RELATIONSHIP BETWEEN SELF-REPORTED JUVENILE DELINQUENCY AND LEARNING DISABILITIES - A PRELIMINARY LOOK AT THE DATA

• NCJ Number: 46417
• Author(s): P K Broder; G W Peters; J Zimmerman
• Date Published: 1977
• Length: 26 pages
• Grant Number(s): 76-NI-99-0133; 76-JN-99-0022
• Sponsoring Agency: US Dept of Justice
• Sale Source: National Institute of Justice/
• Publication Type: Statistics
• Language: English
• Country: United States of America
• Note: PREPARED FOR PRESENTATION AT THE NCJCJ-NDAA (NATIONAL COUNCIL OF JUVENILE COURT JUDGES-NATIONAL DISTRICT ATTORNEYS ASSOCIATION) FIFTH ANNUAL CONFERENCE ON JUVENILE JUSTICE

Annotation

PRELIMINARY DATA ARE REPORTED FROM A RESEARCH AND DEMONSTRATION PROGRAM INVESTIGATING THE LINK BETWEEN SPECIFIC LEARNING DISABILITIES (LD) AND JUVENILE DELINQUENCY.

Abstract

A TOTAL OF 1,643 12- TO 16-YEAR-OLD BOYS AND GIRLS, INCLUDING 645 ADJUDICATED DELINQUENTS AND 998 PUBLIC SCHOOL STUDENTS WITH NO OFFICIAL RECORDS OF DELINQUENCY, WERE EVALUATED TO DETERMINE WHETHER THERE WAS EVIDENCE OF LD. THESE STUDENTS WERE GIVEN AN INTENSIVE BATTERY OF STANDARDIZED TESTS ALONG WITH AN INDIVIDUAL INTERVIEW, WITH QUESTIONS ABOUT THEIR FAMILY BACKGROUND, ATTITUDES TOWARD SCHOOL, AND SELF-REPORTED DELINQUENT BEHAVIOR. THE RESULTS INDICATE THAT LEARNING-DISABLED YOUNGSTERS ARE MORE LIKELY THAN NONLEARNING-DISABLED YOUNGSTERS TO BE ADJUDICATED DELINQUENT; HOWEVER, THERE WAS NO CLEAR EVIDENCE THAT LEARNING-DISABLED CHILDREN ENGAGE IN MORE DELINQUENT BEHAVIOR THAN THOSE WHO ARE NOT LEARNING-DISABLED. THERE IS SOME SUGGESTION THAT LEARNING-DISABLED CHILDREN ENGAGE MORE FREQUENTLY IN DELINQUENT BEHAVIORS, BUT THE EVIDENCE IS NOT CONSISTENT AND NOT STATISTICALLY SIGNIFICANT. THE AUTHOR SUGGESTS THAT THE LD CHILDREN ARE MORE FREQUENTLY ADJUDICATED DELINQUENT BECAUSE THEY MAY BE CAUGHT MORE FREQUENTLY OR BECAUSE THEY MAY BE ADJUDICATED IN A DIFFERENT MANNER. FURTHER RESEARCH AND ANALYSIS ARE NECESSARY TO EVALUATE THIS PROBLEM. FOOTNOTES, REFERENCES, THE SELF-REPORTED DELINQUENCY QUESTIONNAIRE, AND TABULAR DATA ARE INCLUDED. (AUTHOR ABSTRACT MODIFIED--BAC)