HV 604-6 UC-NRLF 20 MES UNIVERSITY OF PENNSYLVANIA SOCIAL NON-CONFORMITY: AN ANALYSIS OF FOUR HUNDRED AND TWENTY CASES OF DELINQUENT GIRLS AND WOMEN :-: :-: :-: :-: BY FRANCES QUINTER HOLSOPPLE A THESIS PRESENTED TO THE FACULTY OF THE GRADUATE SCHOOL IN PARTIAL FULFILLMENT OF THE REQUIREMENTS FOR THE DEGREE OF DOCTOR OF PHILOSOPHY 1919 **' .*:: *** THE PROBLEM The Philadelphia Committee was established to represent the Commission on Training Camp Activities, Law Enforcement Division, in protective and preventive work with women and girld involved with soldiers and sailors near a large military center. It has enlarged its scope to make surveys and reports of various conditions affecting its field. It has also supplied women officers with police power to warn, take home or arrest girls under twenty- one who are found picking up men on the streets or in the parks. The cases are followed up by the Committee's workers with the five case societies of the city which deal with girls (1) The Girls' Aid; (2) The Catholic Children's Bureau; (3) The Personal Service Bureau (Jewish) ; (4) The Association for the Protection of Colored Women; (5) The White- Williams Foundation (for girls of school age) . Four hundred and twenty cases which came under the Committee's notice from these agencies, from the officers on the streets and from the reports from the courts Federal, Municipal Misdemeanants and Municipal Criminal are studied in the following tables. This group represents a complete cross-section of sex delinquency among girls involved with men in the service during the period covered from October 1, 1918, to February 1, 1919. These cases range from the girl who was taken home by a woman protective officer with the warning not to pick up sailors on Market Street to the prostitutes arrested in a raid by the United States Department of Justice. However, all are alike in that they have failed in some degree to conform to the social standards governing sex relations. This study attempts to discover by statistical and individual analysis some tendencies in the group which may indicate some factors contributing to the failure. THE CONCEPT OF NON-CONFORMITY The differences and similarities in these cases suggest that if the fundamentals of behavior could be analyzed, we might find the particular defects or abilities which condition the individual's power of adaptation to his environment. Some factors may be studied as they appear in the group as a whole for example, race, occupation, wages, mental condition, and recreational oppor- tunities. These lose all their significance unless they can also be traced in the smaller and more homogeneous groups and then in the individuals. These factors in the environment and these specific defects and abilities in the individual's character affect his compliance with the demands of society, and in turn determine society's judgment of him. It is from the study of the individual differences in relation to a place above or below what might be called a norm of conformed behavior that we may hope to find most assistance in formulating corrective treatment. Some study of individual differences has been attempted here. In all possible cases, the psychological method has been used, as the nearest approach to a measurement of the individual. The diagnosis on the intellectual scale is of comparatively little importance. The attempt to discover special competencies and incompetencies is of more value. If we regard the history of each of these cases as a performance that is, as a portion of behavior and analyze it from the psychological point of view, we may be able to find some specific defects and abilities and their bearing upon the problem. It is important to determine first just what the difference in form or degree of delinquency represented among these girls really means. Each one stands out in some way from others of her class and as a subject for particular corrective It is impossible to arrange these girls on Mcale of exact measurement of the nature of their offenses. Tn%y may best be characterized as the "non-conformed" those who in any way fall short of a standard fixed by their social group. This standard may be a legal one, as in the case of the girl who is convicted of soliciting for immoral purposes only when it can be proved that she offered herself for a definite price; or it may be an informal and purely social one. In any case there is some pattern of behavior to which society expects the individual to adapt himself, and which society defends when a deviation is discovered. The individual who refuses to adopt the customs of his group may be far in advance of them, or he may be far behind, with respect to civilization. He may be acting in a way which is for the greatest good of the whole. On the other hand, he may be performing a most anti-social act. Again, he may do something which is entirely indifferent, so far as the effects for good or evil are concerned, and yet offend some fixed belief or superstition, and so incur the penalty which some more dangerous offender may fail to receive. There are striking differences in standards and judgments according to the group in which an act is committed. In one community conduct may be perfectly conformed, while in another the same conduct will awaken widespread attention. In the same environment an act may be conformed at one time and non- conformed at another in a different setting. In other words, the behavior of an individual is judged in relation to the standards of the particular unit of society in which he lives, and these stand- ards vary from time to time. Perhaps there is no field in which standards of behavior vary so widely in relation to race/time and place, as the standards which govern sexual relationships. At present in our own country these differ with sections, races and classes. The following tables show the distribution of important facts in the case histories: 1. Source of cases. 2. Charge or source of complaint. 3. Nationality and race. 4. Occupations. 5. Wages. 6. Grade left school. 7. Age. 8. Age at first sex experience. 9. Sex history. 10. Reason for first experience. 11. Type of sex offense. 5 12. Marriage. 13. Environment. 14. Family. 15. Character as reported to worker. 16. Social relationships as reported to worker. 17. Recreation. 18. Activities. 19. Physical condition. 20. Mental condition. 21. Institutional record. 22. Other offenses noted. 1. Source of Cases Federal Court (Violation of Sections 12 and 13). .284 67.6 % (On charge of soliciting soldiers or sailors, or keeping or frequenting a disorderly house near a camp or government plant, or selling liquor to men in service.) Municipal Court Misdemeanants 5 1.2 % (Arrested by city police for soliciting, or keeping or frequenting a disorderly house.) Municipal Court Criminal 2 5 % (Warrant sworn out by girl against man in service paternity charge.) Arrested or taken home by protective officer 43 10.2 % Girls' Aid 19 4.5 % (Protestant girls needing friendly service and recreation.) Personal Service Bureau 3 -7% (Jewish.) Catholic Children's Bureau 7 1.7 % White-Williams Foundation 14 3.4 % (Vocational guidance for girls of school age.) Other Sources 43 10.2 % (From individuals, or agencies not doing follow-up work.) Total 420 100.0 % 2. Charge or Source of Complaint " Violation of Section 13 " (immorality) 1 197 46 . 9 % Incorrigible 40 9.5% Selling liquor 24 5.7% Observed by protective officer 43 10. 2 % Arrested in raid 56 13. 3 % Signed false draft exemption claim 4 0.9% Keeping disorderly house 7 1.7 % Need of assistance 53 12. 6 % Material witness (violation of Mann Act) 7 1.7 % 1. Source of cases. 