NCJ Number
88563
Journal
Journal of Adolescence Volume: 6 Issue: 1 Dated: (March 1983) Pages: 43-55
Date Published
1983
Length
13 pages
Annotation
A comparative study of boys admitted to a secure facility in Northern Ireland with a sample from a drop-in youth center found that the secure unit boys were more likely to have habitually abused solvents than their youth center counterparts.
Abstract
The drinking and smoking habits of the two groups were similar. A measure of neuropsychiatric and psychosomatic symptoms showed that the 'sniffers' had a higher mean score than 'nonsniffers' in the secure unit -- although the difference was not statistically significant. Sniffing was associated with heightened emotions, with approximately half the sniffers associating sniffing with pleasant feelings and the other half with unpleasant experiences. Results from a Delinquency Implications Matrix suggested that sniffing was viewed as part of a delinquent syndrome and not as a discrete activity by the boys concerned. Figures, tables, and 15 references are included. (Author abstract modified)