NCJ Number
56836
Journal
State Court Journal Volume: 3 Issue: 2 Dated: (SPRING 1979) Pages: 24-26,44-47
Date Published
1979
Length
7 pages
Annotation
THIS ARTICLE REPORTS RESEARCH SUGGESTING THAT THE LINK BETWEEN LEARNING DISABILITIES AND JUVENILE DELINQUENCY MAY BE DUE TO HOW LEARNING-DISABLED CHILDREN ARE DEALT WITH IN THE JUVENILE JUSTICE SYSTEM.
Abstract
THE RESULT OF THE NATIONAL INSTITUTE FOR JUVENILE JUSTICE AND DELINQUENCY PREVENTION RESEARCH INTO THE POSSIBILITY OF A LINK BETWEEN LEARNING DISABILITIES AND JUVENILE DELINQUENCY IS PUBLISHED IN THIS REPORT. THE RESEARCH WAS CONDUCTED BY THE AMERICAN INSTITUTE FOR RESEARCH. PREVIOUS STUDIES DID NOT REVEAL A CAUSAL LINK, ALTHOUGH THE PATTERN OF LEARNING PROBLEMS AMONG DELINQUENTS WARRANTED EXAMINATION. SUBSEQUENT STUDY IN THREE AMERICAN CITIES, INVOLVING 1,200 DELINQUENTS, MORE THAN 400 OF WHOM PARTICIPATED IN THE REMEDIATION PROGRAM, AND 1,000 CONTROLS, INDICATED THAT 32 PERCENT OF THE DELINQUENTS WERE LEARNING-DISABLED, COMPARED WITH ONLY 16 PERCENT OF THE CONTROL CHILDREN. THIS FINDING, HOWEVER, DOES NOT SUPPORT A CAUSAL LINK BETWEEN LEARNING DISABILITY AND DELINQUENCY BECAUSE THE ADDITIONAL ANALYSIS OF THE SUBJECTS' SELF-REPORTS INDICATES THAT LEARNING-DISABLED AND NONLEARNING DISABLED CHILDREN HAVE NO SIGNIFICANT DIFFERENCE IN THE EXTENT OF THEIR DELINQUENT BEHAVIOR. THE PATTERNS OF BEHAVIOR FOR THE TWO GROUPS ARE VERY SIMILAR, ACCORDING TO THE INFORMATION PROVIDED BY THE SUBJECTS THEMSELVES. PRELIMINARY INVESTIGATIONS DO SUGGEST THAT LEARNING-DISABLED CHILDREN ARE TREATED DIFFERENTLY BY THE JUVENILE JUSTICE SYSTEM. PRECISE DIFFERENCES HAVE NOT BEEN REVEALED, BUT THEIR APPARENT EFFECT IS THE OVERREPRESENTATION OF LEARNING-DISABLED CHILDREN AMONG OFFICIALLY ADJUDICATED DELINQUENTS. POSSIBLE EXPLANATIONS FOR THE DIFFERENT TREATMENT HYPOTHESIS ARE DISCUSSED. TABULAR DATA AND REFERENCES ARE PROVIDED. (TWK)