2. Charge or source of complaint. The greatest number of cases coming from any single source is from the Federal Court. This is of course due to the fact that it has been especially prepared to deal with the cases of immorality which involved men in the service. Many of the women were arrested in raids on suspected disorderly houses, and many of them had to be released because of lack of evidence in their particular cases. The greatest number of complaints charged " soliciting" or "inmate of disorderly house." The second largest number was composed of the girls who came directly under the notice of the protective officers in the street work, and those who were referred to the Committee by individuals who were unable to dispose of them elsewhere. It is interesting to find that the agencies working especially with girls, though prepared to deal with young girls who needed protection rather than punishment, found so few cases. This fact indicates how difficult real protective work is made by the impossibility of discovering sexual non-conformity except in the most extreme cases. Society does not attempt to punish immorality as such. It merely sanctions enforcement of law when immorality is found in a flagrant and commercial form. The prostitutes who come under the jurisdiction of the court are the least successful of their profession. They are forced to solicit on the street because they cannot otherwise earn a living. In the same way, the girl who is caught in a raid on a cheap disorderly 1 Several girls were arrested on two charges. Percentages based on total number of girls. 7 ' house is economically a less successful prostitute than the one who is able to live in a more expensive protected establishment. As for the large number of women who are "kept" in more or less comfort, and the larger number who resort to occasional immorality to supplement their earnings, they are never included in any statistics of prostitution. 3. Nationality and Race Native white 242 " negro Russian Irish . 40 . . 37 56 French 18 Italian Polish 7 9 Hungarian. Swedish 5 . . 5 English 1 Jewish . . 420 . 48 3. Nationality and race. The racial distribution follows fairly closely the general line of the city's population, with a few variations in the smaller groups. The evidence of this study is not significant, as the small number of the foreign-born is distributed among all types of delinquency. However, in the light of the concept of non-conformity, we should expect a higher standard among those racial groups which are most American in language and customs, as, for instance, the Irish born, or those which have been longest in this country. Deviations would accordingly be more obvious. As a matter of fact, the number of Irish born is large in proportion to the total population. On the other hand, the number of negroes is small. An example of the modified racial standard of conformity, uncon- sciously applied, was seen in the fact that the protective officers often ignored behavior on the part of negro girls which would have led to the arrest of white girls. 4. Occupations Unknown 16 No employment 85 Housewife 56 Housework 85 Mill or factory 89 Store (salesgirls) 36 Clerical 9 Telephone 6 In school 18 Stage 8 Waitress (restaurant) 5 Demonstrator 2 Other employment , 5 420 5. Wages Unknown 133 No wage 204 Less than $10 per week 43 $10 to $20 ." " 33 $20 to $30 " " 7 420 Average wage of 83 earners, per week $8. 04 Maximum wage per week (munitions) 24 . 00 Minimum wage per week (housework) . , 2. 00 4. Occupations. 5. Wages. The distribution of wages and employment shows a pre- ponderance of low-paid, unskilled occupations. "Occupation," as given in the records, is derived from the statements of the girls. It often refers to a short term of employment long before. As may be seen from the wages earned, comparatively few girls were working at all. The greatest number were employed in the mills. They belong to the floating, unskilled class. The low wages are remark- 9 able when the very high scale of wages in the autumn of 1918, just before the signing of the armistice, is considered. Probably " housework" means that the girl stays at home. The few who gave the addresses of employers were of the most inefficient type and their pay was uniformly low. On the other hand, there are few girls who have learned trades demanding training. The mill operators are not of the type who are able to acquire high efficiency at piece work. This suggests that the ability to enter a skilled occupation is correlated either with ability to maintain a highly conformed standard of behavior, or with the ability to avoid being caught. We should expect this, since training in any field is itself a conformity-producing process. Although many instances might be cited to show that the transfer of this conformity often fails to take place, at least it is possible to infer that the degree of trainability which conduces to economic sufficiency makes social sufficiency more probable. 6. Grade Left School Unknown 139 Attended none in U. S 5 " " life :....' 28 Left from 1st grade 9 11 " 2d " 7 " " 3d " 20 " 4th " 24 " 5th " 27 " " 6th " 36 " " 7th " 37 " 8th " 52 9th or over 36 420 Average grade of 248 cases 6th Median grade of 248 cases 6th 6. Grade at which the girl left school. The school record of the girls shows little illiteracy in pro- portion to the illiteracy of the population and the large number 10 of foreign born, but at the same time it shows no well-educated individuals. Of the 28 girls who had never attended school half were reared abroad. The records are based on the girls' state- ments, and they are probably rather high. The average grade of leaving school is the sixth, the normal grade for those who must work as early as possible. There is a large amount of retardation shown in the number who were old enough to leave from the lower grades. A more interesting point is the elimination in the seventh and eighth grades and first year of high school. These girls did not leave school as soon as they were able to work, but probably because the influences holding them in school were weaker than the adolescent impulse against school conformity. 7. Age Average age of known cases 20. 2 years 8. Age at First Sex Experience Average age of 249 known cases 17. 43 years 7. Age of girls. 8. Age at first sex experience. The ages of the cases vary from twelve to fifty-five years, with an average age of 20.2. The majority are between nineteen and twenty- three. This forms an interesting contrast with the age at first sex experience, as given by the girls themselves. Three-fourths state that their first experience was under twenty years an average age of 17.43 years. This substantiates the general opinion that a girl's first offense rarely brings her before a corrective agency, and further suggests that the age at first experience is earlier than is usually known to those most interested in a particular girl. It also shows that the large number of offenders over twenty, most of whom are from the courts, have been non-conformed for a considerable time. It is quite in keeping with this concept of non-conformity that the individuals should be segregated as they grow older and the tendency becomes more marked. They come into court as a rule only after the conditions resulting from prostitution such as poor health have increased the chances of being caught. There seems to be some significance in the fact that the age 11 at first sex experience falls so early in the adolescent period. Apparently these girls lack the conditions, whatever they are, which tend to postpone sex experience. 9. Sex History 1 Unknown ; .- 107 None 72 Marriage first experience 113 Relations with husband before marriage 19 Promiscuous before marriage 22 since marriage . . 33 " unmarried . . 54 420 10. Reason for First Experience 1 Unknown or non' 1 315 Forced 17 Money 8 Love 37 Promise of marriage 43 420 11. Type of Sex Offense 2 Has taken money 188 Solicits on street 134 Lives in disorderly house 102 Keeps disorderly house 15 Not prostitute, but has been with several men 67 Has picked up men, no sex experience 24 Sex experience suspected, but uncertain 45 Illegitimate pregnancy 37 9. Sex history. 10. Reason for first sex experience. 