Macdonald Triad
Research has shown that bedwetting does not indicate a greater possibility of being a sociopath, as long as caregivers do not cause trauma by shaming or punishing a bedwetting child. Bedwetting was part of the Macdonald triad, a set of three behavioral characteristics described by John Macdonald in 1963. The other two characteristics were firestarting and animal abuse. Macdonald suggested that there was an association between a person displaying all three characteristics, then later displaying sociopathic criminal behavior.
Research has found, however, that enuresis is not associated with sociopathic behavior. Enuresis is an “unconscious, involuntary, and nonviolent act and therefore linking it to violent crime is more problematic than doing so with animal cruelty or firesetting".
Bedwetting can be connected to emotional or physical trauma. Trauma can trigger a return to bedwetting (secondary enuresis) in both children and adults. In addition, caregivers cause some level of emotional trauma when they punish or shame a bedwetting child.
This leads to a difficult distinction: it is not the bedwetting that increases the chance of criminal behavior, but the trauma. For example, parental cruelty can result in "homicidal proneness".
Read more about this topic: Nocturnal Enuresis