PERSONALITY FACTORS IN DELINQUENT BOYS - DIFFERENCES BETWEEN BLACKS AND WHITES

• NCJ Number: 6171
• Journal: Journal of Research in Crime and Delinquency Volume: 8 Issue: 1 Dated: (JANUARY 1971) Pages: 10-22
• Author(s): H J CROSS; J J TRACY
• Date Published: 1971
• Length: 13 pages
• Corporate Author: National Council on Crime and Delinquency
• Publication Format: Article
• Publication Type: Report (Study/Research)
• Language: English
• Country: United States of America

Annotation

ONE HUNDRED AND NINETEEN BOYS WERE CLASSIFIED INTO INTERPERSONAL MATURITY CATEGORIES.

Abstract

INTERNAL-EXTERNAL LOCUS OF CONTROL, FUTURE TIME PERSPECTIVE, LEGAL STATUS, SOCIOECONOMIC STATUS, INTELLIGENCE, AGE AND FIVE ASPECTS OF GUILT WERE ASSESSED. INTERPERSONAL MATURITY WAS DIRECTLY RELATED TO INTERNAL LOCUS OF CONTROL FOR THE WHOLE SAMPLE, WHILE FUTURE TIME PERSPECTIVE AND GUILT WERE NOT. WHEN THESE VARIABLES WERE ANALYZED WITH RESPECT TO RACE OF THE DELINQUENTS, A DIFFERENT PATTERN OF RELATIONSHIPS EMERGED. THE INTERPERSONALLY MATURE BLACKS ARE MORE EXTERNAL AND HAVE A SHORTER TIME PERSPECTIVE, WHEREAS INTERPERSONALLY MATURE WHITES ARE MORE INTERNAL BUT THEIR TIME PERSPECTIVE IS NO DIFFERENT FROM IMMATURE BOYS. THESE AND OTHER RESULTS SUGGEST THAT THE ACQUISITION OF INTERPERSONAL MATURITY IS RELATED TO THE EXPECTATION OF REWARDS (OPPORTUNITIES) AND SUPPRESSION BY SOCIETY, AND THAT THESE HAVE DIFFERENTIALLY DAMAGING EFFECTS ON BLACK AND WHITE MALE DELINQUENTS. AUTHOR ABSTRACT