11. Type of sex offense. 12. Marriage. Information such as that in Tables 9 and 10 must be inter- preted as indicating rather what the girls wish the worker to think 1 As given by the girl. 2 Class fication not mutually exclusive. 12 than as showing the real history. A large number claimed marriage as their first experience. Nearly half of all the cases are married. One-fourth of the whole number is made up of married women separated from their husbands, without the formality of a divorce. The reasons given for the first experience are interesting in the light of the claim so often made that many girls go into prosti- tution deliberately, because of poverty. The evidence in the cases is rather that most of these girls either married unhappily, or had illicit sex relations at a very early age. 12. Unknown .............................................. 4 Married, lives with husband .............................. 24 separated from husband ......................... 103 Divorced ............................................... 12 Widow ................................................ 32 Common-law husband ................................. 37 Single, lives with parents ................................ 8 " alone ....... ....... "...110 " with relatives . ................ 14 420 13. Environment 1 Unknown ..... ........................................ 38 Home, good .......................................... 63 " poor ............................................. 95 With friends .................. .......................... 7 Rooming house, desirable ................................. 15 " undesirable ........... ................... 77 Disorderly house ........................................ 102 Employed in good environment ........................... 11 ' bad environment .......................... 6 Institutional history in childhood .......................... 15 13. Environment. 14. Family. 15. Character as reported to worker. 16. Social relationships as reported to worker. 17. Recreation. 18. Activities. Classification not mutually exclusive. 13 14. Family 1 Unknown 33 None 106 Father living 164 Mother living 110 Other relatives guardians 5 Brothers and sisters guardians 12 Legitimate children living one 44 " " " more than one 13 dead 8 Illegitimate children living 21 dead.. 10 15. Character as Reported to Worker 1 Unknown 107 Attractive - 28 Reliable 26 Untruthful 26 Quarrelsome 14 Antagonistic to family 53 Unreliable 103 "No morals" 46 "Easily led" . 36 16. Social Relationships as Reported to Worker Unknown 130 Normal 55 Good reputation with neighbors 15 Bad reputation with neighbors 60 Relations strained with family Ill " husband 36 Family disapproves of friends 24 " wants the girl back 8 Classification not mutually exclusive. 14 17. Recreation (Mentioned by worker) Normal activities and good home 18 Needs more recreation, good home 23 Poor home, no recreation 60 Parents indifferent to recreation 46 18. Activities (Reported by girl or parents) Clubs . 3 Church organizations 5 Dances 27 Parks 29 Moving pictures 40 Questionable dance-halls, streets and saloons 143 Along with the lack of school influences maintained through the critical period of adolescence these cases seem to reveal a lack of normal home life. In comparison with the number of young girls living at home, the number of "good" homes is surprisingly small. The girl whose environment is good and who belongs to supervised organizations is scarcely represented here. Strained family relations and poor recreational opportunities all suggest that this whole group has missed a stabilizing influence against non-conformity. It is especially clear from the individual cases that sex delinquency increases with absence of other interests and with lack of opportunity for the expression of other instincts. 19. Physical Condition 1 No report 102 Normal 94 Syphilis 120 Gonorrhea 62 Addicted to drugs 31 Tubercular 5 Alcoholic 22 Frail and ill-nourished 22 Pregnant 35 Very ill 3 1 Classification not mutually exclusive. 15 20. Mental Condition No record 117 Normal 132 Institutional case 7 Subnormal 54 Subnormality suspected, no examination 9 Neurotic 10 Insane 6 Neurotic history 26 Unable to earn Irving, apparently not i'eeble-minded 44 Dull from drugs to such an extent that diagnosis was impossible 15 420 19. Physical condition. 20. Mental condition. The physical condition of these girls as shown in the cases examined is surprisingly bad when the low average age is con- sidered. Those listed as normal and not examined belong generally to the younger group. The amount of venereal disease is large and is not confined to the definitely prostitute cases, although the greater part of it is found there. On the whole the bad physical condition seems to be a result rather than a contributing factor of the social insufficiency. Among the mental records normality predominates. In the cases where there is no statement of mental condition the girl is probably apparently normal. Even if we include those of a neurotic history and those who are subnormal socially those who are not segregated by intellectual defects but who seem unable to succeed in anything we still find very few whose failure to con- form seems due to mere feeble-mindedness. It is nothing so simple as mental deficiency which has prevented the adjustment of individual to environment. On the other hand, hardly an individual case has so far been analyzed which has not presented some specific mental defect, not nearly enough in itself to con- tradict the diagnosis of normality, but which has proved the weak point in the adjustment. 16 21. Previous Court Record 1 Unknown 65 None 230 Juvenile Court 22 Misdemeanant Courts 14 One penal sentence 12 More than one sentence 15 22. Other Offenses Noted Steals 8 Drinks 95 Runaway 51 21. Institutional record. 22. Other offenses noted. Few of these cases have been in court before. This table does not include various social agencies which have been inter- ested in the cases. Nearly all of the younger girls who have been in court or have had trouble at home which seemed in danger of developing to the point of a court case are listed as runaways in order to simplify court procedure. The girls who drink prac- tically all belong to the older group the prostitutes or the married women who get into occasional trouble. It is interesting that the line of non-conformity seems so highly specialized that few of these sex offenders have records of theft or petty misdemeanors. 1 Classification not mutually exclusive. 17 A SPECIAL STUDY OF 157 PROVEN PROSTITUTES 1. Age. 2. Age at first sex experience. 3. Marriage. 4. Sex history. 5. Reason for first sex experience. 6. Physical condition. 7. Mental condition. 1. Age Average age of known cases 28. 1 years 2. Age at First Sex Experience Average age of known cases 16. 3 years 3. Marriage 1 Married, living with husband 4 separated from husband 48 Divorced 6 Widow 14 Common-law husband : 15 Single, living with parents 9 " alone 62 * " with relatives 3 4. Sex History 2 First experience before marriage 8 Marriage first experience .".... 35 Promiscuous before marriage .16 since marriage 22 single 76 157 5. Reason for First Sex Experience 2 First experience forced 5 promise of marriage 15 love -. . . 18 for money 5 1 Classification not mutually exclusive. 2 As given by gill. 6. Physical Condition 1 Unknown 39 Normal ' 17 Syphilis . 