Riots—Observation in a Home for Delinquent Girls

During the three years of my work as consulting psychiatrist to a Home for delinquent girls, I had opportunity to observe certain typical reactions on the part of the individual and the group. The majority of these girls were white Protestants, ranging in age from 12–18 years, whose delinquency consisted in the main of sexual promiscuity, petty larceny, and running away from home. Only a few of these girls were involved in any serious criminal activities. Most of them came from families of the lowest income groups, many from broken homes or completely deteriorated backgrounds. A certain percentage were adopted children, others had stepfathers or stepmothers. Scarcely any child came from a stable family environment. Even though every girl showed her own individual reaction pattern, based on her life history, nevertheless, there were certain reactions, typical of all of them, which under certain specific circumstances were predictable. Thus, for instance, if a girl had not had sexual intercourse prior to her commitment, it was predictable that she would run away some time later in order to obtain this experience. No bars were too thick, no doors too well protected to prevent her breaking out. By the time she had returned, which she generally did, she had invariably had the necessary experience. I say necessary, because this experience actually was a necessity for her status in the group; by it she proved herself heterosexual and thereby could ward off any suspicion of homosexuality.

Running away, which had played a role in the history of every girl committed to the Home, was one of the most ferquent reactions and was typical of both the individual and the group. It always occurred when tension accumulated whether the stimulus was internal or came from the environment. But it seemed that an individual escape usually signified an inner conflict of that individual, whereas the mass escape was precipitated by events that reflected dissension or tension among th