NCJ Number
50000
Journal
CRIME ET/AND JUSTICE Volume: 5 Issue: 3 Dated: (NOVEMBER 1977) Pages: 225-231
Date Published
1977
Length
7 pages
Annotation
A MOTOR COORDINATION TEST IS INVESTIGATED AS A POSSIBLE PREDICTOR OF FUTURE VIOLENT BEHAVIOR AMONG MALE AND FEMALE JUVENILE OFFENDERS. MOTOR EXCITABILITY IS CORRELATED STRONGLY WITH PAST VIOLENT BEHAVIOR.
Abstract
A TAPPING TEST, ORIGINALLY DEVELOPED FOR USE IN DIAGNOSING ORGANIC BRAIN DAMAGE, WAS GIVEN TO 16 FEMALE AND 29 MALE OFFENDERS IN THE SAN DIEGO, CALIFORNIA, EXPERIMENTAL PROBATION DEPARTMENT. ALL OF THE OFFENDERS WERE CONVICTED OF ACTS INVOLVING VARIOUS DEGREES OF VIOLENCE AND WERE REFERRED FOR PSYCHOLOGICAL EVALUATION. THE SCORES ON THE TAPPING TEST GENERALLY WERE RELATED TO THE DEGREE OF VIOLENCE OF THE OFFENDERS' PAST BEHAVIOR. FOR ANGLO MALES THERE WAS A STRONG CORRELATION BETWEEN TAPPING SPEED AND VIOLENT BEHAVIOR, BUT A SIMILAR CORRELATION WAS NOT FOUND FOR ANGLO FEMALES. THE SCORES OF NON-ANGLO FEMALES, HOWEVER, WERE JUST AS HIGH AS NON-ANGLO MALES, AND FOR BOTH THE TAPPING SPEED WAS CORRELATED WITH VIOLENT BEHAVIOR. OTHER STUDIES ARE REVIEWED WHICH SHOW THAT PERSONS WITH NORMAL INTELLIGENCE HAVE LOWER TAPPING SPEEDS THAN PERSONS WITH HIGH INTELLIGENCE. FURTHER TESTING IS RECOMMENDED TO INVESTIGATE THE RELATIONSHIPS BETWEEN ETHNIC BACKGROND, VIOLENT BEHAVIOR, INTELLIGENCE, AND TAPPING SPEEDS. THE SCORING SHEET USED TO EVALUATE THE LEVEL OF VIOLENCE OF PAST BEHAVIOR IS INCLUDED. TEST RESULTS ARE GIVEN IN NARRATIVE FORM. REFERENCES ARE INCLUDED.