76 Gonorrhea 37 Addicted to drugs 23 Tuberculous 2 Alcoholic 10 Pregnant 5 Frail and ill-nourished 3 111 1 7. Mental Condition Unknown 45 Normal 43 Institutional case 5 Subnormal 20 Subnormality suspected, no examination 3 Neurotic 4 Insane 4 Neurotic history 10 Unable to earn living, apparently not feeble-minded 22 Dull from drugs to such an extent that examination was impossible 1 157 Study of 157 Cases of Legally Proven Prostitutes This group was selected in order to compare the women who were definitely prostitutes with the group as a whole. Each one of these women has legally been proved to have stated her price. There are many prostitutes among the cases who are not included. In fact, this only represents the very lowest social class. The average is eight years higher than the average of the 420 cases, the median falling at twenty-seven. This is further evidence that the chances are in favor of the older women being caught. It is unfortunate that there is no way of telling how long these women have been on the streets. Those who come into court are probably the ones who have been in prostitution 1 Classification not mutually exclusive. 19 the longest. Certainly the age at first sex experience is noticeably lower. The three-quarters of a year difference falls at a time when it throws the first sex experience of these girls back into the earlier period of adolescence. This means that there is less adaptation to social standards and fewer inhibitions which would produce conformity. The physical examinations show an extremely high rate of venereal disease, and a larger percentage of alcoholics and drug addicts in this group. This most striking point, however, is the report of the mental condition. Instead of indicating that the legal offenders, who are lowest so far as conformity is concerned, are below the rest on the intellectual scale, this report shows that the percentage of subnormality is about the same. Any sweeping statements about the high correlation between feeble-mindedness and prostitution fail when applied to these cases. This fact shows most clearly that the scales of conformity and intelligence are totally different concepts, since these women, although lowest in conformity rating, are distributed on the intelligence scale in about the same ratio as the group composed of varying degrees of the non-conformed. The number of cases falling in the " unable to earn living, apparently not feeble-minded" column the socially subnormal in contrast to the few who are mentally defective emphasizes the part which the individual's position on the social rather than the intellectual scale plays in bringing about a recognized status of non-conformity. 20 A SPECIAL STUDY OF 116 CASES 1. Age. 2. Age at first sex experience. 3. Sex history. 4. Reason for first sex experience. Study of 116 Cases, Not Prostitutes, but with Sex Experience The following group was selected for comparison with the preceding tables. It contains (1) girls reported from the case societies, not prostitutes, but with sex experience; and (2) married women who have had affairs with other men. None of these women has taken money. These cases were selected as examples of the sporadically rather than the professionally non-conformed. Many of them have had exactly the same experiences which the prostitutes have assigned as the cause of their immorality. However, this group have not been willing to remain outside the limits of conformity. It includes younger girls than the other probably because so many of them are unmarried mothers who were obliged to go to one of the agencies for help. The interesting point of contrast is the slightly higher age at first sex experience. Considered in connection with the average age for the group of 420 cases, this seems to show that when the girl has passed through the early period of adolescence, and habits of conformity have been better established, there is less likelihood of her remaining below the conformity level. 1. Age Average age 21 . 6 years 2. Age at First Sex Experience Average age 17. 1 yea rs 21 3. Sex History 1 Unknown 6 First experience before marriage 8 since marriage 33 Promiscuous before marriage 3 since marriage 4 Single 17 4. Reason for First Sex Experience 1 First experience forced 8 promise of marriage . . 20 love.. , 13 Reason given by the girl. TEN SELECTED CASES The following ten cases have been selected as illustrating the failure of individuals to conform. They are typical of the larger number. A. Cases without sex experience. Non-conformity due to lack of interests and recreation. 1. Ruth (poor school and home conditinos.) 2. Marian (poor school and home conditions). 3. Beatrice (physically degenerate type). 4. Sara (overdeveloped for age). B. Sexually non-conformed. Sex experience preceded forma- tion of inhibitions. 5. Emma (poor home and school conditions). 6. Margaret (poor home and school conditions). 7. Louise (high-grade feeble-minded). 8. Clara (over-developed for age). C. Prostitutes. 9. Bertha. 10. Elizabeth. The Relation of Non-Conformity to Specific Defects and Abilities Although they all show certain mental defects which have made adjustment to environment imperfect, none of these girls are intellectually inadequate to the point of segregation by society. Even Louise lacks the qualitative marks of feeble-mindedness necessary for commitment to an institution. It is interesting to see just how these defects have operated to produce non-conformity. Enough congenital ability to learn some simple task and perform it over and over until more or less efficiency is acquired may be a basis for economic sufficiency. This ability will enable the individual to support himself, and will mark him as normal on the economic scale. In the same way, enough congenital ability to allow him to learn the customs of surrounding individuals and to adopt them will constitute normality on the social scale. 23 conformity is the fixation of social habits the expression of the instinct of imitation. Intelligence means something entirely dif- ferent; it is selective as it implies the ability to solve new problems successfully and to choose between alternatives, and it is hampered in a new situation if there is too great a tendency to conform. Mental defects are not in themselves a cause of social insuffi- ciency. They only become so indirectly when they prevent the individual from acquiring the social habits necessary to make him one of his group. In our complex life the adjustment is made well or badly as it is made with consideration for the whole environment or for an accidental phase. When there is a mental defect consisting of absence of ability to plan ahead and to see all sides of a situation, or to imagine other situations, this adaptation cannot be made. Bertha and Elizabeth show this type of failure in their inability to contrast present and future good, and in their vague ideas of time and cause and effect. Both on the economic and social scale, a certain amount of trainability is necessary. We may measure this ability by laboratory tests, and predict that a girl like Louise will never be able to support herself independently. Beatrice can never be socially sufficient because of her lack of attention analytic, concentrated and persistent which will interfere with her under- standing and following of social standards. In all the girls of school age who are in process of becoming social problems, the congenital abilities are seen appreciably modifying the effects of school environment. Ruth, Sarah, and Marian are failing to conform because their specific defects were not observed and taken into consideration. They lack the language facility and the memory span for the sort of school work usually required, and resemble in this a large number of children who could become economically and socially sufficient by a little skilful guidance along vocational and recreational lines. Nearly all these girls are unable to express in words their point of view on the specific phase of non-conformity which is the basis of selection of the group. Many of them have no point of view they have drifted into sex irregularities without knowing why, following not only the sex instinct, but all the impulses toward self-expression and recreation which were denied any other outlet. The older prostitutes have worked out more of a philosophy of life; even though they realize that they are outside the social 24 order, they do not put this into words. They consider themselves necessary