Citation

Farley FH, Steinberger H, Cohen A, Barr HL. Crim. Justice Behav. 1979; 6(1): 41-48.

Copyright

(Copyright © 1979, SAGE Publishing)

DOI

10.1177/009385487900600107

PMID

unavailable

Abstract

Farley's (1973) arousal/sensation-seeking model of delinquency was tested in part on a sample of adult male institutionalized addicts. The dependent measure was the type of discharge from the institution. Two categories of discharge were employed--a "good" discharge, meaning the subject left the hospital with consent of staff, having completed the program, and a "bad" discharge, meaning one or more serious rule infractions were involved in the discharge. The latter was essentially a delinquent discharge, and the former a normal discharge. Physiological (Reticular Activating System) arousal was measured by the two-flash threshold, and sensation-seeking by the Sensation-Seeking Scale. The prediction from theory that a greater frequency of "bad" discharges would be found in low arousal/high sensation-seeking persons relative to high arousal/low sensation-seeking persons, and that the latter would demonstrate more "good" discharges relative to the former, was significantly (p<.01) supported. The important implications of the environment for this biological approach to delinquency were discussed, and research directions suggested.

Keywords: Juvenile justice

Language: en