SOCIAL CLASS PSYCHIATRIC EVALUATIONS AND JUVENILE COURT DISPOSITIONS IN DELINQUENCY CASES

• NCJ Number: 53511
• Author(s): R A ROOS
• Date Published: 1978
• Length: 160 pages
• Grant Number(s): 78-NI-AX-0011
• Sponsoring Agency: US Dept of Justice
• Publication Format: Document
• Publication Type: Thesis/Dissertation
• Language: English
• Country: United States of America
• Note: UNIVERSITY OF CALIFORNIA, LOS ANGELES - DOCTORAL DISSERTATION

Annotation

DATA FROM THE LOS ANGELES, CALIF., JUVENILE COURTS ARE EXAMINED IN AN EXPLORATION OF RELATIONSHIPS AMONG SOCIOECONOMIC STATUS, PSYCHIATRIC EVALUATIONS, AND COURT DISPOSITIONS.

Abstract

STUDY SUBJECTS INCLUDED 11,145 YOUTHS WHOSE DELINQUENCY CASES HAD BEEN PROCESSED BY THE COURTS IN 1975 AND FOR WHOM RELIABLE DATA ON FAMILY INCOME AND ETHNICITY WERE AVAILABLE. ALSO INCLUDED IN THE STUDY WERE ONE-HALF OF ALL 660 CASES IN WHICH YOUTHS RECEIVED ACCELERATED PSYCHIATRIC EVALUATIONS FROM THE JUVENILE HALL PSYCHIATRIC CLINIC IN 1975. (ACCELERATED PSYCHIATRIC EVALUATIONS ARE ASSESSMENTS PERFORMED BY THE COURT PSYCHIATRIST OR PSYCHOLOGIST AT THE REQUEST OF THE JUDGE FOR THE JUDGE'S USE IN DECISIONMAKING.) SIGNIFICANT ASSOCIATIONS WERE FOUND BETWEEN SEVERITY OF DISPOSITION AND SOCIOECONOMIC STATUS AND BETWEEN SEVERITY OF DISPOSITION AND ETHNICITY. LESS SEVERE DISPOSITIONS WERE ACCORDED TO YOUTHS FROM HIGHER SOCIOECONOMIC CLASSES AND TO WHITE YOUTHS. NO ASSOCIATION BETWEEN SEVERITY OF DISPOSITION AND SOCIOECONOMIC STATUS WAS FOUND FOR YOUTHS WHO HAD RECEIVED PSYCHIATRIC EVALUATIONS, ALTHOUGH THERE WAS A SIGNIFICANT ASSOCIATION BETWEEN ETHNICITY AND SEVERITY OF DISPOSITION FOR EVALUATED CASES. APPARENTLY THE PSYCHIATRIC EVALUATION MEDIATED SOCIOECONOMIC DIFFERENCES IN DISPOSITION, BUT NOT ETHNIC DIFFERENCES--PARTICULARLY BETWEEN WHITES AND BLACKS. NO SIGNIFICANT ASSOCIATIONS WERE FOUND BETWEEN SOCIOECONOMIC STATUS AND THE LIKELIHOOD OF RECEIVING A PSYCHIATRIC EVALUATION, OR BETWEEN SOCIOECONOIMIC STATUS AND THE SEVERITY OF THE RECOMMENDATIONS MADE BY THE PSYCHIATRIC EVALUATOR TO THE COURT. IMPLICATIONS OF THE FINDINGS FOR COURT SERVICES ARE DISCUSSED, AND DIRECTIONS FOR FURTHER RESEARCH ARE SUGGESTED. A LITERATURE REVIEW, DETAILS OF METHODOLOGY AND FINDINGS, A BIBLIOGRAPHY, AND SUPPORTING DATA AND DOCUMENTATION ARE PROVIDED.