to th3 scheme of things, and they have conventional standards of their own, as when one of them who had been a street walker for years objected to the " immodest" way in which the girls in the Liberty Loan booths approached men. The impulse to conform is so fundamental that it is found even in the non-conformed group. The girl's own ability to discriminate determines the phase of the environment to which she conforms. The analysis of these cases indicates that a study of the individual, with education and recreation based upon that study, could do much to direct this tendency into channels that would be of value to society. RUTH Source: White- Williams. Age: 15-7. BinetAge: 10-6 This girl of fifteen was first referred to the Philadelphia Committee by the White- Williams Foundation. Her attendance and conduct in the fifth grade were so bad that her teachers advised a domestic certificate. The case was reported to the Committee after the vocational counsellor heard that the girl was "running with" soldiers. Ruth looks less than her age. She is short, with a thin but square frame, blue eyes, and a sallow complexion. She uses neither powder nor paint, and very little soap. Her home is with her mother and eighteen-year old brother in one of the poorest alleys of South Philadelphia. The brother has just returned from a reform school. Two older men, relatives of the mother, board in the house, which is poorly furnished and insanitary. After investigation of the families' earning capacity, the domestic certificate was refused. Now Ruth declines to return to school. She cordially hates the fifth grade teachers of her own building, but because of her bad record she cannot be transferred. Ruth is quite capable of being disagreeable in school; she is a sullen, quiet girl, and she refuses to talk before her hypochondriacal mother. Away from home, she is quite willing to discuss things. She says that she is anxious to go to work. However, she will not try a position at domestic service, as this would involve leaving her mother. Ruth's non-conformity has not yet reached the point of sex offense. Just now she has no " regular company." She is devoted 25 to ten-cent novels, often reading two at a sitting. As the mother cleans offices and is at home very little, the slovenly housekeeping makes few demands upon Ruth's time. Ruth goes regularly to an Episcopal Sunday-school. Every day in the week she goes to a neighborhood moving picture place. She is especially fond of following serials. The attraction towards soldiers seems to have lapsed into a fantasy stage. She says she loves to pretend that she is in the stories and pictures. This is the only thing she becomes enthusias- tic about. Her shyness, obstinacy, and self-repression have shut her into a little world of her own. The psychological examination gives Ruth an age of 10-6 on the Terman revision, with a basal age of 9, and an I. Q. of 67.4. She is particularly deficient in arithmetic, as her proficiency is below third grade. She has no idea what process to use in the simplest reading problems. Her memory span is short, below the ten-year level both for words and digits. This is not com- pensated for by trainability, as she learned the six-digit series on seven repetitions, and failed to learn the seven digit series on twelve. Her attention fluctuates, and this with her poor memory span and her low degree of trainability, probably accounts for her failure at school. She fails on most of the judgment problems, and seems quite unable to plan ahead. This characteristic, which is seen so clearly in the tests, was instanced when she was told that if she would return to her grade for a short time she would be eligible for transfer to another building. She refused to do this, although the transfer meant being with her friends and she really desired it. Her vocabulary is also below the twelve-year level. However, she does not give wild guesses as answers. She does all the per- formance tests well, though rather slowly, and is capable of acquiring efficiency rapidly. She is not feeble-minded, although retarded and backward, and is perfectly capable of learning some manual occupation which would enable her to support herself. Ruth is a good example of the type whose non-conformity arises from inability to understand the standards set before it. She cannot look ahead well enough to see the advantages which would come from more school, and yet she was prompt and satisfactory during a short time she was employed in a mill. Her problem will be solved as soon as some work is found for her which will be simple enough for her to do perfectly, and yet will demand 26 her best efforts. However, since she has not reached the entrance requirements of the trade school, she is obliged to read and day- dream at home until she can go to work next July. MARIAN Source: White- Williams. Age: 15-6. Binet Age: 9-7. Marian is a fair example of a type which is only too common among applicants for the domestic certificate. She has spent eight years in the public schools, arid since, at fifteen, she has not yet completed the third grade, she is still under their supervision. Now she is unwilling to stay in school, unable to go to work, and is becoming a serious social problem. Part of her retardation has been due to her history. The mother was left a widow with four children when Marian was five years old. She placed the girl in an orphanage. Several years later, when she remarried and claimed her children, she found Marian entirely unlike herself. "She was frightened and quiet all the time, and was not right for nearly a year." Just as she was getting on better, and "beginning to talk again," she was kept at home a great deal to help with the housework. When she was between nine and twelve, she had erysipelas so badly that she had to be kept in the hospital for several months at a time. Marian is now rather attractive. She is so tall and well developed, that she can easily pass for eighteen or more. Her complexion is clear, her features large and regular, her eyes unusually far apart, her mouth wide, with the looseness at the corners which in a boy accompanies a perennial cigarette. Her rapid growth of the last few years has made her very self-conscious. She will not try to learn to dance, as she feels she is too awkward. At fourteen she became sensitive about being in the third grade, and flatly refused to go any more. At that time the vocational worker arranged for a psycho- logical examination. The diagnosis, "backward but not feeble- minded" secured the girl's admission to the trade school, in spite of her failure to reach the required seventh grade. However, she was unable to do satisfactory work there. There were constant complaints about her irregular attendance. Finally she was allowed a domestic certificate and put in service. She succeeded fairly well at housework. Her only objection 27 was to the baby. The smaller children at home had been such a burden to her that she had grown to hate them. She felt more and more resentful, and was confirmed in this by her mother's defensive attitude to\vards life. E very one interested in Marian was much worried when she began to have boy friends. Marian says that her mother was afraid that because she is backward in school, the boys will think she is dumb and take advantage of her. She accordingly takes great pains to conceal her " dumbness." She is quite clever at disguising her inability to read, always asking some other girl to write letters for her to her soldier and sailor friends. She talks very frankly about her love affairs. The idea of "taking care of herself" has been deeply impressed upon her. She means by this the avoidance of sexual relations. The psychological examination made this year confirms the former diagnosis. She did well with the performance tests, show- ing good analytic and distributed attention. Her memory span was six digits, which is adequate, and a fair