PSYCHOLOGICAL STUDY OF DELINQUENTS WITH SPECIAL REFERENCE TO AGGRESSION

• NCJ Number: 57608
• Journal: INDIAN JOURNAL OF PSYCHIATRY Volume: 18 Issue: 3 Dated: (JULY 1976) Pages: 157-163
• Author(s): B B SETHI; S C GUPTA; S S AGARWAL; P K SINHA
• Date Published: 1976
• Length: 7 pages
• Corporate Author: New York State College of Human Ecology
• Publication Format: Article
• Publication Type: Report (Study/Research)
• Language: English
• Country: India

Annotation

A TOTAL OF 52 JUVENILE DELINQUENTS WERE EXAMINED TAKING INTO CONSIDERATION FAMILY BACKGROUND TO HELP EXPLAIN THEIR DELINQUENT BEHAVIOR.

Abstract

THE PARENTS WERE ASKED TO EVALUATE AGGRESSIVE BEHAVIOR OF THEIR CHILDREN ON A FIVE-POINT SCALE AND ON THE BASIS OF THIS INFORMATION DELINQUENTS WERE CLASSIFIED INTO TWO MAJOR GROUPS: AGGRESSIVE AND NONAGGRESSIVE. THERE WERE 32 AND 20 CASES IN THE TWO RESPECTIVE GROUPS. ALL THE SUBJECTS WERE ADMINISTERED THE RORSCHACH TEST, PICTURE-FRUSTRATION STUDY AND BHATIA PERFORMANCE BATTERY OF INTELLIGENCE. RORSCHACH PROTOCOLS WERE ESPECIALLY ANALYZED FOR HOSTILITY RESPONSES. ANALYSIS REVEALED THAT THE AGGRESSIVE DELINQUENTS WERE LARGELY FROM UNITARY FAMILIES AND POOR ECONOMIC STRATA, WHEREAS NONAGGRESSIVES OVERWHELMINGLY BELONGED TO RURAL DOMICILE, MOSTLY HAVING JOINT FAMILY. PSYCHOMETRIC FINDINGS INDICATED HIGHER LEVELS OF HOSTILITY RESPONSES AS WELL AS EXTRAPUNITIVE TENDENCIES IN THE AGGRESSIVE DELINQUENTS, WHEREAS NONAGGRESSIVES HAD A SIGNIFICANTLY HIGHER SCORE ON THE INTROPUNITIVE SCALE. THE TWO GROUPS COULD NOT BE DIFFERENTIATED IN TERMS OF THEIR INTELLECTUAL LEVEL. TABLES AND REFERENCES ARE INCLUDED. (AUTHOR ABSTRACT MODIFIED--STB)