School Behavior and Perception of the Family Environment of Delinquent Youth

This study investigated the perceptions that juvenile delinquents have of their family environment as they pertain to their current school behavior and treatment placement. The 75 subjects, ages 12 to 17 years, both male and female had been placed by the local juvenile and domestic relations court into one of three treatment programs. The subjects in the In-home treatment placement group perceived higher levels of Cohesion and Control, as measured by the Family Environment Scale (F.E.S.). The subjects in the Residential placement group perceived lower levels of Conflict. Conflict was found to be negatively correlated to problem school behavior as measured by the Adolescent High School Behavior Rating Scale (AHSB). There were no differences on the AHSB by treatment placement. There is no evidence that juvenile delinquents' perceptions of family affected their school behavior, but the treatment environment did effect their perception of family.