NCJ Number
27683
Journal
BRITISH JOURNAL OF CRIMINOLOGY, DELINQUENCY, AND DEVIANT SOCIAL BEHAVIOUR Volume: 15 Issue: 3 Dated: (JULY 1975) Pages: 241-250
Date Published
1975
Length
10 pages
Annotation
THIS STUDY CORRELATES SUBSEQUENT DELINQUENT BEHAVIOR WITH SEVERE SOCIAL HANDICAPS OF 6 AND 10 YEAR OLD BOYS IN A LARGE ENGLISH CITY'S INNER SECTION.
Abstract
THE STUDY SHOWS THAT JUVENILE DELINQUENCY CORRELATES HIGHLY WITH FATHER'S OCCUPATION, SIZE OF FAMILY, ADEQUACY OF SCHOOL CLOTHING, SCHOOL ATTENDANCE, AND PARENTAL CONTACT WITH SCHOOL. JUVENILE DELINQUENCY, FURTHERMORE, CORRELATES WITH PARENTAL CRIMINALITY. THE FINDINGS ALSO SUGGEST THAT FIVE BACKGROUND FACTORS ARE OF PARTICULAR SIGNIFICANCE IN MAKING A BOY VULNERABLE, NAMELY LOW FAMILY INCOME, LARGE FAMILY SIZE, PARENTAL CRIMINALITY, LOW INTELLIGENCE, AND POOR PARENTAL BEHAVIOUR. ABILITY TESTS OF THE SIX- AND TEN-YEAR-OLD SCHOOL BOYS SHOWED THAT THE MEAN SCORES OF THE THREE SOCIAL-HANDICAP GROUPS IN BOTH AGES ARE SIGNIFICANTLY DIFFERENT FOR ALL TESTS: THE GREATER THE DEGREE OF SOCIAL HANDICAP, THE POORER THE RESULTS. THIS IS THE CASE ON TWO MEASURES OF VOCABULARY, AND TO A LESSER DEGREE (BUT STILL SIGNIFICANT) ON A NON-VERBAL REASONING TEST. IN A DELINQUENT MILIEU, IN WHICH AUTHORITARIAN AND REPRESSIVE METHODS OF CHILD-REARING ARE COMMON, THE ONLY EFFECTIVE PROTECTION AGAINST DELINQUENCY APPEARS TO BE A STRICT PARENTAL REGIME THAT LIMITS THE CHILDREN'S FREEDOM OF MOVEMENT. CONTRARY TO EXPECTATIONS THE QUALITY OF THE HOME ATMOSPHERE AND PARENTAL PARTICIPATION IN THE CHILDREN'S ACTIVITIES SHOWED ONLY A CHANCE RELATIONSHIP. (AUTHOR ABSTRACT)