degree of trainability is shown by learning a series of seven on six repetitions. On the Terman revision she has a mental age of 9-7, with a basal age of eight. This extremely low score is the result of her inability to read or do any but the very simplest number work, and also to a deficient vocabulary. She passed the ball and field at the eight- year level, and the absurdities and questions of comprehension at the ten-year. The only twelve-year test she passed was the interpretation of the pictures. Certainly this performance would suggest that her intelligence belongs in the border line group, and yet, when her skill with the mechanical tests is considered, and allowance is made for the narrow range of interests forced upon the illiterate, we must admit that she adjusts herself fairly well to her limitations. She conforms well enough to the social requirements of her group, and only falls short of the intellectual requirements of a different one. BEATRICE Age: 13. Source: White- Williams. Binet Age: 8-7 Beatrice presents in an exaggerated form some of the strongest determining factors of non-conformity. She is one of the large group who can never be like other people because of a definitely neurotic tendency. She is not unable to understand what is 28 expected of her and to try to conform, but she lacks the physical and nervous control to succeed. Her appearance in itself is enough to segregate her from normal children. She is small and undeveloped, with a wizened little face that twitches as she talks. She speaks with an infantile stammer. Her manner is childlike altogether she is a picture of nervous degeneracy. Beatrice is the only child of a fairly well-to-do middle-aged fou pie, who cannot understand that she is different from other girls. She has had good home conditions, and shows the knowledge of practical things characteristic of children who have been much with ohbr peopl \ She has never had any friends of her own age. l.:;i"lv she has made some acquaintances on the street, and has met (hem sometimes. In school slie has never had a good record. She is now in the fourth grade, and is doing no work at all there. It is difficult for her to sit still in school, and she attracts a good deal of attention from the other children. Recently the "bad" older girls have been getting her into trouble by encouraging her to talk back, she says. It seems almost impossible that a girl of this type should have any opportunities for social non-conformity of the sort that the Philadelphia Committee has dealt with, and yet she has been twice picked up on the street by the women officers. The first tim? was during the celebration of the signing of the armistice in November, 1918. Beatrice had met another girl on her block and together they had gone down town. They were so young and so especially uncontrolled that they were noticeable even in that crowd. The protective officers sent them home after they had climbed up and blown the horn of an automobile filled with drunken men. The worker who followed the case felt that Beatrice's parents did not recognize the danger that the girl ran in being without clos? supervision. They also refused a neuro- logical examination. The second time Beatrice was found on the street by the officers she was with a young girl who was a runaway, and who was living in a disreputable hotel. The girls had met in front of a five- and ten-cent store window, had started a conversation, and had gone for a walk. At 10.30 they were running down Market Street, bumping into the men whom they passed, and calling to the sailors. Beatrice talked confidingly to the officers, admitted that she did not know the girl she was with, and that 29 she did know that she ought not to behave that way on the street. The case was taken into juvenile court, in order to force the parents to take more care of the child. The medical examination showed that she needed to be taken out of school, and given careful diet and more exercise. The psychological examination gave her a Binet age of eight years and seven months. She had a basal age of eight. Her failure seemed to be due to extreme lack of concentrated and analytic attention, as well as poor judgment and self-control. Her vocabu- lary is poor. Her memory span is short five and cannot be raised on ten repetitions of a series one digit longer. This seems due to her wandering attention. The performance tests were badly done. She seems unable to coordinate well enough to acquire efficiency. She uses the trial and error method entirely. Bad as the performance was, however, it was suggestive of dementia rather than of amentia. The solution of the problem in Beatrice's case rests with the parents. As long as they are able to take care of her she is capable of doing housework, and generally getting on in a simple and favorable environment. She could never support herself, or meet any unusual conditions. If she is kept from her street friends she will not be likely to become non-conformed sexually, and yet it was only the accident of her arrest which saved her from longer association with the girl who was already a prostitute. Beatrice's mother received an anonymous letter from a sailor whom the girls had picked up on that evening, telling her that he had met Beatrice and knew that she "did not understand things" and that her companion was a bad girl with whom she should not go. She now realizes that her daughter's future depends entirely upon outside influences. SARA Source: White-Williams. Age: 14-7. Binet Age: 9-2 Sara has been referred to the Committee as one of the girls of school age whose recreational opportunities are especially limited. She lives in a bad neighborhood and has lately begun to go with undesirable companions. Conditions in the family are unfavor- able although the children are well enough cared for physically as the mother is very deaf and has no control over Sara, and the father is away from home most of the time. Three brothers and 30 sisters seem to be doing well, but one brother is in an institution for the feeble-minded. The girl's school history is poor. She is now in the third grade. The mother ascribes this to poor attendance when she was younger, and tells a story of poor health. Now Sara stays at home on all sorts of pretenses, and her conduct is rated very poor. She is not sensitive about being in the third grade because it indicates poor mentality, but because the older girls, she says, do not like to play with her, and she cannot have any fun with the little ones in her own room. Sara has none of the marks of qualitative feeble-mindedness. Her place on the scale of social competency is seen in the fact that she has never been considered a case for. the special class. Her appearance is fairly good. She is large and well developed, and has a pleasant manner. She is resentful of the persecution of the attendance officers, as she is anxious to get to work. She wants to go into a mill where her older sister is. This sister has been taking her to dances, and Sara wants to be independent and have a "steady friend" of her own. If the attendance officers don't soon let her alone, she thinks she will get married. She doesn't know anyone particularly whom she would marry, but she is sure she could get a steady fellow if she wanted one. As it is, the sister always brings Sara home with her. Sara has not the vocabulary to discuss the boy problem any farther. The psychological examination gives Sara a Binet age of nine years and two months, an I. Q. of .63. She had a basal age of eight, and passed four of the nine-year and one each of the twelve- and fifteen-year tests. She has a special language defect, as shown in an unusually meager vocabulary. Her powers of imagination are also very limited. She was unable to give any description of the pictures, passing them at the enumeration level. She was best on the questions of comprehension. In all tests involving school proficiency she did