NCJ Number
85048
Date Published
1979
Length
839 pages
Annotation
The study investigates the extent to which the Interpersonal Maturity Classification System (I-Level) describes adolescents in general, as well as the ways in which its psychological dimensions differentiate delinquents from nondelinquents. A parallel set of comparisons is provided for youths who exhibit behavior problems in school, comparing them to their better-behaved peers.
Abstract
The total sample size was 333, selected from a population of white males, aged 13 to 16. Data consisted of information derived from police and school records, a self-reported delinquency rating, and a set of clinically rated scales. Analyses included one of the I-Level norms within the population of white, male adolescents; a comparison of police-reported delinquents and nondelinquents; a comparison of self-reported delinquents and nondelinquents; and a comparison of boys who presented behavioral problems in school and boys who did not. In addition, parallel analyses were conducted within the subgroups identified by the I-Level System. While all of the sample members were successfully classified according to the developmental continuum of I-Level, only 35 percent could be classified within the I-Level subtypes. Results also indicate that the boys presenting problems in school were much less mature than those who behaved. Finally, few personality dimensions were found to differentiate delinquents from nondelinquents for the total sample, although those that did differentiate related to socialization factors. Tables and references are given. (Author abstract modified)