NCJ Number
18920
Date Published
1968
Length
80 pages
Annotation
THIS STUDY COMPARED THE PERFORMANCE OF DELINQUENT AND NONDELINQUENT BOYS FROM LOWER AND MIDDLE CLASS BACKGROUNDS ON A PROJECTIVE TEST WHICH ESTIMATES PERSONALITY INTEGRATION.
Abstract
ONE HUNDRED BOYS BETWEEN THE AGES OF 14 AND 17 YEARS WERE DIVIDED INTO FOUR GROUPS WITH 25 SUBJECTS IN EACH GROUP 1) LOWER CLASS DELINQUENTS, 2) LOWER CLASS NONDELINQUENTS, 3) MIDDLE CLASS DELINQUENTS AND 4) MIDDLE CLASS NONDELINQUENTS. THE SUBJECTS SOCIOECONOMIC STATUS WAS DETERMINED ACCORDING TO WARNER'S SOCIAL STATUS TABLES, BASED ON THE OCCUPATION OF THE MAJOR BREADWINNER. DELINQUENCY WAS DEFINED AS REPEATED LAW VIOLATION COMMITTED BY MINORS, AND THE DELINQUENT SUBJECTS CHOSEN HAD COMMITTED THREE OR MORE OFFENSES WITHIN A TWO-YEAR PERIOD. THE DELINQUENTS WERE SELECTED FROM A LOCAL REFORM SCHOOL AND THE PROBATION LISTS OF A SUBURBAN JUVENILE COURT. NONDELINQUENTS WERE OBTAINED FROM LOCAL URBAN OR SUBURBAN COMMUNITY CENTERS. THE MAJORITY OF SUBJECTS WERE WHITE, AND THE PERCENTAGES OF NON-WHITE SUBJECTS WERE SIMILAR IN THE DELINQUENT AND NONDELINQUENT SAMPLES FROM THE SAME SOCIOECONOMIC BACKGROUND. INTELLIGENCE WAS ESTIMATED BY THE WAIS VOCABULARY SUBTEST. ALL SUBJECTS WERE GIVEN THE IES TEST, A PROJECTIVE TEST WHICH MEASURES THE RELATIVE STRENGTHS OF IMPULSE, EGO, AND SUPEREGO IN SEPARATE BUT RELATED ASPECTS OF PERSONALITY. THE RESULTS OF THIS STUDY SUPPORT PREVIOUS RESEARCH WHICH HAS PROPOSED THAT THE PSYCHOLOGICAL CHARACTERISTICS OF MOST DELINQUENTS ARE NOT SIGNIFICANTLY DIFFERENT FROM THEIR NONDELINQUENT PEERS, AND ADDITIONALLY LEND SUPPORT TO STUDIES WHICH HAVE ARGUED THAT DELINQUENCY IS NOT NECESSARILY RELATED TO EMOTIONAL MALADJUSTMENT. (AUTHOR ABSTRACT)