—— —_ .— ——_—I _—— _———— —— _————— —— ._——— _— —— __——— __—-— —— ’ A COMPARISON OF sou; PERSONALITY ASPECTS OF DELINQUENT AND NON—DRlNQUENT BOYS BY MEANS OF A SENYENCE COMPLETION WNW Thesis fat the Dogs" of M. A. MicrflGAN STAT! UN'3WRSIW Mark Hmar ?he€en 3959 A COMPARISON OF SOME PERSONALITY ASPECTS OF DELINQHENT m1) NON-DELINQUENT BOYS BY MEANS or A SENTENCE comSLErIon TECHNIQUE BI MARK HEREIN THELEN AN ABSTRACT Submitted to the College of Science and Arts Michigan State University of Agriculture and Applied Science in partial fulfillment of the requirements for the degree of MASTER OF ARTS Department of Psychology 1959 ABSTRACT This study was designed to compare some personality factors in delinquent and non-delinquent boys. The primary theoretical ap- proach utilized was psychoanalytic; however, other research findings were also considered. From this literature, the following predic- tions were made: the non-delinquents show a more positive attitude toward their father and family than the delinquents; the delinquents show a more positive attitude toward their mother than the non-de- linquents; the delinquents show more emotional immaturity (mani- fested by narcissism, lack of guilt, inability to delay satisfaction of needs, aspirations for easily obtained goals, and strong emotion- al dependence on the family) than the non-delinquents. There were 83 boys in the delinquent group and 70 boys in the non-delinquent group. The groups were controlled for age, sex, in- telligence, and socio-economic status. The tool used was the sen- tence completion technique which consists of 36 incomplete sen- tences dealing with nine areas including Father, Mother, Family, Friends, Fears, Abilities, Goals, Future, and Guilt. The comple- tions to each item were categorized, and approximately one-third of them were classified by another judge besides the author. There was 92.5% agreement between the two judges. Of the 36 comparisons made, 24 Chi square values at or be- yond the .05 level were obtained. The results indicated that the delinquents tend to feel somewhat negative toward their father, and family; however, there were no significant differences in regard to Eh. mother. The delinquents show considerable emotional immaturity as it was defined in the hypothesis.. Also, the delinquents are sus- picious of their friends; they are more fearful of the peeple to whom they are expected to be especially close; they retreat or be- come emotional when the odds are against them; and they have a pessimistic attitude toward the future. The findings were discussed in the framework of psychoanaly- tic theory and in relation to known family disorganization which most of the delinquents have experienced. A reservation must be made regarding the results because of the variable of institution- alization which was present with the experimental group but not with the control group. A COMPARISON OF SOME PERSONALITY ASPECTS OF DELINQUENT AND NON-DELINQUENT 8018 B! MEANS OF A SENTENCE COMPLETION TECHNIQUE BI MARK HERMAN THILEN A THESIS Submitted to the College of Science and Arts Michigan State University of Agriculture and Applied Science in partial fulfillment of the requirements for the degree of MASTER OF ARTS Department of Psychology 1959 ACKNOWLEDGMENTS I would particularly like to express my sincere gratitude to Dr. Albert I. Rabin, my advisor, under whose guidance this study was designed and carried out. I would like to express appreciation to the other committee members, Dr. John Hurley and Dr. Kenneth Iurtz, for their construc- tive criticism of the manuscript. Mr. Don lheeler, Principal of Eastern High School, and Mr. Robert Wisner, Superintendent of Boys' Vocational School, also contributed through their c00peration in gathering the data for this study. I am also indebted to Mr. George Seafort, who served as a judge. Lastly, thanks are due to my wife, Shirley, for her valuable assistance in every phase of the work. 11 TABLE OF CONTENTS Page LISTOFTABLES........................iv Chapter I. INTRODUCTION..................l II. REVIEW OF THE LITERATURE PERTINENT TO PERSONALITY FACTORS IN DmeUENCI O O O O O O O O O O O O O O 3 III. PROBLEM AND HIPOTRESIS . . . . . . . . . . . . . .10 IV. GROUPS......................ll v. PROCEDURE . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 13 v1. RESULTS . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 15 VII. DISCUSSION . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .26 VIII. SUMMARI . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 33 APPENDIX . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 35 BIBLIOGR‘PH O 0 O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O 36 iii Table 1. 2. 3. h. 6. 7. 8. 9. 10. LIST OF TABLES Page Age, Intelligence, and Socio-Economic Status of the Experimental and Control Groups . . . . . . . . . . . . . ll Reaponses of Delinquent and Non-delinquent Adolescents to Ite‘s that p.81 With Father e e e e e e e e e e e e e 16 Results of the Mother Items . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 17 Responses to the Family Items . . . . . . . ‘,° . . . . . 1? Differences on the Friends Items . . . . . . . . . . . . 18 Results of the Fears Items . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .20 Differences on the Abilities Items . . . . . . . . . . . .21 Responses to the Goals Items . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .22 Results of the Future Items . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 2h Differences on the Guilt Items . . . . . . . . . . . . . 25 iv I INTRODUCTION The complex problem of delinquency has long been of interest to the man on the street, as well as to professionals. Many vari- ables have been proposed and studied as possible related factors. Often, even today, in lay circles anti-social behavior is consid- ered to be hereditary. Researchers are forced to accept the legal definition of de- linquency. This is not ideal because of the many juveniles who commit delinquent acts but are not considered delinquent because of many extraneous factors. Such factors as the father‘s occupation and secie-economic status, the residential district in which the family lives, and the ability of a boy to avoid detection, all play a crucial role in being considered delinquent in the eyes of the court. Also, many of the same factors are operating when the judge decides if he should commit the delinquent to an institution. Thus many adolescent boys who commit delinquent acts are not included in the delinquent group as it is defined in this study. This is a shortcoming which must be recognized but can't be resolved. An important point which should be made here is that the two basic approaches to the study of delinquency are the genotypic and the phenotypic approaches. In the past a number of professional people have done research directed toward constitutional, heredi- tary, or genetic factors and their relation to delinquency (8,20). The majority of contemporary professional people, however, complete- ly reject this approach. They