NCJ Number
45848
Journal
FAMILY COORDINATOR Volume: 25 Issue: 4 Dated: (OCTOBER 1976) Pages: 475-481
Date Published
1976
Length
7 pages
Annotation
RESPONSES OF 90 GEORGIA DELINQUENTS AND 85 OKLAHOMA DELINQUENTS CONCERNING PERCEPTIONS OF THEIR FATHERS REVEALED A HIGH DEGREE OF FATHER ABSENCE OR NEGLECT AS A PERVADING FACTOR IN BOTH GROUPS.
Abstract
THE 175 RESPONDENTS WERE FEMALES BETWEEN 13 AND 18 YEARS OF AGE, INCARCERATED FOR EITHER DEVIANT OR CRIMINAL BEHAVIOR. OF THE 85 DELINQUENTS IN THE OKLAHOMA GROUP, THE MAJORITY WERE 17 YEARS OF AGE OR OLDER, AND 92.9 PERCENT WERE WHITE. THE MAJORITY OF THE GEORGIA DELINQUENTS WERE 16 YEARS OF AGE OR YOUNGER, AND 43.3 PERCENT WERE BLACK. MOST OF THE SUBJECTS FROM BOTH GROUPS WERE FROM LOWER MIDDLE CLASS OR LOWER CLASS FAMILIES AND HAD EXPERIENCED THE ABSENCE OF THEIR FATHERS WHILE GROWING UP. THE RESEARCH INSTRUMENTS USED WERE A QUESTIONNAIRE DESIGNED TO ELICIT BACKGROUND INFORMATION CONCERNING THE SUBJECTS' PERCEPTIONS OF FATHERS AND FEELINGS OF ANOMIE, THE ITKIN ATTITUDE TOWARD PARENTS SCALE (FORM F), AND THE SMITH ANOMIE SCALE, USED TO ASSESS THE RELEVANCE OF ANOMIE TO DELINQUENCY. THE MAJORITY OF THE SUBJECTS PERCEIVED THEIR FATHERS AS COLD, REJECTING, AND UNINVOLVED IN THEIR LIVES. HIGH DEGREES OF ANOMIE CORRELATED WITH THESE PERCEPTIONS. A TABLE RATING THE SUBJECTS' FAMILY RELATIONSHIPS IS INCLUDED, ALONG WITH ONE SHOWING LEVELS OF SIGNIFICANCE REFLECTING RELATIONSHIPS BETWEEN PERCEPTIONS OF FATHERS AND SELECTED BACKGROUND VARIABLES. DIFFERENCES BETWEEN THE TWO GROUPS ARE NOTED. (RCB)