very badly. She is decidedly below the third-grade standard in both reading and number work. The performance tests showed fair motor coordination but an entire lack of planfulness. These results show that the girl is not normal. On the other hand the qualitative marks of feeble-mindedness are lacking to such an extent that society will never consign her to an institution becausa of her defective mentality. However, she will always need a little more supervision than the ordinary girl, both in her 31 work and in her recreation. Her physical development has exceeded her mental so far that it is not likely that she will have any strong inhibitions when her instincts are aroused. She is the type which is at the mercy of her environment and any chance circumstances. Since she is perfectly capable of learning to support hers3lf, she may be kept at work by her sister's influence, or she may marry early. On the other hand if she is ever sub- jected to any strain which will swing the balance towards non- conformity, she will be the type of social problem which is unsolv- able, because she cannot co-operate in solving it. EMMA Source : Philadelphia Committee. Age : 13. Binet Age : 10-6 Emma was sent to the Philadelphia Committee by a social S3rvice worker from a hospital where she had been accompanying an oldsr woman who was taking anti-syphilitic treatments. Emma came into the office looking curiously slight and incapable for an eighteen-year-old girl. She told a consistent story: that she was nineteen, that her mother and father had died when she was fourteen, and that since then she had been living at service. She was very indefinite about her employment; just prior to three months she said she had lived with "Dottie." It was evident that the girl needed some supervision, so a room was engaged for her in a working girls' home. A worker then found a position for her at some light factory work, and gave her specific directions about getting there. On the day she was to begin, she appeared in the office, waiting for the worker who had helped her, and refusing to tell her errand to anyone else. At last she confided the fact that she had forgotten which car to take to get to the address, which she had written on a slip of paper. One of the workers then put her on the car. The following afternoon Emma telephoned from the factory, asking that a worker come down and take her to the home, as she had been unable to find it the night before. She said she had spent the night at the Y. W. C. A. The worker arranged at once for a psychological examination. The next day the superintendent of the girls' home telephoned that Emma had given up her position. Men were calling her up all the time, and Emma had paid her board with money given her by an Italian, " Joe." "Joe," the girl said, was going to take her 32 to New York, and find her some nice, easy work where she could make eighteen dollars a week. He told her that she could have all the money she wanted as long as sh& was a good girl to him. One night he had taken her to a Girard Avenue hotel with him. The girl was taken to the municipal court on the charge of runaway. Investigation showed that her real name was Claire S . She was a ward of the Children's Aid Society. A month ago she had run away from the home in which they had placed her, and since then she had been living with Dottie. Apparently, Dottle had had no idea of the girl's real age, but had taken her in as another prostitute. Claire had had her first sex experience since running away. Although she had been promiscuous, she was not diseased. The psychological examination showed her normal, but backward. The performance tests were poor, and she failed to develop much efficiency in. them. On the Binet scale (Terman Revision) she scored 10 years 2 months, with a basal age of 9. Her vocabulary is poor, as is usual with the children of institu- tional history. She failed the abstractions, giving revenge to oversee something; charity to keep from harm; envy the same thing; justice to do something. She passed the pictures at the S3ven-year level more enumeration than description. The ques- tions of judgment and comprehension were answered very badly. Her proficiency in reading and arithmetic was that of the fourth grade, which was her grade in school. Her retardation is probably largely due to her irregular attendance before she was placed out by the Children's Aid. Her memory span is six, and good trainability is shown in learning longer series. Her persistent attention is good, but she has very limited distributed attention. She is still too undeveloped, both physically and mentally, to be capable of supporting herself. The prospects for Claire's future are not entirely dark, if she can be placed in the proper environment, and kept in a school where she could have careful individual attention. Her very unconventional experience for a girl of thirteen seems to have made very little impression on her. She has apparently felt it in the mass rather than as individual episodes, and she was not self-reliant enough to really enjoy her freedom. She is essentially a conformed rather than a non-conformed type, and will probably adapt her conduct to any standards put before her clearly and forcibly. 33 MARGARET Source: White- Williams. Age: 15. BinetAge: 11 Margaret is one of the most attractive little girls who ever created disorder in a schoolroom. She was reported to the vocational counsellor after her bad behavior and truancy had caused her expulsion from school. Later she was referred to the Philadelphia Committee as a girl who had been meeting sailors on the wharves. The neighborhood in which the " Wharf Rat," as her school- mates call her, lives, is one of the most disreputable in the city. The visitor found her house in a tiny alley. The place was full of children crawling around in the mud, and slovenly mothers were sitting on the doorsteps gossiping. Apparently no one ever thought of working. Margaret's dress is always most untidy, but her cheeks are always pink and her hair elaborately arranged. She is small but well-developed, with pretty features and a baby stare. She is most responsive, and apparently anxious to get on better. How- ever it is soon evident that this is merely the result of extreme suggestibility. Her habit of agreeing with everyone and of providing full excuses has earned her a reputation for complete untruthfulness. Her lies are most inconsistent, but they do not bother her at all. Her psychological examination shows how completely her social non-conformity correlates with specific defects. Her per- formance tests were normal. She passed the Terman revision at 11, with a basal age of 9. Her answers were often most unin- telligent, but she had no ability to criticise them, seeming satisfied with the wrong ones. She is below normal in judgment, and in analytic, persistent, and concentrated, attention. Her vocabulary is fairly good. The fact that she reached the fifth grade may probably be attributed to her good memory span 7. Her retentiveness is low. In school subjects she is really below the standard of the fifth grade. Margaret can certainly not be called feeble-minded, and yet there are these specific defects of the higher thought processes which will prevent her from ever reaching a higher social standard. She is a discouraging picture of a normal but weak type which is unable to contend with its environment. She reflects her home so completely that she is unable to conform to the higher require- 34 ments of school. Her delinquency is typical of her surroundings. There is no odium whatever attached to casual sex relations. Margaret lacks the imagination and judgment to perceive the defects of A - Street's easy manner of life, or the energy to rise above it. LOUISE Source: White- Williams. Age: 13. BinetAge: 8-11 Louise was reported to the committee by the Catholic Children Bureau and the White- Williams Foundation at about the