SELF-REPORT STUDY OF IMPULSIVE AND DELINQUENT-BEHAVIOR IN COLLEGE-STUDENTS

Purpose: This self-report study of college students sought to examine the relationship between risk-taking and delinquent behavior, to devel op reliable measures of impulsiveness and attraction to thrill-seeking and risk-taking, and to measure the relationships among conventional correlates of delinquent behavior, personality factors, and delinquent behavior itself. Methods: A sample of 296 undergraduate college stude nts completed questionnaires pertaining to delinquent behavior and oth er activities, identification with educational goals and behavior, and attraction to thrill-seeking and risk-taking behavior, as well as ite ms from the Self-Control and Socialization scales of the California Pe rsonality Inventory. Results: Males who measured high in thrill-seekin g behavior and low in self-control reported significantly more propert y delinquency. Interpersonal delinquency was most influenced by a lack of self-control. There was a negative correlation between substance a buse and socialization. The reasons most often given for property and substance delinquency were ''fun/thrills'' while those most often give n for interpersonal delinquency involved ''anger/revenge.'' Conclusion : Variables representing conventional sociological theories have often been treated as the immediate causal factors in juvenile delinquency, but their impact may be mediated through factors such as impulsivenes s and an attraction to thrill-seeking and risk-taking.