Date of Award

2004

Degree Name

Psychology

College

College of Liberal Arts

Type of Degree

M.A.

Document Type

Thesis

First Advisor

Tony Goudy

Second Advisor

Martin Amerikaner

Third Advisor

Steven Mewaldt

Fourth Advisor

Leonard Deutsch

Abstract

Juvenile delinquency has been an important area of study. Academics, practitioners, politicians, and legal scholars have devoted their attention to basic questions about the nature of youth crime. This report was designed to identify which psychological and social variables are statistically reliable predictors of significant juvenile delinquency in southern West Virginia. In an effort to identify at risk youth, 200 subjects were administered a 16-question survey. This survey had a mixture of continuous and categorical psychological and social variables and the data was analyzed using Logistic Regression strategies. One hundred of the subjects had been referred to a juvenile probation officer; the other 100 subjects were southern West Virginia high school students. The findings from this research show there are a number of explanatory variables (predictors) for delinquency within the population. Neglect, child abuse, drugs, witnessing domestic violence, and delinquent peers were variables statistically related to juvenile delinquency in this study. The scope and limitation and further implications of the study are discussed.

Subject(s)

Juvenile delinquency - West Virginia.

Youth - Psychology.

Youth at risk (Social Sciences)

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