Sex stereotypes and responses to juvenile delinquency

On the basis of our current knowledge of sex stereotypes and their influence on judgments about women and men, two conflicting hypotheses about reactions to delinquent behavior by men and women, or by boys and girls, can be put forward. First, because crime is mainly masculine, responsibility for criminal behavior will be more strongly attributed to a boy's nature than to a girl's, thereby leading to more severe punishment for boys. Second, deviations from a stereotype lead to negative evaluations, and thus should lead to harsher punishment for girls. The first study described, based on a field experiment with 709 adolescent and 403 adult subjects, was conducted to determine whether different sanctions were applied to boys and girls who engaged in identical delinquent behavior. The results show that for boys, more severe punishment was preferred for aggressive behavior, and for girls, more punishment for noncriminal delinquent behavior. In a second study (N=43), it was hypothesized that these differences in sanctioning corresponded with the degree of perceived masculinity of the delinquent behavior. This hypothesis was confirmed. A model shows how sex stereotypes about delinquent behavior lead to sex-related difference in attributions, which in turn lead to differences in punishment.     

Perceived parental acceptance and female juvenile delinquency

The responses of 62 adolescent females residing at a state training school and 62 high school females on a measure of perceived parental acceptance were compared while statistically controlling for mental age, chronological age, socioeconomic status, social desirability, and family structure. Generally significant (p less than .05) results indicate that incarcerated females viewed their mothers and fathers more negatively than did nonincarcerated females. Slightly more ambivalent results were indicated in the mother-daughter relationship (delinquent girls reported mothers to be more rejecting/neglecting than did nondelinquents, but no significant differences were found between the groups on perceived mother acceptance) than in the father-daughter relationship. Results were discussed in terms of reported parental differences in acceptance-nonacceptance, providing limited support for Ausubel's satellization theory of child development, and the difficulty of inferring causality from retrospective self-report studies using "captive" subjects.     

Movies and juvenile delinquency: an overview

Film viewing may affect the juvenile delinquent through the processes known as social learning and instigation. Identification with the movie and its characters by the delinquent viewer is common, and studies have consistently demonstrated that films can affect delinquents, although in some cases the effects are small. Numerous examples of how films may serve as either the initiator or the final common pathway of delinquent acts are presented. However, prosocial aspects of films dealing with delinquency may exert a positive influence on the juvenile delinquent. Treatment implications of these observations are discussed from social learning and other perspectives.     

Neuropsychiatric and experiential correlates of violent juvenile delinquency

This article reviews evidence regarding contributions of neuropsychiatric and psychological vulnerabilities to violent delinquency, and the interaction between intrinsic vulnerabilities and experiential factors in the genesis of antisocial juvenile behavior. Consideration is given to biochemical and physiological factors, genetics, medical status, and neurological, psychiatric, and neuropsychological factors. Implications for treatment are discussed.     

Alienation: a cause of juvenile delinquency

This research investigated differences in levels of alienation between incarcerated (n = 157) and nonincarcerated (n = 1,318) adolescents. It was hypothesized that incarcerated adolescents would have significantly higher levels of isolation, normlessness, powerlessness, and total alienation than would nonincarcerated adolescents. The Dean Alienation Scale, a global measure of alienation, was administered to all subjects. Results indicated that incarcerated adolescents had significantly higher levels of total alienation, isolation, and powerlessness. Given the high rates of recidivism, these results suggest that the reduction of both alienation and rejection of societal norms should be a major component of rehabilitation programs for incarcerated juvenile delinquents.     

