NCJ Number
50526
Journal
Journal of Clinical Psychology Volume: 34 Issue: 1 Dated: (JANUARY 1978) Pages: 80-84
Date Published
1978
Length
5 pages
Annotation
A STUDY ANALYZING THE JESNESS INVENTORIES OF 72 MALE JUVENILE OFFENDERS SUGGESTS THAT STATUS OFFENDERS ARE MORE PSYCHOLOGICALLY DISTURBED THAN JUVENILE DELINQUENTS.
Abstract
ALTHOUGH THE JUVENILE DELINQUENT IS THE MORE SERIOUS OFFENDER, THE EXPECTATION THAT DELINQUENTS WOULD BE MORE PSYCHOLOGICALLY MALADJUSTED HAS NOT BEEN BORNE OUT BY RESEARCH. PRIOR RESEARCH INDICATED THAT BY THEIR THIRD COURT APPEARANCE, NO DIFFERENCE IN FELONY CHARGES EXISTED BETWEEN THOSE FIRST CHARGED WITH STATUS OFFENSES AND THOSE FIRST CHARGED WITH FELONIES. IN FACT, STATUS OFFENDERS HAD A HIGHER RATE OF RECIDIVISM. BASED ON THIS DATA, IT WAS HYPOTHESIZED THAT PERSONALITY DIFFERENCES WOULD BE FOUND BETWEEN JUVENILE DELINQUENTS AND STATUS OFFENDERS AND THAT STATUS OFFENDERS WOULD APPEAR MORE DISTURBED. FOR THIS PURPOSE, 72 MALES WHO HAD BEEN ADJUDICATED AS JUVENILE OFFENDERS (36 AS STATUS OFFENDERS AND 36 AS JUVENILE DELINQUENTS) WERE GIVEN THE JESNESS INVENTORY TEST, A TEST DESIGNED FOR USE IN THE CLASSIFICATION AND TREATMENT OF DISTURBED CHILDREN AND ADOLESCENTS. THE INVENTORY CONSISTS OF 155 TRUE-FALSE ITEMS DESIGNED TO MEASURE SUCH THINGS AS SOCIAL MALADJUSTMENT, VALUE ORIENTATION, IMMATURITY, AUTISM, ALIENATION, MANIFEST AGGRESSION, WITHDRAWAL, SOCIAL ANXIETY, REPRESSION, AND DENIAL. STATISTICAL ANALYSIS SHOWED THAT STATUS OFFENDERS ARE SIGNIFICANTLY MORE DISTURBED. TREATMENT AND POLICY IMPLICATIONS OF THE FINDINGS ARE DISCUSSED CONCERNING APPROPRIATENESS OF COURT JURISDICTION OVER STATUS OFFENDERS. SUPPORTING DATA AND REFERENCES ARE INCLUDED. (MPK)