are convinced that the causes for -1- -2- delinquency and the answers to this problem lie in the social sci- ences. Healy (9) writes that the role that personality deviations play in the genesis of delinquent behavior stands out most strongly. Psychology as one of the social sciences has become interest- ed and concerned with the problem of delinquency. Some psycholo- gists (ll, 19) feel that in the future delinquents will be spotted with almost the same accuracy as academic tests predict school achievement. It is felt that many of the dynamics involved stem from processes which are of concern to the psychologist. Although many psychologists have convictions about some of the causes of de- linquent behavior, very few will deny the concept of multiple caus- ation (18). The object of this research is to study some personal- ity factors in delinquency. II REVIEW OF THE LITERATURE PERTINENT T0 PERSONALITY FACTORS IN DELINQUENOI' Delinquency has been of considerable concern to research workers, whose interest has centered for the most part around cul- tural, social and physical factors (l,3,7,9,12,l3). A considerable amount of the literature concerning delinquent personality structure has a psychoanalytic orientation (1,2,7,12,13). The discussion that follows will review some of the litera- ture with particular emphasis on certain personality variables. These variables are the ones on which most of the information may be expected to be obtained from the study. The family is probably the most important institution con- tributing to the development and support of the personality (7,8). Undesirable conditions in the family may hinder normal personality deveIOpment as is exhibited in delinquency. As Sadler put it: "it is the loveless home that breeds crime" (18, p. 7A6). The follow- ing is a broad psychoanalytic account of how normal psychological development takes place and its relation to social adaption (7). Early emotional relationships between the child and other persons are very important. Some of these emotions link the child to the mother and are responsible for bringing about a modification of the originally anti-social instinctive urges. These modified impulses then become part of the individual's character. Under- standing and sufficient time is necessary if the modification is to be successful. If indifference or impatience prevails, sudden re- -3- -14.- prossion of instinctive urges may result, bringing with it the danger of an unmodified anti-social instinct breaking through a- gainst the wishes of the individual later in life. This unmodified anti-social instinct may manifest itself in the form of aggressive- ness and lack of respect for the laws and mores of the society. During latency and puberty the child tries to channel and control his instincts, but if they are repressed and excluded from conscious- ness, adequate integration does not occur. The energy which is continuously required to hold the forbidden urge or a related urge back in the unconscious is wasted, when it could be directed into social channels. Frequently harsh or inconsistent treatment (alter- nating between a strict and a permissive attitude) results in ex- cessive repression of instinctive urges. Often also an atmosphere exists whereby the child's anti-social instinctive pleasures are nourished. An atmosphere of indifference regarding the gratifica- tion of anti-social instincts can be seen as approval by the child. This tends to exaggerate the child's aggressive inclinations in that proper defenses are not develOped to inhibit or displace the inclinations. Crucial to the modification of the instincts is the emotion- al attachment to the mother and ”the knowledge that the love and approval of this person are more-important to the self than the im- mediate gratification of instinctive desires" (7, p. 69). The es- sential aim in social adaptation is the possibility of forming good object relationships. Most of the relationships formed in later life are greatly affected by the pattern of the first experiences. -5- Within this mother-child relationship, the child learns to delay Satisfaction of his desires, thus accepting the "reality principle" instead of the original "pleasure principle." Without acceptance of the "reality principle" Social adaptation is impossible. Children who have an unhappy relationship with the mother will meet with the greatest difficulties later on. "One characteristic which all delinquents have in common is their inability to postpone desires because they cannot form good relationships with the peOplo in their surroundings, and this results in their excessive self-love" (7, p. 70). The separation of the child from his mother, as well as an inconsiderate attitude on the part of the mother, makes the development of an object relationship on a sound basis impossible. The pattern of emotional relationships develOped during the Oedipus phase, aside from directly affecting the love life of the individual, also influences his attitude to peOple in authority. This alone makes the Oedipus develOpment an important phase in social adaptation. A resolved Oedipus situation results in the es- tablishment of a "friendly relationship" between the father and son, and after the difficulties of puberty there will be a sound basis for "equality" between them. Both neurotic and anti-social ad- justments can result from disturbances which occurred in the ear- lier stages of deveIOpment. Under certain conditions the fear connected with the expres- sion of instinctive urges at the phallic phase results in regres- sion of the libido to an earlier stage of deveIOpment, usually the anal-sadistic phase. One prerequisite for this occurrence is a fixation of instinctive energy at this earlier phase. In this case the relationship to the persons in the environment is a sado-maso- -6- ehistic one, and instinctive pleasure is eXperienced in the_form of wishing to hurt and to be hurt. This situation is very often related to anti-social behavior. One possible result Of Oedipal difficulty is the passive- feminine attitude of the boy towards his father. This attitude en- tails the loss of masculinity which has to be repressed, and the boy frequently feels forced to defend himself against these tenden- cies by displaying an attitude of forced aggressiveness and "man- liness." Instincts, however, continually strive for satisfaction, and the passive-feminine attitude may show itself in the dependence of the boy on older and often aggressive and anti-social young men which results in actions which he would not dare to undertake on his own. Very closely related to the Oedipus conflict and of extreme importance for later social adjustment is the formation of the con- science or super-ego. It is necessary for the child to identify himself with the parents at the end of the Oedipus phase. The iden- tification is necessary for "otherwise his conscience will not be- some independent of the outside world" (7, p. 72). During one phase in the development of the superéego, the child