NCJ Number
16628
Date Published
1974
Length
65 pages
Annotation
FORTY-FIVE INCARCERATED JUVENILE DELINQUENTS AND 45 MATCHED CONTROLS WERE EXAMINED USING THE HALSTEAD NEUROPSYCHOLOGICAL BATTERY TO INVESTIGATE THE OCCURRENCE OF ADAPTIVE DISABILITY IN DELINQUENTS.
Abstract
THE SIGNIFICANT DIFFERENCES WHICH WERE OBSERVED TO EXIST BETWEEN THE SAMPLE MEANS ON ALMOST ALL OF THE WECHSLER SCALES AND ON THE MAJORITY OF HALSTEAD'S TEST INDICATED THAT THE DELINQUENT GROUP SHOWED MARKED IMPAIRMENT IN MOST CRITICAL ADAPTIVE ABILITIES WHEN COMPARED WITH NORMAL CONTROLS. THE DELINQUENTS, AS A GROUP, PRODUCED NEUROPSYCHOLOGICAL PROTOCOLS IN WHICH THE MOST STRIKING DEFICITS OCCURRED IN THE AREAS OF CONCEPT FORMATION AND UTILIZATION, VERBAL-SYMBOLIC MANIPULATIONS, AND PERCEPTUAL ORGANIZATION. THE USE OF DISCRIMINANT FUNCTIONS BASED ON FIVE NEUROPSYCHOLOGICAL PREDICTORS PERMITTED CORRECT CLASSIFICATION OF 87 PERCENT OF THE DELINQUENTS AS DELINQUENTS. THOSE NEUROPSYCHOLOGICAL MEASURES WHICH BEST DISCRIMINATED DELINQUENTS FROM CONTROLS WERE, IN ORDER, PERFORMANCE IQ, HALSTEAD'S IMPAIRMENT INDEX, VERBAL IQ, AND PARTS A&B OF THE TRAILMAKING TEST. SINCE UNDETECTED ADAPTIVE OR LEARNING DISABILITIES HAVE BEEN FOUND TO PLAY AN IMPORTANT ETIOLOGICAL ROLE IN THE DEVELOPMENT OF THE LIFE STYLE THAT RESULTS IN DELINQUENCY, THERE IS AN URGENT NEED FOR MANDATORY DISABILITY DETECTION SCREENING PRIOR TO ENTRANCE TO THE FIRST GRADE TO IDENTIFY HIGH-RISK YOUNGSTERS. STUDY RESULTS ALSO INDICATE THAT WHAT DELINQUENTS NEED MOST IS NOT PSYCHOTHERAPY OR MEDICAL TREATMENT, BUT A DETAILED ANALYSIS OF THEIR SKILL DEFICITS AND APPROPRIATE REMEDIATION OR SKILL-BUILDING. THE GOAL OF REGULAR ACADEMIC SCHOOLING SHOULD BE ABANDONED AS FRUSTRATING AND DEMORALIZING FOR THESE DELINQUENTS AND THE DIVISION OF VOCATIONAL REHABILITATION MADE AVAILABLE AS A RESOURCE FOR THESE YOUNGSTERS ONCE THEIR SKILLS HAVE BEEN STRENGTHENED AND THEY ARE READY FOR EMPLOYMENT. A SEVEN-PAGE BIBLIOGRAPHY IS PROVIDED.