Negro-White Differentials and Delinquency

Abstract

Analysis of 1,193 sixteen- and seventeen-year-old male delin quents, who had no prior institutionalization but were assigned by the juvenile court to one of four correctional programs, revealed that the Negro youths were disproportionately rep resented, had a higher Delinquency History Score, and were more likely to be in-program failures and recidivists. Consider ation of racial, social, and economic differences did not adequate ly account for the delinquency differentials, nor was there evidence of discriminative treatment in the limited data avail able for analysis. Some inferential evidence suggests that the caste-like position of the Negro may play a role in the delinquen cy differentials found in this study.