identifies himself with the demands and desires of the parents but still their presence, their approval and their punishment is necessary in order to do the right thing. It is possible, however, for a boy to inter- nalize a conscience in a normal fashion but still act as though none existed. This would occur if the ethical code of the immedi- ate family is a criminal or anti-social one. One should not ignore the fact that the development of the -7- super-ego is influenced by the instinctive development of the earli- er phase. There are many points during the Oedipal phase where difficulties can arise and lead to abnormal psychological develop- ment and anti-social behavior. Many delinquents are the victims of indifference or actual hostility by their parents. They feel their parents aren’t con- cerned about their welfare. They do not identify themselves with their fathers nearly as much as non-delinquents (8). In spite of this feeling of rejection delinquents often appear to be more de- pendent upon their parents (13). Bunny (3), Glueck (8) and others (1.7.12) feel that an unre- solved Oedipus complex is a crucial factor in delinquency. Lindner (12) writes that mothers of psychOpaths, consciously or unconscious- ly, overtly or covertly, seduce their children. "I was led to an understanding of the factor of the special incestuous preoccupation in delinquents when collecting data for a study on matricide. Crim- inals are most threatened by comments regarding their mother" (12, p. 151). Another very apparent element in the personality make-up of delinquents is emotional immaturity (3,8,18). Delinquents are more inclined to the immediate indulgence of their appetites than non- delinquents; they are less critical of themselves and are more self- centered (8). In many respects the delinquent resembles the very young child. Egocentric to the extreme, he has no “real love" for anyone aside from himself; neither can he put himself in the place of others, nor does he realize what effect his conduct may have on them (18). Banay writes, "there is no doubt, that the factor that -8- serves best to characterize potential delinquents is emotional im- maturity" (3, p. 134). It might be expected that delinquents would have more immature geals and feel differently about the future than would non-delinquents. One of the most common characteristics ascribed to the de- linquent is his apparent lack of guilt or his "underdeveIOped" eon- science. Sadler (l8) feels that because delinquents do not possess the average type of conscience, they suffer little from feelings of guilt. Banay (3) suggests other possibilities when he says that in spite of their desensitization to wrong, there is apparently a direct correlation between seriousness of delinquency and the de- gree of neurotic tendency or emotionality. Alchhorn (l) feels somewhat different about the issue. He writes that much delinquency is the result of guilt whereby the boy attempts to relieve the guilt with punishment and this is why he will not accept the affec— tion of others. Healy (9) has found that in some cases delinquents do feel guilty and their delinquency is an attempt to punish this guilt. There appears to be considerable disagreement in regard to the presence or absence of guilt in the delinquent; however, it can be hypothesized that the delinquents will show less disturbance in this area than the non-delinquents. In the Glueck (8) study it was found that delinquents ex- pressed more childish actions about what they wanted to do in life. They were inclined to adventurous occupations or to work requiring little training. They appear to be more interested in the direct and concrete as Opposed to the symbolic and intellectual. Merrill (1}) has found that the goals of delinquents are more immediate -9- and more easily obtained than goals of non-delinquents. In regard to fear, non-delinquents more often than delin- quents express fear of some animal or animals (13). Glueck found that delinquents are less concerned about failure and defeat than non-delinquents. In regard to abilities there appears to be less "helplessness" among delinquents (8); however, this could be a de- fense mechaniSm against underlying feelings of inferiority (9). III PROBLEM AND HYPOTHESIS From the preceding account of personality structure and especially its develOpment, one would expect that some personality differences exist between the delinquent and the non-delinquent “capes In accordance with the previous discussion, four major pre- dictions were to be tested in this study. 1. 2. 3. The delinquents express a more negative attitude toward their father than the non-delinquents. The delinquent group shows a more posi- tive attitude toward their mother than the non-delinquent group. A negative attitude is reflected by the delinquents regarding the family as com- pared to the non-delinquents. The delinquent group is more emotionally immature than the non-delinquents. This emotional immaturity may be expressed in the following characteristics: narcissism; lack of guilt; inability to delay satis- faction of needs; aspirations for immature, easily obtained goals; and strong emotional dependence on the family. -10- IV GROUPS The Sentence Completion Test was administered to 105 nonde- linquents and 92 delinquents. Because of the controls imposed by the study, (see Table 1) it was necessary to eliminate 35 boys from the non-delinquent group and nine boys from the delinquent group. The non-delinquent sample was drawn at random from Eastern High School in Lansing, Michigan. The delinquent group consisted of boys committed to Boys' Vocational School (BUS) in Lansing, Michi- gan. It was the first commitment to BUS by the Court for each delinquent subject. TABLE 1 AGE, INTELLIGENCE AND SOCIO-ECONOMIC STATUS OF THE EXPERIMENTAL AND CONTROL GROUPS Group Age Soc-Ec Status IeQ. . N 15 15 IV V Mean SeDe Delinquents 83 53 30 ' 52 31 98-11 8.55 Non-delinquents 7O #8 22 #6 2h . 99.3k 8.28 Because of the nature of the BUS pepulation, the study was restricted to males. The ages of the subjects were 15 and 16 years. A Chi square showed no significant difference in the age distribu- tion. The other two variables which were controlled were intelli- gence and socio-economic status. The intelligence of the BUS group was measured by an abbreviated form of the IISC and.lAIS (UIBS) and the intelligence of the non-delinquent group was measured by the California.Nental Maturity Test. All of the subjects used in the -11.“. -12- study had measured intelligence scores ranging between 85 and 115. A,§ test indicated that the distribution of intelligence scores be- tween the two groups was comparable. The VIBS of the WISC and WAIS was used for the non-delinquent group because it is part of.a battery of tests which is administered to every boy that enters BUS. Like- wise, the California Mental Maturity Test was accepted as a measure of intelligence for the non-delinquent group because it is admin- istered to every person that enters Eastern High School. Altus found a high correlation between the verbal and nonverbal parts of the CTNM and WISC.