NCJ Number
49232
Date Published
1975
Length
120 pages
Annotation
RESULTS OF A STUDY DESIGNED TO DETERMINE IF A SPECIFIC INSTRUMENT CAN INTERPRET INFORMATION ON DEFENDANTS TO PREDICT THE PROBABILITY OF SUCCESS OR FAILURE ON PROBATION ARE DISCUSSED.
Abstract
DIFFERENTIAL BEHAVIORAL CLASSIFICATION OF THE JUVENILE OFFENDER (DBCS), A CLASSIFICATION SYSTEM BASED ON DIMENSIONS OF BEHAVIOR WHICH CAN BE USED TO MEASURE RELATIVE PRESENCE OF EACH DIMENSIONS WITHIN AN INDIVIDUAL, IS TESTED TO SEE IF IT CAN BE USED IN PREDICTING THE PROBABILITY OF SUCCESS AND FAILURE ON PROBATION AMONG JUVENILES. TESTING THE HYPOTHESES INVOLVES EVALUATING THE DIFFERENCES IN T-SCORES ON FOUR COMPOSITE BEHAVIORAL DIMENSIONS SCORED BY A GROUP OF PROBATION SUCCESS CASES AND PROBATION FAILURE CASES. RECORDS OF A COUNTY FAMILY COURT WERE EXAMINED TO IDENTIFY THOSE MALES BETWEEN THE AGES OF 12 AND 16 AT THE TIME OF PROBATION PLACEMENT WHO WERE OFFICIALLY JUDGED DELINQUENT AND PLACED UNDER PROBATION SUPERVISION BETWEEN JANUARY 1, 1974, AND JULY 31, 1974. BASIC DATA AND A REPORT OF THE JUDICIAL OUTCOME OF THE APPEARANCE WERE OBTAINED ON EACH PERSON APPEARING BEFORE THE COURT. THE EXPERIMENTAL SAMPLE INCLUDED 29 RESPONDENTS IN THE PROBATION SUCCESS GROUP (THOSE WITH NO COURT APPEARANCES AFTER 6 MONTHS OF PROBATION) AND 15 RESPONDENTS IN THE FAILURE GROUP (THOSE WITH COURT APPEARANCES WITHIN 6 MONTHS AFTER PROBATION). INFORMATION ON SUBJECTS WAS GATHERED ACCORDING TO THE DICTATES OF THE DBCS. RESULTS SHOWED THAT A CLIENT'S PERSONAL HISTORY REPRESENTS THE BEST SINGLE INSTRUMENT OF THE DBCS FOR PURPOSES OF DIFFERENTIATION INTO SUCCESS AND FAILURE GROUPS. IN TERMS OF THE BEHAVIORAL DIMENSIONS, THE ASOCIAL/AGGRESSIVE DIMENSION IS CONSIDERED THE BEST DIFFERENTIATOR BETWEEN SUCCESS AND FAILURE AMONG THE DIMENSIONS. TABLES OF DATA ARE INCLUDED, AND THE APPENDIXES PROVIDE SAMPLES OF THE INSTRUMENTS USED IN THE STUDY. (RCB)