NCJ Number
73337
Journal
Zentralbatt fuer Jugendrecht und Jugendwohlfahrt Volume: 65 Issue: 2 Dated: (1978) Pages: 71-79
Date Published
1978
Length
9 pages
Annotation
Data on 69 juvenile offenders in a German correctional facility were analyzed to determine the relationship between upbringing and criminal behavior.
Abstract
This article is the first of five which resulted from the study. Of 102 randomly selected juveniles in the Schwaebisch Hall facility, adequate data for 69 youths was available. Data was collected on age, religious confession, intelligence, family and home relationships, school attendance, work experience, parents' occupations, and delinquency. The data was analyzed by means of the Statistical Package for the Social Sciences Programming Method, which utilizes computer technology. Age levels were as follows: 25 youths were 14 to 17 years old. 29 were 18 to 20, and 15 were 21 to 22. An increasing tendency towards delinquency was discovered in 64 percent of the younger group, 55.2 percent of the middle group, and 80 percent of the older group. A tendency towards more severe crimes was found in 44 percent of the youngest group, 44.8 percent of the middle group, and 66.7 percent of the oldest group. Above average intelligence was recorded for 8.7 percent of all subjects; average intelligence for 72.5 percent; and below average for 18.8 percent. Half of all subjects came from homes with disrupted family structures. The mothers of 60 percent of those who committed violent crimes were no longer living. The fathers of 62.4 percent of all subjects were blue collar workers; and 13 percent of the youths in this group had committed their first offense between the ages of 6 and 10 years, while none of the youths whose fathers had other occupational backgrounds began this early. Also, of those who committed offenses at this age level, 22.6 percent had working mothers, and 4.3 percent had mothers who were housewives. For 75.7 percent of all subjects, family incomes were not high enough to provide optimal conditions for the development of the children. The subject's religious confessions were proportionally the same as in the general population. Finally, of those who had brothers/sisters. 34.8 percent of these offenders were the oldest children (a more precise analysis is not present). Data tables and footnotes with references are included. --in German. (Related documents: 73338, 73339, 73340, 73341.)