A study of the relevance of family and/or environmental factors to the appearance of juveniles before a court

Abstract

The main aim of this study was to consider the family and environmental influences on a sample of girls aged 14-16 years who were appearing before a London juvenile court. These girls were studied in some depth. All available reports and records were collected, all court hearings attended and the girls and their families interviewed. Their social characteristics were compared with those of a stratified sample of girls of similar ages selected from a comprehensive school in a neighbouring area. These girls were also interviewed. Additional information was collected on a larger group of both girls and boys of all ages who had appeared before the same court at an earlier period. This revealed some of the outstanding differences in the basic characteristics of male and female samples particularly in their offence behaviour. It is also suggested that it would be more useful to examine the girl's pattern of behaviour in terms of her social position as a female and to compare it with that of other girls in the community. This latter comparison revealed that the court girls were similar to the school sample in their aims and ambitions, in certain of their attitudes and in many of their leisure-time pursuits. However, they differed considerably in their family structure, socio-economic background, educational progress and in the vicissitudes of life which they and their families had experienced, Factors which were prominent amongst the 'court' sample included the disturbed mental state of certain girls and the high incidence of truancy and/or unstable employment histories. Family difficulties such as the serious ill-health of parent(s), inadequate income, and deprived surroundings also appeared to impinge on family relationships, causing an excessive degree of stress and decreasing the parents' ability to cope with their daughter at a 'difficult' stage in her development.