NCJ Number
18905
Date Published
1968
Length
200 pages
Annotation
EXAMINES DELINQUENCY AMONG JEWISH BOYS IN LOS ANGELES COUNTY TO FIND WHETHER THERE WAS LESS DELINQUENCY IN THAT GROUP AND TO FORMULATE SUGGESTIONS TO REDUCE DELINQUENCY.
Abstract
THREE GROUPS, DELINQUENT JEWISH BOYS, DELINQUENT PROTESTANT BOYS, AND NONDELINQUENT JEWISH BOYS, WERE SELECTED FOR STUDY. A COMPARISON OF JEWISH AND PROTESTANT DELINQUENTS SHOWED THAT THE JEWISH BOYS HAD PARTENT WHO WERE OFTEN OLDER, FOREIGN BORN, AND BETTER EDUCATED THAN THE PARENTS OF THE PROTESTANT BOYS. THE JEWISH FAMILIES MORE OFTEN OWNED BUSINESSES AND LIVED IN ABOVE AVERAGE AREAS. MENTAL HEALTH PROBLEMS WERE MORE FREQUENTLY NOTED IN THE JEWISH FAMILIES. MORE OF THE JEWISH FAMILIES HAD RECEIVED ASSISTANCE FROM VARIOUS AGENCIES. THE JEWISH BOYS RECEIVED HIGHER SCHOOL MARKS AND ATTAINED HIGHER GRADE LEVELS. THEY COMMITTED FEWER OFFENSES OVERALL, BUT MORE COMMITTED OFFENSES AGAINST PERSONS, AND THE COURT SEEMED MORE LENIENT TO THEM. DELINQUENCY WAS LESS COMMON AMONG JEWISH YOUTH THAN AMONG OTHER YOUTH IN LOS ANGELES COUNTY. THERE WAS EVIDENCE THAT THE QUALITIES OF JEWISH LIFE WHICH MAKE JEWISH BOYS LESS PRONE TO DELINQUENT BEHAVIOR ARE A STRONG PARENT-CHILD RELATIONSHIP, THE TOTAL JEWISH GROUP ACTING AS AN EXTENDED FAMILY TO THE INDIVIDUAL, AND JEWISH CULTURAL EMPHASIS ON COMPETITION IN INTELLECTUAL RATHER THAN PHYSICAL PURSUITS. THERE IS EVIDENCE IN THE LITERATURE TO SUPPORT THE ADDITIONAL CONTENTION THAT CONSISTENT DISCIPLINE AND LOVE BY PARENTS FOR CHILDREN ARE ALSO CHARACTERISTIC OF JEWISH FAMILIES. IMPLICATIONS FOR EDUCATION ARE PRESENTED. (AUTHOR ABSTRACT)