Delinquency and minimal brain dysfunction : a replication study with implications for criminal justice

Abstract

The relationship between delinquency and minimal brain dysfunction (MBD) is investigated herein from a criminal justice perspective. Twenty-five male delinquents from Mahoning County, Ohio, are described by their probation officers on a number of behavioral items indicative of MBD. The behavioral items make up the instrument employed--the Behavior Check List--formulated by Robert Lee Johnson, whose methodology is replicated and analyzed. The number of behavioral items applying to each delinquent is then compared with each delinquent's respective number of referrals to juvenile court. In this fashion, the relationship between the degree of the construct of MBD present and the magnitude of delinquent involvement is able to be tested. The Kendall tau statistical test of association revealed a positive and significant correlation between the two variables. It is estimated that 56% of the delinquent sample possess MBD, by virtue of the behavioral signs examined. However, the more blatant forms appear to be almost totally absent from the sample . These results, coupled with the literature, suggest that many delinquents repeatedly go unrecognized as possessing MBD, which may make an individual more prone to being defined as delinquent. This ignorance of MBD is not viewed as intentional, but owed to the status quo. However, such is a sad state of affairs, since recognition of the dysfunction is the key to treating those with this malady. Recognition, understanding, and awareness of the dysfunction in its role in delinquent character formation are the focus of this study.