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
Dr. Pyle (_46_) has tested the 240 girls at the Missouri State
Industrial Home for Girls with his standardized group tests. These girls
are from 7 to 21 years of age and his table gives the results with each
of six tests. The most significant fact for our purpose is that with the
different tests from 50 to 88 per cent. fall below the averages of
normal individuals who are three years younger. He says, “Our figures
would indicate that about one-third of these delinquent girls are normal
and about two-thirds subnormal. Most of them are probably high grade
morons.” This is based apparently on 69% being the average of the
results of six different tests as to the percentages three years or more
retarded from their life-ages. He indicates, however, that 38%,
similarly calculated, are within the average deviation of the normal
groups for their life-ages. This indicates that the lowest 62% test only
as low as we should expect to find the lowest 21% of random groups of
corresponding ages. They should certainly not be regarded as testing
feeble-minded.
(b) WOMEN AND GIRL DELINQUENTS IN COUNTY AND CITY INSTITUTIONS.
When we turn to those who are cared for locally in city or county
institutions, we find Sullivan (_56_) has examined 104 women and girls
held temporarily at the Holloway jail in London, most of whom were
between 16 and 25 years of age. Apparently the cases were especially
selected for examination and therefore do not represent the general
condition there. He was interested, however, in finding the relative
amount of deficiency among different classes of these inmates and he
gives the detailed results with the Binet 1908 scale on small groups of
these different types which we may classify by our standard as follows:
Twenty non-criminal, either not guilty or guilty of unimportant
offenses, who represent, he thinks, the ordinary conditions among
the corresponding working class in this community, 3 presumably
deficient, 5 uncertain; twenty criminal by reason of the occasion, 1
presumably deficient, 6 uncertain; twelve impulsive criminals, 1
presumably deficient, 2 uncertain; eight moral imbeciles, 2
presumably deficient, 2 uncertain; twenty-four recidivists, 2
presumably deficient, 8 uncertain; twenty prostitutes, 3 presumably
deficient, 8 uncertain. Together these different types of women in
jail form a motley group of 104 of whom 12 test presumably
deficient, 31 uncertain, a total of 41%.
Public-domain text, read in full here on John Shaqi.
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