Report of the President's Commission on the Assassination of President John F. Kennedy

KAPITEL VII.

CHAPTER VII examines Lee Oswald’s psychological and developmental history through assessments conducted in New York, his return to New Orleans, his exposure to radical ideas, his enlistment and service in the Marine Corps, disciplinary incidents in Japan, and the circumstances of his discharge after defecting to the Soviet Union.

Intellectual and Academic Assessment

Lee Oswald scored an IQ of 118 on the Wechsler Intelligence Scale for Children, which psychologist Sokolow characterized as indicating intellectual functioning in the upper range of bright normal intelligence. Sokolow noted that although Oswald appeared disinterested in school subjects, he operated on a much higher than average level. On the Monroe Silent Reading Test, Oswald demonstrated no retardation in reading speed or comprehension, and he showed better than average ability in arithmetical reasoning for his age group.

Social Difficulties and Ambivalence Toward Authority

Oswald told his probation officer Carro that he preferred solitude because he had too much difficulty making friends. Reports from Carro and Mrs. Siegel indicated an ambivalent attitude toward authority on Oswald’s part. Upon returning to school in fall 1953, he became disruptive, refused to salute the flag, and did virtually no schoolwork. He resisted the authorities’ efforts to draw him out of his shell. He told Mrs. Siegel he would run away if sent to boarding school, yet also expressed a wish that his mother had been firmer in trying to get him to return to school.

Maternal Relationship and Family Dynamics

The New York authorities’ reports indicated that Lee’s mother gave him very little affection, did not serve as a substitute father, and did not understand her own relationship to his psychological problems. Mrs. Siegel described Marguerite Oswald as a smartly dressed, gray-haired, self-possessed, and superficially affable woman, but essentially defensive, rigid, and self-involved, with difficulty accepting and relating to people and little understanding of Lee’s behavior. Dr. Hartogs reported that Mrs. Oswald did not understand Lee’s withdrawal was a form of violent but silent protest against her neglect and the absence of real family life. When questioned about his mother, Lee said, “well I’ve got to live with her. I guess I love her.” John Pic reported that Lee slept with his mother until approximately age ten or eleven.

Personality Assessment in New York and Predictive Limitations

The personality factors observed in Lee Oswald in New York revealed great difficulty adapting to the city, with his typical reaction being withdrawal. These factors indicated a severe inability to enter into relationships with others, and similar problems were apparently already present before he went to New York. This failure to adapt to his environment was a dominant trait that would persist throughout his later life. However, it would be incorrect to believe that the personality aspects observed in New York could have led anyone to predict his later outburst of violence.

Probation Officer Carro’s Institutional Placement Recommendation

Probation officer Carro was the only one of Oswald’s three principal observers in New York to recommend placement in a boys’ home or similar institution. However, Carro specified that his recommendation was based primarily on adverse environmental factors, including Lee’s lack of friends, the unavailability of agency assistance, and his mother’s ineffectuality, rather than any particular mental disturbance in Lee himself. Carro testified that there was nothing when he saw Lee at age 12 that would have led him to believe there were “seeds of destruction for somebody.”

Therapeutic Assessment and Unavailable Mental Health Services

Mrs. Siegel concluded her report by stating that despite Oswald’s withdrawal, he gave the impression of being not so difficult to reach as he appeared, and that patient, prolonged effort in a sustained relationship with one therapist might yield results. She indicated he had suffered serious personality damage that could be repaired with timely help. However, Lee Oswald never received such help; few New York social agencies were equipped to provide the intensive treatment he needed, and when a clinic found room for him, the opportunity was never utilized. When his mother failed to cooperate with school authorities after Lee became a disciplinary problem, the court began considering placement in a boys’ home, but the Oswalds left New York in January 1954 before any action was taken.