‘ The tool used to equate the groups for socio-economic status was the Two Factor Index of Social Position devised by Hollingshead (10). Because the subjects were the only source of information, it was necessary to use an instrument for social position which required information commonly known by adolescents. The information from which the Social Position was devised was the occupation and educa- tional level of the father. This tool classifies the father in one of five categories ranging from the highest Social Position of I to the lowest Social Position of U. Only the boys whose father had a Social Position of IV or U were considered for the study. I’Altus, Grace T., "Relationships Between Verbal and Nonverbal Parts of the CTMM and NISC," J. Consult. Psych., 1955, l9:l#3-l#h. V PROCEDURE The Sentence Completion Test which is an adaptation and an abbreviation of the one described by Sacks and Levy (1?) was admin- ‘ istered in groups, and to the delinquent pOpulation as part of a larger battery of tests. This tool was considered most adequate be- cause it is a projective test which places minimal restrictions on the range of possible reSponses.- Also, it deals with the areas of personality which are preposed in the hypothesis. This abbreviated test has been used by Rabin (15) for research purposes. The test consists of 36 incomplete sentences dealing with nine areas: Father, Mother, Family, Friends, Fears, Abilities, Goals, Future, and Guilt. The incomplete sentences were given on two mimeographed sheets with considerable space left over for completion. The fol- lowing instructions were given verbally: ”Put your name, age, and father's occupation at the top of the paper. What are some of the ways that this incomplete sentence could be finished? John and you.......Responses. Okay, here are some more for you to finish. What you put down will in no way harm you, so put down the very first idea that comes to your mind, regardless of what it is. Do them as fast as you can and don't skip any. If there are any questions about the meaning of a word, feel free to raise your hand.“ All of the subjects were given whatever time they needed. In spite of the encouragement to complete all of the items, some omissions occurred. The omissions were not dealt with in the results. This practice is justified in the literature by Rotter and Rafferty (16). The completions to each sentence were classified in a manner -13- -1lt- dictated by the data. When applicable, the classification system (for a single item) used by Rabin in two recent studies (l#,15) was applied to this study. For the other items, however, it was neces- sary to establish a "classification scheme"; an empirical procedure utilized by Rabin (14,15) in two recent studies. A reliability check was made by having a judge (other than the experimenter) score 1622 completions. This procedure was followed for approximately one- third of the responses to each item. The experimenter and judge were found to be in disagreement on only 122 out of the 1622 re- sponses, resulting in 92.5% agreement. It was found necessary to establish the category "other" in order to classify all of the reSponses to a number of items. This category includes a variety of completions which couldn't readily be placed in a more meaningful category. The data was tested for significance by means of the Chi square technique. The two-tailed test was apprOpriate throughout since the predictions were of a general nature. VI RESULTS A total of 36 comparisons was made out of the total of 36 items. Of the comparisons, 24 Chi square values significant at the .05 level or beyond were obtained. Because of the nature of the re- sponses given to item 15, it was scored in two ways. After an in- dividual item analysis, the four items dealing with the family were analyzed globally because this analysis best differentiated between the two groups. Also, items 12 and 13 had to be dealt with some- what differently than the others because a majority of the delinquent responses to these items reflect concern over their release from the institution. This is a factor which is not present in the control group. The results of items 12 and 13 are not considered a part of the 24 significant Chi square values. Significant differences were found in every area with the exception of the four "Mother" items. The items dealing with the father, mother and family were scored similarly on the basis of the affective nature of the re- Sponses. All items in these areas were scored either as positive or ”other" (neutral and negative), or as "other" (positive and non- tral) or negative. These items could not all be classified the same because some items (10, 19, 28, in Table 2 and item 35 in Table 3) have a negative lead which tended to initiate, at best, neutral type responses. In regard to the "father" items, Table 2 shows that signifi- cant differences were obtained to the responses on three out of the four items. The fourth item leaned strongly in the direction of the -15- -16- TABLE 2 RESPONSES 0F DELINQUENT (D)‘AND NON-DELINQUENT (N) ADOLESCENTS .,_To ITEMS THAT DEAL WITH FATHER Items 1 10 19 28 D N D N D N D N Positive 15 26 Other 52 39 (negative or neu.) Negative ' 45 22 30 1h 25 12 Other 32 40 47 54 51 55 (positive or neu.) Chi square 6.75 7.#6 6.#2 3.67 p less than .01 .01 .02 .10 other three. The non-delinquent population indicated positive feel- ing toward the father or absence of negative feeling with responses such as, "is bad" to item 1, (I feel that my father seldom....), "not work so hard" to item 10 (If my father would only....), and “was feeling better" to item 19 (I wish my father....). These re- Sponses are neutral or positive (which would be the case for item 1) so items 10 and 19 were classified in the other category. Item 1 was classified in the positive category. A sample of the nega- tive type delinquent responses are ”thinks of me" to item 1, "lis- ten" to item 10, and "would go to hell" for item 19. Table 3 indicates that there is no significant difference on the "mother" items. Items eight and 35 show a tendency in the di- rection of a more positive attitude by the delinquents toward their mother; however, a Chi square of zero was obtained on items 17 and 26. -17- TABLE 3 RESULTS OR THE MOTHER ITEMS Items 8 17 25 55 D N D N D N D N Positive 59 52 54 57 55 58 Other 23 27 16 13 25 22 (negative or neutral) Negative . 