Deficiency and Delinquency: An Interpretation of Mental TestingMiner, James Burt
Science
Deficiency and Delinquency: An Interpretation of Mental Testing
Miner, James Burt
Children with mental disabilities; Juvenile delinquents; Mentally ill offenders; Psychological tests
The Binet tests were applied to 289 of the 300 women examined, and other
psychological tests were applied in doubtful cases. The ages ranged from
12 up. Only 10 were under 15 and 32 were 36 years of age or over. The
investigators classed no case as feeble-minded which did not test XI or
under, but they did not class as feeble-minded 107 other cases which
tested XI and under. The Commission's diagnosis is therefore
conservative. It regarded 154 cases (51%) as feeble-minded, 46 in the
detention house group and 54 in each of the others. If we ask how many
tested below our standard we can not tell exactly, since the report does
not state whether X.8 was classed as X or XI. It shows 81 tested IX or
under (27%) and these were nearly all, therefore, within the limits of
our group presumably deficient. Ninety-nine others tested X, a total of
60% testing below our borderline for presumable and doubtful deficients.
Since only 2 cases were under 14 years of age, these figures could not
be much disturbed by the younger girls. We can be reasonably sure, then,
that at least 27% of these prostitutes should be placed under permanent
custodial care, and probably 50% would be more nearly correct.
In a recent report of the Bureau of Analysis and Investigation of the
New York State Board of Charities[16] Dr. Jesse L. Herrick reports
testing 194 inmates of the state reformatory for women known as the
Western House of Refuge. The Stanford Scale was used, 25% tested IX or
under with that scale and 14% tested X. In the same bulletin the report
is made of Binet ages for 607 inmates of the New York Training School
for Girls. Four versions of the scale were used so that the estimates
are somewhat affected. Moreover, 97 girls were under 15 years of age.
The table of Binet ages indicates 20% testing IX or under and 28%
testing X.
Hill and Goddard (_30_) report examining a group of 56 girls who had
been in a reformatory and were under probation with a certain officer.
In this entire group they found only four who were not feeble-minded,
“as we usually define feeble-mindedness.” Presumably this means three or
more years retarded, including those who tested XII, so that it cannot
be regarded as a conservative estimate. No further data is provided for
interpreting the borderline.
Public-domain text, read in full here on John Shaqi.
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