Female adolescent status offenders : an investigation into demographic and familial factors, offense pattern and intellectual and personality functioning in a rural setting

Current controversy surrounds the issue of a possible rising rate of female delinquency. Although the adolescent girl is clearly an emerging statistic in the juvenile justice system, she continues to receive short shrift in research literature today as she has since the turn of the nineteenth century when she was first labelled a social problem. A review of criminological, sociological and psychological theory and research shows prominent concern with the sexually promiscuous activity of young female offenders.

This study explored twenty rural status offender adolescent females across five dimensions: (1) Demographic Data; (2) Juvenile Court History; (3) Familial Factors; (4) Intelligence as measured by the WISC-R; and (5) Personality Functioning, including both psychological symptomatology and interpersonal adaptation. These areas were investigated for each of the 20 girls, all of whom were currently involved in the juvenile justice system, using three structured interviews: one with the girl, one with her guardian and one with her probation officer. A WISC-R IQ test and a test of Object Relations were also administered.

Statistical comparisons between these subjects and delinquent girl norms were performed on a number of variables across the first four dimensions described above. A systematic review surveyed the nature and incidence of psychological symptomatology. In addition, Object Relations Technique productions were compared with female adolescent norms.

Significant findings include a higher mean age at first court contact for status offenders than for delinquents, runaway behavior as most frequent charge and a high incidence of: interrupted early caretaking, broken homes, parental disability and death, physical abuse and school dropouts. Mean IQ functioning was found to be Normal. Sexual activity was prominent in the girls' histories as was a range of psychological symptomatology. Interpersonally, the rural girl offenders tended to 'people" their world with heterosexual settings and hostile themes.

Cross variable correlations were applied across dimensions and produced moderately strong relationships converging around four variables or variable clusters: (1) school attendance; (2) IQ; (3) depression, hallucinatory and suicidal activity; and (4) parental death.

Because of the exploratory nature of this study no firm conclusions were drawn. Areas meriting further study include noticeable familial, cognitive and psychological differences between the girl schoolattenders and non-attenders. . Future research is urged to consider the relationship of the father and the rural female status offender, among other environmental factors.

Practical implications of the study include a caution of ascribing the etiology of female status offense to any one factor, the need for careful psychological screening by a psychologist in a juvenile court

vi setting, community-based alternatives for the adolescent status offender's rehabilitation and/or treatment and programs that foster (or replace) the strengths of the rural family unit.