29 35 Other 59 29 (positive or neutral) Chi square 1.92 0 0 1.98 p less than .20 N.S. N.S. .20 Table 4 lists the results of the family items. There were no significant differences indicated by the individual item anal- ysis; however, three of the four items suggested a tendency on the part of the non-delinquents toward a more positive attitude. Be- TABLE 8 RESPONSES TO THE FAMILY ITEMS Items 7 16 25 34 Global D N D N D N D N D N Positive 50 50 56 Ht R1 1&5 22 26 30 36 Other 26 15 22 2C 35 22 48 38 53 3% (negative or neutral) Chi square 2.22 1.14 2.92 1.17 3.86 P 1088 Nb“ ' .20 o30 e10 .30 .05 cause of the suggested pattern, it was felt that a global analysis would better differentiate the two groups. The global analysis refers to the overall impression of the judges toward the comple- tions of each individual to the "Family" items. The global analy- A - -18- sis of the "Family" items (listed in Table 4) indicates to a sig- nificant degree that the non-delinquents have a more positive at- titude toward the family than do the delinquents. Responses such as "is a kind one" to item 7 (Compared with most families, mine....), and "are happy" fer item 25 (Most families I know....), character- izes-the non-delinquent group. The delinquent responSes were less frequently of a positive nature. Some examples are "is mean" to item 7, and "argue" for item 25. There were five significant differences found on the comple- tions to the four items dealing with "Friends" which are listed in Table 5. Item 6 (I feel that a real friend....), suggested a high degree of narcissism in the delinquent population as compared to TABLE 5 DIFFERENCES ON THE FRIENDS ITEMS Items 6 15 15 25 33 Narcissism- 31 17 Other 45 51 Show-off, brag, etc. 17 39 Other . 65 31 Self-reference I 33 5 Other 49 65 Friends or Peers 1? 27 Family 33 8 Other 32 3it Suspicious, negative 17 13 Other 16 3# Chi square 5.72 22.36 23.81 18.70 5.#9 p less than .02 .01 .01 .01 .02 MICHIGAN STATE UNIVERSITY OF AGRICULTURE AND APPLIED SCIENCE 0 EAST LANSING DEPARTMENT OF PSYCHOLOGY 25 September 1959 University Library Gentlemen: The following thesis for Fall term 1959 is being submitted herewith: A COMPARISON OF SOME PERSONALITY ASPECTS OF DELINQUENT AND NON-DELINQUENT BOYS BY TEENS OF A SENTENCE COMPLETION TECHNIQUE by Mark Herman Thelen. master's degree thesis. Yours very truly. I” . LZ/qi/fi-L/fé’wod - /~IZZ-2"C -—z out no» / (Mrs.) Gorardine Stornant 3 acre tary Execut Ive Encl. l GRSims asistic response scored twice. The eit" type responses 3 all of the re- art and make fun of -reference categor- slike for people 3 showed dislike :0 hurt them. A in the self-refer- “try to show off" a. .cates that more de- ze best. The non- : they like best. :ther." Completions in the latter cate- tround, my friends :he subjects so .mpletions suggest ends in their ab- . suspiciousness te- nquents. The typi- cal completions which were considered of a suspicious nature were "talk about me" or something very similar. -19- the non-delinquent group. An example of a narcissistic response would be, "will comfort you" or "sticks by you." Item 15 (I don't like people who....) was scored twice. The A first classification dealt with "brag" and "conceit" type responses as opposed to "other." It was necessary to score all of the re- sponses twice because a response such as "act smart and make fun of me" is eligible for both the "brag" and the self-reference categor- ies. The non-delinquent papulation expressed dislike for people who show eff and brag whereas the delinquent boys showed dislike for people who dislike them or who do something to hurt them. A completion such as "hurt my feelings" was placed in the self-refer- ence category as Opposed to a completion such as "try to show off" which was scored as a show-off, brag type response. Item 24 (The peeple I like best....), indicates that more de- linquents saw their family as the people they like best. The non- delinquents indicated their friends as the people they like best. in example of the former is "are my father and mother." Completions such as "are my friends who like me" were placed in the latter cate- gory. The punctuation on item 33 (When I'm not around, my friends ....), was not interpreted correctly by some of the subjects so these were eliminated. However, the remaining completions suggest that the delinquents are suspicious of their friends in their ab- sence. Only 19% of the non-delinquents indicated suspiciousness to- ward their friends as compared to 52% of the delinquents. The typi- cal completions which were considered of a suspicious nature were "talk about me" or something very similar. -20- The differences of three of the four items shown in Table 6 dealing with "fears" were found to be significant. Item 5 (I know it is silly bit I .a afraid of....), indicates that the delinquent group expressed a fear of people as compared to the non-delinquent group which denies to some degree any fears whatsoever. The re- sults of item 5 are in agreement with the results of No. l# where the delinquents‘ completions as compared to the non-delinquent re- sponses reflecta fear of parents, friends, and themselves. Also, TABLE 6 RESULTS OF THE FEARS ITEMS People ‘ 25 12 18 8 Nothing 2 10 Other 51 42 62 58 Parents, friends & self 15 4 lothing 2 10 Other 60 53 Violate norms & rules 28 10 Other #9 5# Chi square 11.29 10.66 3.01 7.13 P 1953 thu o0]. 001 .10 cc]. on No. l# (Host of my friends don't know that I am afraid of....), the mom-delinquents again denied the existence of fears. Item No. 32 (My fears sometimes force me to....), suggests that the delin- quent pOpulation, relatively speaking, feels that their fears force them to violate rules and norms. Examples of the completions by the delinquent group to No. 32 are "lie" and "do things I shouldn't do." In Table 7 the results or the items dealing with "abilities" -21- are presented with the responses to all four items differentiating significantly. Completions to sentence root No. 2 (When the odds are against me....), were scored in one of three ways. The first category contains completions which indicate perseverance (e.g., "I keep on trying," "I don't give up"); the second category desig— nates retreat which includes such completions as, ”I run" or "I give up"; the third category includes responses which don't apply to either of the latter. It is evident that the delinquents tend toward retreat as compared to the non-delinquents who show consider- able perseverance. TABLE 7 DIFFERENCES ON THE ABILITIES ITEMS Perseverance 14 2h Retreat 23 12 Other 40 33 Studies 10 15 2 15 Other 52 35 73 50 Vocational 10 19 Perseverance 12 23 Emotional 22 7 Other #4 36 Chi square 6.72 9.83 12.10 10.71 p less than .05 .Ol .01 .Ol Responses to No. 11 (I believe I have the ability to....) were scored as concerned with studies, vocations or "other." The non-delinquents show a decided tendency over the experimental group toward responses involving studies or some vocation. Item No. 20 -22- (My greatest weakness is....), was similarly scored except that the vocational category was eliminated. Although the frequency of re- sponses dealing with studies is small for both groups, the non- delinquent population indicates concern over this more frequently. Item No. 29 (When luck turns against me....), drew comple- tions which were classified as indicating perseverance, emotional- ity or "other." In agreement with NO. 2, the non-delinqunet tended to show perseverance whereas the delinqeunts gave emotional type re- sponses such as, "I get mad" or "I am afraid.” TABLE 8 RESPONSES TO THE GOALS ITEMS Items 3 12 21 30 D N D N D N D N Long range 16 22 #6 #7 Short range & Rec. #6 #2 35 21 Personal Characteris. 