The Relationship Between Learning Disabilities and Persisting Delinquency

Abstract

Recidivism of delinquency in juveniles with learning disabilities (LD), the focus of the present study, has been virtually unexplored in previous research. Data from a longitudinal study initiated in 1978 are examined. Sixty-five subjects with LD (47 males and 18 females) who had been diagnosed and assessed between the ages of 8 and 12 years were located and, during a personal structured interview at the median age of 18 years, reported police contact. This population was subdivided into two groups on the basis of whether police contact had continued or discontinued, as reported in a second personal interview at the age of 25 years. Discriminant analysis on parent and subject variables correctly classified 75% of the subjects and revealed that certain personality characteristics, such as impulsivity and poor judgment, discriminate between persisting and nonpersisting delinquency in youth with learning disabilities.