge decided that the boy would receive intensive therapy at a rehabilitation center near Newport Beach, Calif., which the parents would pay for.

  • Recognition

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