PERSONALITY, FAMILY, EDUCATIONAL, AND CRIMINOLOGICAL CHARACTERISTICS OF BRIGHT DELINQUENTS

• NCJ Number: 60073
• Journal: Psychological Reports Volume: 44 Issue: 3 Dated: (JUNE 1979), PART 1 Pages: 727-734
• Author(s): S A ANOLIK
• Date Published: 1979
• Length: 8 pages
• Corporate Author: Psychological Reports
• Publication Format: Article
• Publication Type: Thesis/Dissertation
• Language: English
• Country: United States of America
• Note: PRESENTED TO THE EASTERN PSYCHOLOGICAL ASSOCIATION MEETINGS, APRIL 1979 ARTICLE PARTLY BASED ON A DOCTORAL DISSERTATION AT OHIO STATE UNIVERSITY

Annotation

THE PURPOSE OF THIS STUDY WAS TO COMPARE SIGNIFICANT DIFFERENCES BETWEEN BRIGHT AND AVERAGE DELINQUENTS (PERSONAL AND CRIMINOLOGICAL CHARACTERISTICS) THAT MAY JUSTIFY THE IMPLEMENTATION OF DIFFERENTIAL TREATMENTS.

Abstract

SUBJECTS WERE 60 WHITE MALE DELINQUENTS WHO WERE INSTITUTIONALIZED; 30 SUBJECTS HAD ABOVE-AVERAGE INTELLIGENCE (BRIGHT GROUP) AND 30 SUBJECTS HAD AVERAGE INTELLIGENCE. BOTH GROUPS OF SUBJECTS HAD A MEAN AGE OF 16 YEARS. EACH SUBJECT WAS FIRST ADMINISTERED THE PERSONALITY RESEARCH FORM-E. SCALES IN THIS FORM WERE GROUPED INTO CATEGORIES RELATED TO SELF-PRESENTATION, ACHIEVEMENT, SENSITIVITY TOWARD THE ENVIRONMENT, SOCIABILITY, SELF-RIGHTEOUSNESS, APPROVAL SEEKING, AND VALIDITY. SUBJECTS WERE THEN ASKED TO FILL OUT THE PERSONAL OPINION STUDY. THIS 100-ITEM INSTRUMENT WAS INTENDED TO IDENTIFY THREE TYPES OF JUVENILE OFFENDERS (NEUROTIC-DISTURBED, UNSOCIALIZED-PSYCHOPATHIC, AND SOCIALIZED-SUBCULTURAL DELINQUENTS). AFTER QUESTIONNAIRE COMPLETION, CASE HISTORIES OF SUBJECTS WERE CHECKED THROUGH A CASE HISTORY CHECKLIST. THE CHECKLIST COLLECTED GLOBAL INFORMATION ABOUT EACH SUBJECT'S PSYCHOLOGICAL RECENT OFFENSE OF YOUTH WAS RECORDED FROM THEIR FILES. BRIGHT SUBJECTS EXPRESSED WEAKER DELINQUENT ATTITUDES AND BELIEFS THAN AVERAGE SUBJECTS ON THE PERSONAL OPINION STUDY. CASE HISTORIES SHOWED THAT BOTH GROUPS HAD SIMILAR FAMILY EXPERIENCES (GENERALLY DESCRIBED AS MALADAPTIVE) AND THAT MOST SUBJECTS WERE UNDERACHIEVERS IN SCHOOL. OFFENSES COMMITTED BY BRIGHT AND AVERAGE SUBJECTS WERE NOT DIFFERENT, AND MANY SUBJECTS IN BOTH GROUPS WERE MILDLY PSYCHOLOGICALLY DISTURBED. IT IS CONCLUDED THAT WEAKER DELINQUENT ATTITUDES FOUND AMONG BRIGHT DELINQUENTS MAY INCREASE THEIR SUCCESS IN THERAPEUTIC INTERVENTION BUT, IN GENERAL, BRIGHT AND AVERAGE YOUTH ARE SIMILAR. SUPPORTING DATA ARE TABULATED, AND REFERENCES ARE CITED. (DEP)