ABSTRACT
48 adolescents placed into a short-term diagnostic group home with a behavior modification program in place were studied. Each subject was administered the Wechsler Intelligence Scale for Children--III and the Screener version of the Wechsler Individual Achievement Test. Assessment data were used to predict the subjects' conduct within the behavioral program as a method of strengthening pretreatment recommendations for planning. Analysis showed that verbal and mathematical skills were significant predictors of the criterion behaviors. These results support the use of cognitive assessment as valid methods of predicting the behavior of teenagers within residential behavior modification programs.
Subject(s)
Behavior Therapy , Child Abuse/rehabilitation , Juvenile Delinquency/rehabilitation , Adolescent , Child Abuse/psychology , Humans , Juvenile Delinquency/psychology , Male , Residential Treatment , Treatment Outcome , Wechsler ScalesABSTRACT
Representative theories and research associated with biosocial and psychosocial explanations of juvenile delinquency in the context of the family are reviewed. The studies discussed demonstrate that biological, psychological, and social forces are all determinants of parent-child relations in the development of delinquency. Theories and research are also reviewed which show how biosocial and psychosocial orientations toward antisocial behavior can be integrated into a unified understanding of delinquency. It is concluded that biosocial and psychosocial theories of delinquency must be considered before a full understanding of delinquent conduct can be reached.
Subject(s)
Family , Juvenile Delinquency/psychology , Adolescent , Autonomic Nervous System/physiopathology , Humans , Juvenile Delinquency/etiology , Juvenile Delinquency/therapy , Mental Disorders/complications , Parent-Child Relations , Psychological Theory , Reinforcement, Psychology , Rejection, Psychology , SocializationABSTRACT
Imaginary audience behavior and perceptions of parents among a group of male delinquents and nondelinquent male and female adolescents were assessed. Each subject was administered the Imaginary Audience Scale and an author-designed inventory which measured perceived parental support. The results showed that the delinquents, compared to the nondelinquent males, expressed greater concern about the imaginary audience and had more negative perceptions of their fathers. Stronger concerns about the imaginary audience were positively correlated and negatively correlated with perceptions of low parental support among the delinquents and the male nondelinquents, respectively. The male nondelinquents also expressed greater concern than the female nondelinquents for the imaginary audience. Implications relating imaginary audience behavior and family relations to adolescent development are discussed.
ABSTRACT
The family perceptions of 46 delinquents, 52 high school students, and 46 freshman college students were measured through the use of a shortened version of the Family Concept Test. Each subject's perceptions of his or her level of rebelliousness toward parents, parental marital relations, and parental discipline were also measured. Results showed that the delinquents had more negative family perceptions as compared to the high school and college students. However, subjects in all three groups who perceived themselves as rebellious had similar negative family perceptions. Delinquents and college students, but not high school students, had similar negative family perceptions when they viewed their parents' marriage as unhappy. These data show that delinquents and nondelinquents tend to have similar negative family perceptions when they perceive themselves as rebellious and their parents as unhappy.
