NCJ Number
58888
Journal
Crime and Delinquency Volume: 25 Issue: 3 Dated: (JULY 1979) Pages: 358-363
Date Published
1979
Length
6 pages
Annotation
SOCIALIZATION AND PLAY, GAME PREFERENCE, RULES AND AGGRESSION IN GAMES, AND GAME BEHAVIORS ARE EXAMINED IN TERMS OF IDENTIFYING AND TREATING DELINQUENT BEHAVIOR.
Abstract
JUVENILE DELINQUENCY REPRESENTS A CHILD'S FAILURE TO ABIDE BY THE SOCIAL RULES ESTABLISHED AND ACCEPTED BY THE MAJORITY IN A GIVEN SOCIETY. AS A CONTEXT FOR SOCIALIZATION, GAMES MAY BE VIEWED AS A SIMPLIFIED SOCIAL SITUATION, WITH CLEARLY DEFINED SOCIAL RULES AND EXPECTATIONS. IF IT IS ASSUMED THAT PLAY PATTERNS BEAR A RELATIONSHIP TO OVERALL SOCIALIZATION, AND IF THE PROCESS OF PLAY IS AN ESSENTIAL PART OF THE INTERNALIZATION OF SOCIETAL EXPECTATIONS, DELINQUENTS MAY BE EXPECTED TO DEMONSTRATE PLAY PATTERNS THAT ARE DIFFERENT FROM THOSE OF NONDELINQUENTS. INTERVIEWS WITH YOUTH WORKERS AND OBSERVATION OF DELINQUENTS CONFIRM THAT DELINQUENTS AND NONDELINQUENTS TEND TO DIFFER IN TERMS OF THE KINDS OF GAMES PREFERRED, THE CHARACTERISTICS OF GAMES SELECTED WITHIN EACH CATEGORY, AND THE BEHAVIOR EXHIBITED WHILE PLAYING GAMES. THREE CATEGORIES OF GAMES CAN BE DISTINGUISHED, BASED ON WHAT DETERMINES THE WINNER: (1) GAMES OF PHYSICAL SKILL, WHERE THE OUTCOME IS DETERMINED BY THE PLAYERS' MOTOR ACTIVITIES; (2) GAMES OF STRATEGY, WHERE THE OUTCOME IS DETERMINED BY RATIONAL CHOICES AMONG POSSIBLE COURSES OF ACTION; AND (3) GAMES OF CHANCE, WHERE THE OUTCOME IS DETERMINED BY GUESSES OR AN UNCONTROLLED ARTIFACT SUCH AS A DIE OR WHEEL. IN CONVERSATIONS WITH YOUTH WORKERS, NO EVIDENCE WAS FOUND TO DISTINGUISH DELINQUENTS FROM NONDELINQUENTS IN PREFERENCE FOR GAMES TESTING PHYSICAL SKILL; HOWEVER, GAMES OF CHANCE WERE INDICATED TO APPEAL MUCH MORE TO DELINQUENTS THAN GAMES OF STRATEGY. IN GENERAL, DELINQUENTS TEND TO SELECT GAMES IN WHICH THE RULES ARE FEW AND NOT HIGHLY SPECIFIC. APART FROM PREFERENCE FOR SPECIFIC TYPES OF GAMES, THE GAME BEHAVIOR OF DELINQUENTS DIFFERED FROM THE OF NONDELINQUENTS, WITH DELINQUENTS HAVING GREATER DIFFICULTY IN CONFORMING TO RULES, CONTROLING AGGRESSION, TOLERATING ERRORS OF TEAMMATES, AND ACCEPTING DEFEAT. GAMES CAN BE USED THERAPEUTICALLY AS A MEANS OF TEACHING PROBLEMSOLVING, AS A VEHICLE FOR TEACHING YOUTH HOW TO CHANNEL AND CONTROL AGGRESSION, AND AS A MEANS OF TEACHING YOUTH TO ACCEPT SOCIAL RESPONSIBILITY AND ANTICIPATE THE CONSEQUENCES OF THEIR BEHAVIOR. (RCB)