Delinquency Prediction: A Critique and a Suggestion

Abstract

The case is strong for systematically studying children in need of help — those who display danger signals at an early age. These are the children who are likely to experience increasing difficul ties, with a concommitant handicapping of their potential. The need at this point is for a practical, acceptable, and efficient means of screening large numbers of young children. Past attempts to provide such a method have not met the stringent requirements. One approach, though, appears promising — that of focusing upon a child in the school environment. It is there that data about the total child are readily obtainable. The reported pilot work indi cates this information can be systematically collected and applied to the assessment and prediction of behavior difficulties. However, this possibility has not been explored adequately; the definitive research has not been done.