An intellectual and personality study of juveniles who are petitioned for waiver of juvenile jurisdiction.

Forty-one juvenile offenders against whom petitions were filed to try them as adults were examined on various psychological tests and compared with typical adolescents. These certificands tend to be of low intelligence and have much difficulty in performing academically or in any situation without structure. The data indicate that these juveniles tend to act impulsively and without great concern for conventional social standards. A major discrepancy in their self-perception and in the way they are seen by others produces a confusion and distrust of others. From the data it appears that there are differences between the typical adolescent and these juveniles, but the difference is in the extent of the certificands' problems and is not a qualitative one. When questions of the efficacy of rehabilitation in the adult or juvenile system are left aside, the typical certificand is qualified in terms of psychiatric or psychological criteria to stand trial in either juvenile or adult court.

Comparison of the WISC-R and culture fair intelligence test in a juvenile delinquent population.

Culture Fair and WISC-R scores were obtained of 51 delinquent juveniles. Comparison of mean scores on the two tests for minority and white juveniles demonstrated the Culture Fair to be less culturally biased than the WISC-R. On analysis of variance there was a significant difference due to ethnicity and test used, and a significant interaction of those two factors. The interaction was due to the elevation of the score of minority juveniles on the Culture Fair compared with WISC-R scores. Correlations between the WISC-R scores, subtest scale scores, and Culture Fair scores were significant at the .01 level which provides further validation of the WISC-R.

A comparison of the WISC and WISC-R in a juvenile delinquent population.

WISC and WISC-R subtest and IQ scores were compared in two samples of juveniles referred to a large metropolitan juvenile probation department (Ns = 180 and 185, respectively). The samples were equated for age, sex, race, and grade level. Significant differences were found on six of the 10 subtests. There were also significant differences between WISC and WISC-R scores on the Verbal, Performance, and Full Scale scores. In each case the WISC-R score was lower than the WISC score with the exception of the Arithmetic subtest. We conclude from these data that juvenile delinquents score significantly lower on the WISC-R than on the WISC. Psychologists using the WISC-R where the WISC had been previously used should educate their referral sources and other users of scores from the WISC-R to the differences in the test scores between the WISC and WISC-R.