Social Competence, Coping Skills, and Youth Crime - A Pragmatic and Theory-Based Approach (From Youth Violence, P 160-177, 1986, Steven J Apter and Arnold P Goldstein, eds. - See NCJ-101447)

• NCJ Number: 101454
• Author(s): R J Gable
• Date Published: 1986
• Length: 18 pages
• Sale Source: Pergamon Press, Inc
• Language: English
• Country: United States of America

Annotation

To examine the role of deficits in social competence and coping skills in juvenile delinquency, a Combined Social Competence Inventory (made up of the Aschenbach Child Behavior Checklist and the Perceived Competence Scale for Children) was administered to 1,004 delinquents nationwide and 372 nondelinquent controls in Allegheny County, Pa.

Abstract

Individual scale scores for the combined inventory reveal small but statistically significant and consistent differences between delinquents and their nondelinquent peers. The 'Self' subscale, which addresses general perception of personal well-being, most clearly differentiated the two groups. This finding is consistent with notions of diminished self-esteem in delinquent populations. Further, on all subscales except 'Sport,' nondelinquents judged their own competence to be greater than that of the delinquent sample. A comparison of delinquents with relatively long histories of delinquent activities (three or more arrests or court referrals) with those with less previous delinquency activity showed clear intergroup differences on every subscale, indicating more greatly diminished perceptions of competence among the more serious delinquents. Implications of results for the White (1959) effectance motivation model and for treatment and prevention of youth crime are discussed. 44 references.