21 6 Release from BVS #6 0 Other 3# 68 Vocational 30 #0 Other #3 26 Chi square 6c58 5059 4.16 p less than .05 .02 .05 Table 8 lists the results of the items concerned with "goals." The responses to three of the four items were found to be signifi- cant. No. 12 (I could be perfectly happy if....), and No. 13 in Table 9 could not be scored like the other items of the sentence completion test because of the delinquents' preoccupation with gaining release from BVS. "Long range," "short range and recrea- -23- tional" and "personal characteristics" were the criteria utilised in classifying the responses to No. 38(1 always wanted to....). Occupational or professional goals were placed in the "long range" category. Responses such as "have a car" or "take my girl" were placed in the "short range and recreational" category. The third category includes completions like "be a man." Incomplete sentence No. 30 (What I want most out of life....), was classified the same as No. 3 except that there were no responses which called for the "personal characteristics” category. The re- sults tend to verify each other in that the non-delinquents leaned toward responses with long range goals as compared to the concern of the delinquent group for short range goals. The delinquents also indicated goals which centered around the achievement of personal characteristics. Responses to No. 21 (My secret ambition in life....), were scored as, "vocational" or "other.” As on item 11 in Table 7, more non-delinquents responded with some type of vocational ambition than did the delinquent group. Table 9 lists the results of the "future" items. The re- sponses to three of the items were found to differentiate signifi- cantly and the fourth could not be scored because of the definite preoccupation on the part of the delinquent group over release from B.V.S. An interesting difference was reflected on item No. # (To me the future looks....). Positive, negative and neutral were the classifications utilized on the item. Positive responses include completions like, "good" or "happy." Negative completions include such responses as “bad" or "dark." "The non-delinquents indicate a -24- healthier, more positive attitude toward the future as compared to the delinquents who reflected a pessimistic attitude toward the fu- ture. TABLE 9 RESULTS OF'THE FUTURE ITEMS Items # 13 22 31 D N D N D N D N Positive 39 44 Negative 38 17 leutral 4 9 Release from BVS 50 O Other 33 67 Long range 25 43 2“ 33 Short range 5“ 24 51 34 Chi Bqnar. 8.69 15e97 l+c23 p less than .02 .01 .05 Item No. 22 (Some day I....) was classified similar to Nos. 3 and 30. The delinquents tended to have short range aspirations compared to the non-delinquents who had long range aspirations. An example of the former is "will get a car." in example of the lat- ter is "will become a doctor." The "short range" and "long range" classifications were also found applicable to No. 31 (When I am older....). Again the delinquents clearly indicate a desire for short range goals as opposed to the non-delinquents who were con- cerned with long range goals. Completions such as “I will own a car" were considered short range whereas, "I will be a printer" was classified as a long range response. Table 10 lists the differences on the "guilt" items. The -25- responses to three of the items were found to differentiate to a significant degree. The same scoring was found to be appropriate to all four of the items. One category was the acceptance of guilt and the other was the denial or absence of guilt. Responses which were an account of something that "happened to" the person were considered "denial" type responses.‘ When the subject replied with something "he did," it was scored as an acceptance (of guilt) type response. -For example, on item 9 (I would do anything to for- get the time I ....), the completion "was forced to go to school" would be placed in the former category; whereas, "ran away from home" belongs in the latter category. TABLE 10 DIFFERENCES ON THE GUILT ITEMS Items 9 18 27 36 D N D N D N D N Acceptance ## #7 55 56 #9 #7 66 53 Denial or Absence 35 11 25 10 21 13 14 2 Chi square 8.61 5.#1 1.#3 5.85 p less than .01 .02 .30 .02 VII DISCUSSION The following is a compact list of the differences which were found to be significant at the .05 level or beyond. Nos. 1, 10, and 19, the non-delinquents have a more positive atti- tude toward their father than the delinquents. Nos. 7, 16, 25, 3#, (dealt with globally), the non-delinquents have No. NOo NOe No. No. NOo Has a more positive attitude toward their family-than the delin- quents. 6, the delinquents are more narcissistic in regard to friendship than the non-delinquents. 15, the non-delinquents tend to dislike people who showéoff or brag, whereas, the delinquents are more inclined to dislike peOple who don't like them. 2#, the non-delinquents indicate their friends as the peOple they like best as compared to the delinquents who indicate their family as the peOple they like best. 33, the delinquents are more suspicious of their friends than the non-delinquents. 5, the delinquents tend to fear people as opposed to the non- delinquents who are more inclined to say they fear nothing. 1#, the delinquents are more inclined to fear parents, friends and self than the non-delinquents. ' 32, the delinquents are more disposed to feel that their fears force them to violate norms and rules than the non-delinquents. Nos. 2, 9, the non-delinquents show more perseverance when the odds -25- -27- are against them than the delinquents. No. 2, the delinquents, compared to the non-delinquents, tend to retreat when the odds are against them. Nos. 11, 20, 21, the non-delinquents are more concerned with stud- ies and vocational interests than the delinquents. No. 29, relative to the non-delinquents, the delinquents react more emotionally when luck turns against them. Nos. 3, 22, 30, 31, the delinquents show more concern with short range goals than the non-delinquents who are more concerned with long range goals. No. 3, the delinquents indicate more concern with the achievement of personal characteristics than the non-delinquents. No. #, the non-delinquents have a more positive attitude toward the future than the delinquents. Nos. 9, 18, 36, the delinquents tend to deny any experience of guilt, whereas, the non-delinquents are inclined to indicate that they do experience guilt. In discussing the results expounded by the 2# significant differences, a number of reservations must be made. First, the re- sults should be considered only as "possible" or "suggested" person— ality differences and should not be considered all inclusive. .Second- ly, on some items an especially large number of responses fell in the "other" category. The range of responses to those items was so broad that this could nOt be avoided. Thirdly, and probably most important, is the factor of institutionalization which was operating in the