NCJ Number
169371
Journal
Journal of Crime and Justice Volume: 20 Issue: 2 Dated: (1997) Pages: 1-18
Date Published
1997
Length
18 pages
Annotation
Data from 411 male juvenile delinquents were used to examine the assertive skills of these youths and to determine whether subgroups of delinquents differing in terms of assertiveness could be distinguished from each other along such correlates as academic, personality, and behavioral measures.
Abstract
The participants included all adjudicated male delinquents aged 12-15 admitted to a State training school over a 16-month period. An objective self-report inventory developed by Gambrill and Rickey was used to gather data about assertiveness. Information about the correlates of assertiveness was obtained from a variety of measures of personality and behavioral, social, intellectual, and educational skills. A discriminant analysis was performed on the data. The youths were divided into three groups based on their scores on the assertiveness measures. Results indicated that the subgroups could be reliably differentiated from each other along a number of correlates. The three subgroups differed from each other on 11 measures of academic achievement, 6 vocational measures, 3 measures of independent living skills, 19 measures of personality, 5 recreational measures, and 7 measures of institutional adjustment. Findings suggest that delinquents are a heterogeneous group and that the majority of delinquents have assertive skills that are developed to an average extent. Findings also indicate that treatment interventions aimed at enhancing the assertive skills of the majority of juvenile delinquents are useful and that the efforts of treatment personnel should focus on youths who lack particular skills. Tables and 25 references (Author abstract modified)