Delinquency Proneness of Urban and Rural Youth

Abstract

A total of 384 third, sixth, and ninth grade children, divided equally by displayed classroom behavior as socially approved or disapproved, by sex, and by home location as urban or rural, were studied. They were nominated by classroom teachers and interviewed and tested by trained social workers. Questionnaires were administered to the mother, father, and child, and several psychological tests were administered to the child. The inter viewers rated each child on the five Glueck factors for predicting juvenile delinquency and on four additional family background factors. Data were also gathered concerning the occupational and educational levels of the parents. The children whose classroom behavior was socially disap proved were rated more frequently in the delinquency-prone category on each of the five Glueck factors and on the four ad ditional family background ratings than the children whose classroom behavior was approved. The rural children were also rated more often in the delinquency-prone category than urban children on eight of the nine delinquency factors. A composite delinquency-proneness score for the five Glueck factors was also calculated for each child. The disapproved and the rural children were rated as more delinquency prone than the approved and urban on this composite score. Fathers and mothers of disapproved children were more frequently working in lower level occupations than fathers and mothers of approved children. The educational Ievels attained by mothers and fathers of approved and urban children exceeded the levels attained by parents of the disapproved and the rural children.