delinquent group. The delinquents were boys who were commit- ted to an institution against their will. They were forced to make -28- it their home. The non-delinquents, however, were not living under these conditions. The effects of this factor on the responses of the delinquent group are unknown. For the most part the results tend to follow from the pre- dictions made and from the theoretical positions indicated by the review of the literature. The predications, that the delinquents show a more negative attitude toward their father and family than the non-delinquents, were borne out in the study. However, the hy- pothesis regarding the mother (delinquents show a more positive at- titude toward their mother than the non-delinquents) did not hold. The other major prediction was that of emotional immaturity in the delinquent group which would manifest itself in a number of areas (refer to the fourth hypothesis). The results clearly tend to be in agreement with this prediction. The results of the ”father," "mother," and "family" items can be explained in the framework cf psychoanalytic theory. The Oedipal phase and the identification process involved may be one of the most profound personality features of the delinquent group. Many of the delinquent boys have had a number of father figures (step-fathers) or have had no father at all in their home. Also, frequently the father figure is an extremely inadequate person, lacking standards and character with which the average child would tend to identify. The tendency of the delinquent group to have a more positive attitude toward their mother must also be discussed in this framework. It seems that difficulty during the Oedipal development is involwed, with the father seen as a barrier to the dual relationship desired with the mother. The delinquent boys -29- have not develOped in this area as compared to the non-delinquents who, upon realization that the mother figure could not be an object of direct sexual satisfaction, began to identify with the father, thus internalizing values which are in accordance with our mores, customs and laws. Any retardation in the identification process would logically result in a boy who will defy rules, regulations, and the people who attempt to enforce them. The absence or denial of guilt on the part of the delinquent is an integral part of the identification process. When difficul- ties occur in the identification process it will inevitably have its effects on the develOpment of the conscience and subsequently on the potentiality to experience guilt. The tendency of the delinquents to show more negative atti- tudes in regard to the family may be attributed to the negative feeling directed toward the father. Another possibility is sibling rivalry in which hostility is develOped and can be reflected in the delinquent's attitude toward the family. A third factor which may be Operating is some antipathy toward the mother, resulting from what the delinquent boys see as resistance or rejection which the boy cannot accept as part of himself. He can more easily express the negative attitude indirectly when the mother is hidden behind the symbol of the family. The remainder of the results can readily be discussed in terms of emotional immaturity which was expected to be found in the ’ delinquent group. Emotional immaturity is an abstract term; however, there are many areas of the personality in which it can manifest it- self. Some of the areas were dealt with in this study and are re- -30- flected upon in the subsequent paragraphs. The extreme narcissism of the delinquent group is reflected en a number of items. It was seen as an important element in the interpersonal experiences of the delinquents and in their future aspirations. The delinquent's concept of "friendship" is apparent- ly not viewed by them as a mutual give-anstake affair. They in- dicated concern with personal, physical achievement. Also, the de- linquents place less trust and confidence in their friends as they feel very suspicious about them. In spite of the previously mentioned negative attitude di- rected toward the family by the delinquents, they indicate their strong emotional dependence on their family. Their emotional devel- opment is still limited to the confines of the family. Also, the family as an institution is expected to satisfy many of the needs of its youthful members. Many of these desires continue to go un- satisfied.with the delinquent, thus continuing their extreme de- pendence on their family as they strive for what has long been their due. In contrast to the above, the non-delinquents have ”outgrown" their family emotionally and they find themselves very much devoted to their friends. The delinquent's fear of the very people (parents, friends and self) they are expected to feel especially close to, is shown in Table 6. This is an indication of the dissatisfied emotional state in which the delinquent finds himself. Although they indicate dependence on their families and friends, they cannot establish good and satisfactory relationships with them. An indication of possible insight was noted as the delinquents saw their fears as forcing them -31- to do things wrong; however, this can also be interpreted as a form of denial of responsibility for their actions. The non-delinquent's denial of having any fears is seen as an indication of their striv- ing for manliness and maturity. Men in American society are not supposed to admit that they are fearful. An interesting and expected difference is apparent in re- gard to the goals and aspirations. The concern of the delinquents with short range and recreational goals may be attributed to their inability to delay the satisfaction of their needs, and thus estab- lish goals in accordance with their needs. They show a concern with the present as does the child in his wandering daily activities. The more mature nah-delinquents have established adult, long-range type goals because this is in accordance with our culture and be- cause they are able to delay the immediate satisfaction of their desires. The concern of the non-delinquents over studies and voca- tional interests (items 11, 20, 21) is another indication of the relative maturity-of the control group. In the case of overwhelming odds, the impulsive immaturity of the delinquent is again apparent. If given the opportunity, he will retreat or he may become angry, fearful, etc. This is com- pared to the non-delinquent who looks upon the situation as a chal- lenge and consequently tries even harder. The delinquents' dim attitude toward the future is seen as an indication of despair. They have experienced very few pleasur- able amd rewarding relationships in the past and they can see no indication of a change in the future. The delinquents indicated a dislike for pe0ple who don't like -32- them, whereas the non-delinquents dislike people who show-off or brag. This is another indication of the narcissistic nature of the delinquent group. They are preoccupied with "I" and have not iden- tified