Comparison of Social Skills in Delinquent and Nondelinquent Adolescent Girls Using a Behavioral Role-Playing Inventory

• NCJ Number: 84681
• Author(s): L Rosenthal
• Date Published: 1978
• Length: 190 pages
• Sale Source: UMI Dissertation Services; Not Available Through National Institute of Justice/NCJRS Document Loan Program
• Publication Type: Thesis/Dissertation
• Language: English
• Country: United States of America
• Note: *This document is currently unavailable from NCJRS. University of Madison-Wisconsin - doctoral dissertation

Annotation

This study applies a social skills model of behavior to the assessment of behavioral problems of delinquent girls.

Abstract

It develops the instrument -- the Problem Inventory for Adolescent Girls (PIAG) -- in order to identify an adolescent girl's strengths and weaknesses in dealing with specific problem areas that adolescents encounter. The instrument is in the form of a situation-specific inventory and was developed according to the methodological guidelines outlined by Goldfried and D'Zurilla (1969) in their behavioral analytic model for assessing competence. Two groups of girls -adjudicated delinquent and nondelinquent public school students -- were studied. The study investigated the relationship between performance on specific types of items (e.g., interactions with peers and teachers) and independent measures of performance in other areas (based on the evaluation of peers and institutional reports of school behavior). The study then investigated the extent to which delinquency is associated with deficiencies in social skills, as measured by the PIAG. Data tables and graphs, about 60 references, and the survey instrument and rater's manual are included.