Ecological Distribution of Juvenile Delinquency and Mental Disorders in Mannheim - Significance of the Concept of Area as a Research Unit in Epidemioloical and Ecological Investigations

• NCJ Number: 70239
• Journal: SOCIAL PSYCHIATRY Volume: 12 Issue: 3 Dated: (1977) Pages: 157-169
• Author(s): G Moschel; H Haeberle
• Date Published: 1977
• Length: 13 pages
• Publication Format: Article
• Language: German
• Country: West Germany (Former)
• Note: This study originated under the Special Research Area 116-Psychiatric Epidemiology - at the University of Heidelberg in Mannheim

Annotation

The ecological distribution of juvenile delinquency is compared to distribution patterns of mental disturbances and suicides in Mannheim, West Germany.

Abstract

Data for comparison derive from records of 1,000 juvenile delinquents prosecuted for offenses in Mannheim from 1968 to 1972, from records of patients who sought inpatient or outpatient psychiatric treatment for the first time in 1965, from the Mannheim register of psychiatric patients from May 1973 to May 1974, and from police records on suicides and attempted suicides from 1968 to 1972. Rates for juvenile delinquency, mental disturbances, and suicide are calculated for each of Mannheim's 41 districts. Results indicate that both juvenile offenders and juvenile offenses are unequally distributed over the districts. The highest rates are in the inner city, in low-income residential area near the industrial zone, and in a section at the city's edge along the railroad lines to the port. Areas with high offender rates tend to have relatively high offense rates. Two of the three areas with the highest juvenile delinquency rates, i.e., the inner city and the workers' district, also have the highest rates of mental disorders, but the rates differ for the other districts. The same two districts, along with several others, also have high suicide rates. In general, no clear connections exist among the three values, but a correlation can be demonstrated in certain districts. Differences in ecological and demographic conditions must be used to explain the varying distribution patterns. Low juvenile delinquency areas tend to have few workers and foreigners as well as high per capita living space. A particular problem in attempting to correlate rates for various factors is the lack of homogeneity within the geographical unit of measure; small, uniform geographical units such as the districts in this report are preferable. Multidimensional evaluation in comparing such rates is recommended. Notes and tables are supplied.--in German.