A behavioral continuum synthesizing Neutralization Theory, situational ethics and juvenile delinquency

This paper develops some ideas in Matza's Neutralization theory into a continuum containing four categories ranging from extreme goodness to rebellion. We labeled these categories as Moral Absolute, Situational Ethic, Neutralization, and Rebellious Absolute. We discuss the percentages expected in each category and hypothesize that involvement in delinquency will increase progressively across these four categories. The rationale behind this hypothesis is that youth in the United States are viewed as being socialized to accept absolute norms but also to allow exceptions to these norms for particular situations, and that delinquent youth extend these exceptions to zones wider than are tolerated by law officers and wider than are generally accepted. A modified version of the Nye-Short self-reported delinquency scale and measures of normative oreintation which we constructed were used in a mail-out questionnaire to public school students (N = 351). We view our findings as being basically consistent with these expectations.     

Interrelations of empathy,cognition, and moral reasoning with dimensions of juvenile delinquency

The interrelations of a variety of indices of sociocognitive development (empathy, role-taking, logical cognition, and moral reasoning) were studied in delinquent and nondelinquent adolescents. Delinquent males (grouped into psychopathic, neurotic, and subcultural subgroups) and a matched nondelinquent comparison group were administered individually two empathy scales (the Davis Interpersonal Reactivity Index and the Mehrabian and Epstein Questionnaire Measure of Emotional Empathy), an adaptation of Byrne's and Flavell's role-taking tasks, two Piagetian cognitive tasks, and two of Kohlberg's structured moral dilemmas. Delinquents as a group displayed significantly more immature modes of role-taking, logical cognition, and moral reasoning than did nondelinquents. The delinquent subgroups, however, did not significantly differ from one another on these dimensions. Role-taking, logical cognition, and moral reasoning were significantly related to one another. Anticipated differences in level of empathy between the delinquent and nondelinquent adolescents failed to occur. A number of interpretations for this unexpected finding are offered.This study is based on a doctoral dissertation submitted to the University of Texas at Austin (Lee, 1983) and presented in part at the meetings of the Western Psychological Association, San Jose, April 1985, and the International Society for the Study of Behavioural Development, Tours, France, July 1985. Appreciation is expressed to James Bieri, Edward T. Emmer, Guy J. Manaster, Philip M. Powell, and Robert K. Young for constructive suggestions at various phases of the study.Delinquents were drawn from the Brownwood (Texas) State School through the cordial collaboration of Adrian Moore, Director of Planning, Research, and Evaluation of the Texas Youth Commission. The support of Cary Cockerell, superintendent at the Brownwood State School, and Dann Barger, superintendent at the Statewide Reception Center, and their staff was also instrumental in securing delinquents. Nondelinquents were obtained through the cooperation of Jack Allison, principal of the Travis High School, Austin, Texas, and his staff. Freda M. Holley, Director of the Office of Research and Evaluation, Austin Independent School District, and her staff are thanked for their assistance in obtaining these subjects.The contributions of Danny Escobar and of Ping-Fong Chu in scoring protocols is gratefully acknowledged.     

Contributions of psychopathic, narcissistic, Machiavellian, and sadistic personality traits to juvenile delinquency

The aim of this study was to assess the relative contributions of psychopathic, narcissistic, Machiavellian, and sadistic traits to delinquent behaviors in adolescents. Participants were 615 high-school students who completed self-report questionnaires. Psychopathic, narcissistic, Machiavellian, and sadistic traits were moderately correlated suggesting they may be overlapping but distinct constructs. Hierarchical multiple regression analyses were conducted to control for other socio-familial or psychopathological risk factors. Psychopathic and sadistic traits were independent predictors of delinquent behaviors in boys only. These findings suggest the importance of studying the role of sadistic traits in juvenile delinquency.     

Female juvenile delinquency, motherhood, and the intergenerational transmission of aggression and antisocial behavior

The current study explored the intergenerational transmission of aggression and antisocial behavior by examining mothers' juvenile delinquency, their pregnancies, and its impact on their children's aggressive behavior. The sample consisted of the first 181 biological mothers recruited as part of the Vancouver Longitudinal Study on the Psychosocial Development of Children (British Columbia, Canada). Results indicated that mothers who were juvenile delinquents were more likely to experience social adversity, to use substances during pregnancy and to offend in adulthood. Furthermore, mothers who reported juvenile delinquency had children who were more physically aggressive and had an earlier onset of physical aggression. This pattern of association held when controlling for sociodemographics, social adversities, prenatal substance exposure, and criminal involvement in adulthood. The study findings highlighted the importance of understanding the role and impact of female delinquency and motherhood on the intergenerational transmission of antisocial behavior.     