themselves with the values of the "group." It was indicated in the review of the literature that from a psychoanalytic point of view (7), a child must identify with his parents if a conscience is to develop. The relative absence of guilt in the delinquent group suggests difficulties in the develop- ment of the conscience. This finding is in agreement with Sadler (18) but in disagreement with Alchhorn (l) and Healy (9). Diffi- culties in the development of the conscience are frequently trace- able to the dynamics of identification. This is verified by Glueck (8) and by the finding that delinquents have a more negative atti- tude toward their father and family than non-delinquents. Banay (3), Glueck (8) and others (1,7,12) feel that an unre- solved Oedipus complex is a crucial factor in delinquency. The de- linquents' negative attitude toward their fathers suggests an unre- solved Oedipal complex. Their tendency to have a more positive at- titude toward their mother than the non-delinquents suggests that delinquents may have fixated psychosexually on the mother figure dur- ing the Oedipal phase. This is in agreement with Lindner (12) who feels that mothers of delinquents consciously or unconsciously se- duce their children. This area presents many fruitful problems for future research. The finding of emotional immaturity was also found to be in agreement with the review of the literature. Banay (3), Glueck (8), Merrill (13), and Sadler (18) all feel that delinquents are emo- tionally'immature. VIII SUMMARY This study was designed to compare some personality factors in delinquent and non-delinquent boys. The primary theoretical ap- proach utilized was psychoanalytic; however, other research findings were also considered. From this literature, the following predic- tions were made: the non-delinquents show a more positive attitude toward their father and family than the delinquents; the delinquents show a more positive attitude toward their mother than the non-de- linquents; the delinquents show more emotional immaturity (mani- fested by narcissism, lack of guilt, inability to delay satisfaction of needs, aspirations for easily obtained goals, and strong emotion- al dependence on the family) than the non-delinquents. There were 83 boys in the delinquent group and 70 boys in the non-delinquent group. The groups were controlled for age, sex, in- telligence, and socio-economic status. The tool used was the sen- tence completion technique which consists of 36 incomplete sen- tences dealing with nine areas including Father, Mother, Family, Friends, Fears, Abilities, Goals, Future, and Guilt. The comple- tions to each item were categorized, and approximately one-third of them were classified by another judge besides the author. There was 92.3% agreement between the two judges. 0f the 36 comparisons made, 2# Chi square values at or be- yond the .05 level were obtained. The results indicated that the delinquents tend to feel somewhat negative toward their father, and family; however, there were no significant differences in regard to -33- -3#— the mother. The delinquents show considerable emotional immaturity as it was defined in the hypothesis. Also, the delinquents are sus- picious of their friends; they are more fearful of the people to whom they are expected to be especially close; they retreat or be- come emotional when the odds are against them; and they have a pessimistic attitude toward the future. The findings were discussed in the framework of psychoanaly- tic theory and in relation to known family disorganization which most of the delinquents have experienced. A reservation must be made regarding the results because of the variable of institution— alization which was present with the experimental group but not with the control group. 30. 31. 32. 33- 3#. 35. 36. APPENDIX THE SENTENCE COMPLETION TEST I feel that my father seldom When the odds are against me I always wanted to To me the future looks I know it is silly but I am afraid of I feel that a real friend Compared with most families, mine My mother I would do anything to forget the time I If my father would only I believe that I have the ability to I could be perfectly happy if I look forward to Most of my friends don't know that I am afraid of I don‘t like people who My family treats me like My mother and I My greatest mistake was I wish my father My greatest weakness is My secret ambition in life Some day I I wish I could lose the fear of The people I like best Host families I know I think that most mothers lhen I was smaller, I felt guilt about I feel that my father is Chen luck turns against me What I want most out of life Ihen I am older Hy fears sometimes force me to When I'm not around, my friends lhen I was a small child, my family I like my mother but The worst thing I ever did 1. 9. 10. ll. 12. 13s 1#. 15. BIBLIOGRAPHY Alchhorn, August. Wayward Youth. New York: Meridian Books, Inc., 1958. Anderson, R. 3., and c. L. An Introduction to Projective Tee;- nigues. New Jersey: Prentice-Hall, Inc., 1951. Banay, Ralph S. Youth in Despair. (New Yerk: Coward-McCann Co., 19#8. Barndt, Robert J., and Johnson, Donald M. "Time Orientation in Delinquents." J. Abnorm. Soc. Psychol., 1955, 51: 343f3u5- Brower, Daniel, and Abt, Lawrence F. Progpess in Clinich Psychology. New York: Grune & Stratton, 1956. Cameron, N., and Magaret, A. Behavior Pathology. Boston: Houghton Mifflin Co., 1951. Friedlander, Kate. The Psycho-analytical Approach to JuveniI; Delinquency. New York: International Universities Press, Inc., 19#7. Glueck, Sheldon and Eleanor. Unraveling Juvenile Delinquency. Cambridge: Harvard University Press, 1950. Healy, William. New Light on Delinquency and Its Treatment. New Haven: Yale University Press, 1936. Hollingshead, August B. Two Factor Index of Social Position. New Haven, Connecticut: 1965 Yale Station, 1957. Kvaraceus, William C. "Prediction Studies of Delinquent Be- haviors” Peraonne Guido JO, 1955, 3h31u6-1h9c Lindner, Robert. The Fifty Minute Hour. New York: Bantam Books, 195#. - Merrill, Maud A. Problems of Child Delinguencz. New York: Houghton Mifflin Co., 19 7. _ Rabin, A. I. "Attitudes of Kibbutz to Family and Parents." ‘IBNican Jo orthOe’ 1959, 29:172-179e Rabin, A. I. “Comparison of American and Israeli Children by Means of a Sentence Completion Technique." J. Soc. Psychol., 1959. 59:3-12. _ -36- 16. 17. 18. 19. 20. -37.— Rotter, J. B., & Rafferty, J. E. The Rotter Incomplete Sen- tences (Manual). New York: Psychological Corporation, 1950. Sacks, J. M. & Levy, 5. The Sentence Completion Test. In L. E. Abt and L. Bellak (Eds.), Projective Psychology. New York: Alfred A. Kn0ph, 1950, 357:#02. Sadler, William 8. Practice of Psychiatry. St. Louis: The C. V. Mosby Co., 1953. Sarbin, T. R., & Jones, D. S. "Intra-personal Factors in De- linquency." Nerv. Child, 1955, 11:23-27. Willemse, W. A. Constitution-Types in Delinqueg_1. New York: Harcourt, Brace & Company, 1932. 1 IF w \j ‘ ‘s 7“) HIGAN STATE UNIVERSITY LIBRARIES LML \V‘: H 11‘ I ) 14'. ' 121 ‘ MN “2‘ N 3 1 U 1‘ )1 93 03