Traits, factors and delinquency : a study of personality traits and environmental factors influencing behavior of delinquent boys residing in the Halifax-Dartmouth area, N.S.

Abstract

This study investigates the influence on behavior of a specific personality trait and two family environmental factors. The personality trait and environmental factors studied were hostility, discipline and rearing by parent substitutes. In this study the trait hostility was combined with each factor separately. The influence on behavior of that particular trait-factor relationship was then determined. The data source was the records of 223 delinquent boys who were on probation to the Department of Public Welfare, Halifax. By the use of a random sample, 49 cases were the actual data source. The data gathered included whether the child was reared by his own parents or parent substitutes, the quality of discipline received by the delinquent and whether the boy exhibited evidence of hostility. The test applied to the data gathered was Chi Square. It was found that non-recidivist delinquents had a higher frequency of suitable discipline and exhibited less hostility than their recidivist counterparts. The study indicated that certain traits and factors do influence behavior in such a manner as to render it criminogenic. It was concluded that prediction tables could be developed utilizing the traits and factors that most influence behavior. For the second hypothesis no significant difference was found in the incidence of hostility among delinquents reared by their own parents and those reared by parent substitutes. However, it is interesting to note that out of the sample of 49, thirteen delinquents were reared by parent substitutes.