COMPARISON OF WISC (WECHSLER INTELLIGENCE SCALE FOR CHILDREN) PROFILES OF ALLEGED JUVENILE DELINQUENTS LIVING AT HOME VERSUS THOSE INCARCERATED

• NCJ Number: 48686
• Journal: Psychological Reports Volume: 37 Issue: 2 Dated: (OCTOBER 1975) Pages: 403-407
• Author(s): K S SOLWAY; J R HAYS; T K ROBERTS; J A CODY
• Date Published: 1975
• Length: 5 pages
• Corporate Author: Psychological Reports
• Publication Format: Article
• Publication Type: Report (Study/Research)
• Language: English
• Country: United States of America

Annotation

TO EXAMINE POSSIBLE EFFECTS OF SHORT-TERM INCARCERATION, WECHSLER INTELLIGENCE SCALE FOR CHILDREN (WISC) SCORES WERE COMPARED FOR 91 INCARCERATED DELINQUENTS AND 91 ALLEGED DELINQUENTS.

Abstract

IT WAS HYPOTHESIZED THAT INSTITUTIONALIZED SUBJECTS WOULD ACHIEVE SIGNIFICANTLY HIGHER SCORES THAN SUBJECTS LIVING AT HOME AS A RESULT OF THE GREATER CONSISTENCY OF THE INSTITUTIONAL ENVIRONMENT, THE REDUCED LEVEL OF ANXIETY STEMMING FROM GREATER FAMILIARITY WITH THE PROBATION DEPARTMENT SETTING, AND AN INCREASED MOTIVATION TO PERFORM RESULTING FROM THE NOVELTY OF THE TEST SITUATION COMPARED TO THE UNSTIMULATING CIRCUMSTANCES OF THE DETENTION WARD. THE TWO GROUPS DID NOT VARY SIGNIFICANTLY IN AGE, RACE, OR SEX. COMPARISON OF SCORES INDICATED NO SIGNIFICANT BETWEEN-GROUP DIFFERENCES ON THE VERBAL OR PERFORMANCE SUBSCALES OR ON OVERALL INTELLIGENCE QUOTIENT (IQ). THERE WERE ALSO NO SIGNIFICANT TEST DIFFERENCES DUE TO AGE, RACE, OR SEX. A COMPARISON OF SUBTEST PERFORMANCE FOR BOTH GROUPS WITH WECHSLER'S (1958) CHARACTERIZATION OF PERFORMANCE PATTERNS FOR ADOLESCENT SOCIOPATHS WAS ALSO UNDERTAKEN. AS SPECIFIED BY WECHSLER, PERFORMANCE IQ WAS GREATER THAN VERBAL IQ, AND INFORMATION SUBTEST SCORES WERE LOWEST IN THIS SAMPLE. UNLIKE WESCHLER'S CHARACTERIZATION, THE SUM OF OBJECT ASSEMBLY AND PICTURE ARRANGEMENT SUBTESTS WAS NOT GREATER THAN THE SUM OF BLOCK DESIGN AND PICTURE COMPLETION SUBTESTS. IN FACT, THE DATA SHOWED THE OPPOSITE RELATIONSHIP. FINALLY, ADDITIONAL DIFFERENCES BETWEEN SUBTESTS WERE FOUND FOR THE PRESENT SAMPLE AS COMPARED TO WESCHLER'S SOCIOPATHIC SAMPLE. THESE FINDINGS SUGGEST THAT IT IS NOT WARRANTED TO GENERALIZE SOCIOPATHIC WISC SUBTEST PATTERNS TO THOSE OF A BROAD ALLEGED DELINQUENT POPULATION. IT IS OF INTEREST THAT THE RANKING SUBTESTS FOR THIS SAMPLE WERE THE SIMILARITIES AND PICTURE COMPLETION SUBTESTS. AS THESE SUBTESTS HAVE BEEN FOUND TO BE ELEVATED IN PARANOID PATIENTS, IT IS POSSIBLE THAT THE ADOLESCENTS IN THE PRESENT SAMPLE HAVE PARANOID DEFENSIVE FEATURES OF PROJECTION, VIGILANCE, AND ATTENTION TO DETAIL. TABULAR DATA AND REFERENCES ARE PROVIDED. (JAP)