NCJ Number
50920
Journal
Social Behavior and Personality Volume: 5 Issue: 2 Dated: (1977) Pages: 361-367
Date Published
1977
Length
7 pages
Annotation
THE JESNESS PERSONALITY INVENTORY WAS USED TO FURTHER ISOLATE AND ANALYZE FACTORS THAT MAY DIFFER BETWEEN DELINQUENT AND NONDELINQUENT BOYS IN SCOTLAND. THIS SUBSAMPLE CONSISTED OF 400 ADOLESCENTS.
Abstract
THIS STUDY IS A FOLLOWUP OF A 1977 PAPER WHICH USED THE EYSENCK PERSONALITY INVENTORY TO TEST 445 NONDELINQUENTS AND 563 DELINQUENTS. THE JESNESS INVENTORY WAS USED WITH A SUBSAMPLE OF 200 DELINQUENTS AND 200 CONTROLS, ALL AGED 13-16YEARS, TO FURTHER REFINE PREVIOUSLY ISOLATED VARIABLES. STEPWISE MULTIPLE DISCRIMINANT FUNCTION ANALYSIS WAS USED, AND THE RESULTS WERE COMBINED WITH THE RESULTS FROM THE EYSENCK STUDY. THE COMBINATION PROVIDED 58 ITEMS (9 EYSENCK AND 49 JESNESS) WHICH SEEMED LIKELY TO PRODUCE A MEANINGFUL DELINQUENCY FACTOR MEASURE. FIVE COMPONENTS FROM THESE ITEMS WERE IDENTIFIED AS PSYCHOLOGICALLY MEANINGFUL: ANTISOCIAL REACTION, WHICH ACCOUNTED FOR 46.7 PERCENT OF THE VARIATION BETWEEN THE TWO GROUPS; NEUROTICISM, WHICH ACCOUNTED FOR 22.3 PERCENT OF THE VARIATION; ISOLATION FROM FAMILY, 9.9 PERCENT; INADEQUACY AND IMMATURITY, 7.8 PERCENT; AND PSYCHOTICISM, 6.9 PERCENT. THE MATHEMATICAL SIGNIFICANCE OF EACH COMPONENT IS DISCUSSED, WHILE TABLES PRESENT THE RESULTS OF THE FUNCTION ANALYSIS. IT IS CONCLUDED THAT THE FACTOR PATTERNS IDENTIFIED IN THESE TWO STUDIES OF CHILDREN FROM THE WEST OF SCOTLAND, WITH THEIR COMPONENTS OF DOMINANCE, PARANOID INDEPENDENCE, AND ANXIETY, MAY REFER AT ANOTHER LEVEL TO PERSONALITIES IN DISADVANTAGED, DEPENDENCY-DENYING CIRCUMSTANCES, ORGANIZED ADAPTIVELY ABOUT HOSTILITY, IN A FEARFUL CONDITION OF ANGRY DESPAIR. REFERENCES ARE PROVIDED. (GLR)