NCJ Number
72659
Journal
Archives of General Psychiatry Volume: 37 Issue: 10 Dated: (Ocotber 1980) Pages: 1160-1163
Date Published
1980
Length
4 pages
Annotation
The subsequent criminal activities of three groups of male juvenile delinquents were studied in an effort to validate the distinctions used to classify adolescent behavior disorders.
Abstract
The 207 cases studied were from the records of the Iowa State Training School for Boys. A total of 51 juveniles were classified as undersocialized aggressives, 49 as undersocialized unaggressives, and 107 as socialized delinquents. The three groups were compared during the 10 years following their discharge from the detention facility. The study hypothesis was that socialized delinquents would have a better prognosis than the two groups of undersocialized delinquents. Results showed that the socialized delinquents had much less chance of being either convicted of a crime or imprisoned. Findings supported previous studies demonstrating that these classifications could be distinguished on the basis of differences in behavior, personality, psychological test results, and characteristic family backgrounds. Findings suported this method of classifying conduct disorders. Results also showed that undersocialized aggressive groups were involved in more crimes of violence than were subjects in the undersocialized unaggressive groups. Overall, the fundamental difference between delinquents lies in the difference between socialized and undersocialized groups. Tables and 22 references are included.