Learning Disabilities and Delinquent Youth
Abstract
!Learning Disabilities and Delinquent Youth August J. hfaauser ABUNDANCE of specific social, behavioral, educational, and psychometric traits have historically characterized the delinquent youth; but recently evidence has suggested that today's "average" delinquent is in many instances much different from the delinquent of 10 t o 1 5 years ago. Today's delinquent is younger. The average age of the delinquent is 13.5 years. In 1969, 39 percent of all arrests were persons under 21 years of age. Fifty percent of all index crimes were committed by persons under 18 years of age, and 22 percent were committed by persons 15 years of age and younger. The peak years for juvenile arrests occur at the ages of 13 and 14 years. Today's delinquent is brighter. The delinquent of today, with an average IQ of 95, falls within the national norm of average intelligence. The intelligence distribution of juvenile delinquents approaches that of the general population. K. J. Schlichter, in comparing 45 juvenile delinquents and 45 nondelinquents participating in a learning discrimination study, found no significant difference in 1Q.I In a longitudinal study by Winston M. Ahlstrom, the average IQ for black delinquents was 91, and the average IQ for white