Facial attractiveness and juvenile delinquency among black and white offenders

Facial pictures of black and white delinquents were significantly less attractive than pictures of corresponding groups of high school students, as judged by same-race raters. Significant differences were found among the white delinquents, but not among the black, for Quay's four behavioral dimensions of delinquency. Black delinquents were significantly darker in skin color than the black high school students, and lightness of skin color was positively correlated with physical attractiveness ratings made by both black and white raters, indicating that neither race has yet assimilated the saying black is beautiful. This and other evidence suggest that facial attractiveness may be causal in delinquency.These studies were conducted with the cooperation of the staff of the Robert F. Kennedy Youth Center, Federal Bureau of Prisons, U.S. Department of Justice. The center is not responsible for the contents of this report; the report does not necessarily represent the Center's views. The portion of this paper dealing with the white offenders was presented at the meeting of the Eastern Psychological Association, Boston, Massachusetts, April 1972.The authors would like to thank Hayne W. Reese for his assistance.     

An overview of the law of juvenile delinquency

The juvenile justice system as we know it today evolved in the late nineteenth and early twentieth centuries as a result of reformers' desires to create separate juvenile courts designed to rehabilitate delinquent youths. The first step of the current system is the intake phase where a probation officer decides whether a petition should be filed against the juvenile or whether the juvenile should be diverted to a social service agency. If a petition is filed, the next issue that arises is whether the juvenile will be detained pending the hearing on the petition. In most instances, the minor will be released to the custody of his or her parents unless there is evidence that the juvenile will flee or engage in additional criminal conduct prior to the hearing. The juvenile court, in most states, will also determine whether the juvenile will benefit from the rehabilitative treatment offered by the juvenile court. If not, the matter will be transferred to adult court. If the juvenile court retains jurisdiction, an adjudicatory hearing will be held to determine whether the minor engaged in criminal conduct. After the adjudicatory hearing, those juveniles who are found to be delinquent receive a disposition. A wide range of dispositions are available to juvenile court judges, with the most common being probation.     

MMPI-A scores and high points of male juvenile delinquents: scales 4, 5, and 6 as markers of juvenile delinquency

The Minnesota Multiphasic Personality Inventory-Adolescent (MMPI-A) clinical, supplementary, and content scale score patterns for 655 male delinquents were examined. Low scores on Scale 5 (Masculinity/Femininity) were found to be the most frequent deviation, followed by elevations on Scales 6 (Paranoia) and 4 (Psychopathic Deviate). This is consistent with previous research, although the importance of Scale 5 deviations has been little noted because of the traditional focus on scale elevations only. Classification analysis indicated that a combination of MMPI-A scales discriminated between this delinquent sample and the normative sample, with a sensitivity of 90%-95% and a specificity of 80%-85%. This level of sensitivity was maintained in a replication sample (N = 473).     

Relations between neighborhood factors, parenting behaviors, peer deviance, and delinquency among serious juvenile offenders

The present study examined relations among neighborhood structural and social characteristics, parenting practices, peer group affiliations, and delinquency among a group of serious adolescent offenders. The sample of 14-18-year-old boys (N=488) was composed primarily of economically disadvantaged, ethnic-minority youth living in urban communities. The results indicate that weak neighborhood social organization is indirectly related to delinquency through its associations with parenting behavior and peer deviance and that a focus on just 1 of these microsystems can lead to oversimplified models of risk for juvenile offending. The authors also find that community social ties may confer both pro- and antisocial influences to youth, and they advocate for a broad conceptualization of neighborhood social processes as these relate to developmental risk for youth living in disadvantaged communities.