NCJ Number
78353
Journal
British Journal of Delinquency Volume: 10 Dated: (January 1963) Pages: 211-215
Date Published
1963
Length
5 pages
Annotation
This 1964 paper reports research findings on the variations in delinquency potential for a sample population of 400 sixth-grade (12-year-old) pupils attending schools in poor socioeconomic and high delinquency areas in Columbus, Ohio.
Abstract
The investigation sought to determine if, in an urban slum environment, it is possible to specify the differential risks of 12-year-old children for becoming involved in future delinquency. The administered structured schedule consisted of social background items; the delinquency vulnerability (DE) and social responsibility (RE) scales from the California Psychological Inventory, which combine to provide the delinquency proneness (DP) index; and a series of questions on respondent's perceptions of self with respect to friends, school, legal agencies, and family. A total of 200 females scored significantly lower than did the 200 males on the DE scale and higher on the RE (and thus lower on the composite DP scale). Scores for white children (171) were in the direction of less delinquency potential. Females and whites as contrasted with the males and blacks, respectively, expressed a more socially acceptable self-image. The negative response of the black females and, to a lesser extent, of the white females, to questions concerning evaluation of parents and family indicate that the boys expressed more socially appropriate concepts of self than did the girls for family items. Footnotes are included.