Clinical evaluation of juvenile delinquents: who gets court referred?

This study examines which alleged delinquents in a large urban juvenile court are selected for referral to the court's psychiatric clinic. A number of demographic factors, probation officer impressions, index charges, and past delinquency record variables were examined for all minor delinquency cases referred in a six-month period and for a random selection of nonreferred cases. In general, referral was associated with lower socioeconomic status (SES), and with a variety of probation impressions of child and family dysfunction. Little relation to index charge or past record was found. The authors interpret these results as showing that probation referrals appear to be made more on the basis of high risk than on the basis of favorable prognosis for treatment.