And a Little Child Shall Lead Them

To the Editor:— In discussing the various reports on plasma uric acid concentrations as they relate to achievement and personality traits, you sorrowfully note in your editorial, Uric Acid and the Psyche ( 208: 1180, 1969), that kindergarten pupils have as yet not been investigated. It may cheer you to know that at present we are conducting comparative studies of serum uric acid levels in our regional nurseries and kindergartens, and that we have already submitted preliminary reports to our local bulletin. Our subjects—all boys ages 3 and 4—were graded according to (1) intelligence, (2) aggressiveness, and (3) competitiveness. Much to our surprise, intelligence as measured by the standard IQ tests, did not correlate significantly with uric acid levels. But a marked positive correlation was found between the latter and aggressiveness, as estimated by the pugnacity index (PI). Little bullies, who excelled in shinkicking and nose-punching, had serum uric acid concentrations