same time. She had been recognized as a child needing special treatment in school. Her father is tubercular, her home is poor and crowded, and several years ago the C. C. B. worker feared that she was threatened with T. B. She was put in an open-air class for awhile, and later sent to a state sanatarium. She was soon returned from there, as she was caught stealing. After she returned to the city, she disliked going to school, and her poor attendance has been excused on the grounds of poor health. A recent examination shows that there is no active T. B. The special care which has been given her shows in her healthy, well- nourished appearance. She is over-developed for her age, and has been pubescent nearly two years. For the past year she has been quite uncontrollable at home. The father is not able to enforce obedience, and the mother seems too weak-willed to care to try. Louise has been staying out late at night, often not returning at all. Several weeks ago she remained away from home for two weeks. She answered an advertisement in a paper, which a friend read to her, and secured a position at housework at a salary of five dollars a week. After two weeks her employer discharged her because she was slovenly and had brought no clothes with her. She is able to pass as a very stupid girl of fifteen or sixteen. Louise's only motive in running away seems to have been her desire to stay out at night without being scolded. She says that she was so homesick that she cried every night, but she did not attempt to return until she was discharged. After her return a physical and psychological examination was arranged for. Although the physical examination indicated intercourse, Louise refused to. admit any immorality. The psychological diagnosis was "Not higher than middle grade imbecile, Barr classification." On the night of the examination, 35 Louiso slipped out of the house and was arrested by the workers of the Philadelphia Committee while she was picking up sailors on Market Street. She then admitted that she had been pro- miscuous since last spring, and had often met sailors in the park during the summer. She was taken to the House of Detention, and put on strict probation to the Juvenile Court. Louise's father is anxious that she be put in an institution. She has bought things on the instalment plan against his orders several times, and he realizes that she is unable to have any responsibility. However, her appearance is sufficiently normal to make it difficult to have her committed to an institution for the feeble-minded. The psychological examination showed a complete lack of judgment and analytic attention. Her performance as quali- tatively and quantitatively subnormal. On the Binet scale (Terman revision) she passed at 8-11, with a basal age of 7, a retardation of 5 years, and an I. Q. of 66.4. She passed the simi- larities and the vocabulary in VIII, the weights in IX, and the absurdities, questions of comprehension and memory span in X. She passed the interpretation of the pictures at the twelve-year level. Her trainability was good, as shown in learning the series of seven digits, one longer than her memory span, in three repe- titions. However she was incapable of learning to give more than three digits backwards. Her mechanical tests were very poorly done. She would scarcely copy the diamond satisfactorily. Her performance of the Healy A was especially bad. She showed poorly distributed attention, and used a very unintelligent trial and error method, putting in the small blocks first and grouping the larger ones around them. After seeing the examiner do it, she repeated it at once with no wrong moves. One of Louise's most characteristic traits was her extreme suggestibility. It was possible to elicit almost any answer to a question. Her school proficiency is very low, below the second grade. She says the likes housework, but is unable to give any intelligent account of methods of cooking, etc. Louise seems to be aware that it is not to her interest to admit sexual non-conformity. She is of the borderline type that is a serious social menace. Her non-conformity is the result of her inability to acquire the inhibitions which in a competent member of society should keep pace with 'her physical development. 36 CLARA Source: White- Williams. Age: 15. BinetAge: 14 Clara was referred to the vocational worker after a long record of failures and bad conduct in school. Her reputation in her neighborhood is such that the priest remarked that if she died, she could not be buried from his church. She has never been in court, but several times lately the police have threatened her with arrest because she hangs around the streets and squares. So far as is known, her work has never been normal for her age. The situation has been more difficult because there has never been any co-operation from the mother. Clara is especially interesting because we have a full record of her five years ago, when she was already showing symptoms of non-conformity in school which led a worker interested in the family to take the girl to the Psychological Clinic of the University of Pennsylvania. At this time she was trying to do third-grade work, but as a matter of fact she was below the level of second- grade proficiency. Her physical development was described as that of a girl of twelve. The diagnosis was deferred. She was about three years retarded, the examiner stating: "She is cer- tainly attempting work beyond her ability at present. Mentality probably normal but somewhat below average." There seemed to be a special language defect, almost to the point of " congenital illiteracy." Transfer to a special class was recommended. At that time the mother was rather indifferent to the need for special supervision of the girl. The case was closed because of the lack of co-operation. During the five years which followed before Clara came under the notice of the Philadelphia Com- mittee, the mother seems to have developed a horror of social workers. She also distrusted the attendence officers. She refused to send her daughter to school, even if she were arrested for it. She will not allow the girl to get a domestic certificate, as she does not want her to be a slave. On one day she said she wanted her placed in the Catholic Protectory, and the next day she denied tha^ she had ever said she was troublesome. She refused to let Clara have a physical or psychological examination, or to go with the worker alone. Later Clara was taken into Juvenile Court. She was preg- nant, and the mother testified that she had just married a Polish boy who was responsible for her condition. A few weeks later 37 she had secured work in a factory and the Bureau of Compulsory Education had sent word to her that she must finish her con- tinuation time. Clara's case will probably keep coming before one agency after another. She definitely belongs already to the group which is unable to get on without assistance. She belonged from an early age to the group which are noticeably different from other people. In her case, sexual non-conformity is a part of the whole picture of social incompetency. She matured physically before she had any idea of social requirements, and her bad environment has prevented her from acquiring any. For five years the school did nothing for her except allow her to sit in the third grade, and there was no recreation open to her. The ability which she may have had three years ago was not utilized, and she has become a thoroughly non-conformed individual. BERTHA Source: Federal Court. Age: 30. BinetAge: 12 Bertha is an example of the most difficult cases with which the Philadelphia Committee has dealt. She is now thirty, the mother of a sixteen-year-old daughter, and has been a prostitute for fifteen years. She has been committed five times to the house of correc- tion, and served a year and a half in Bedford Reformatory. Her Wasserman reaction is 4 plus and she is addicted to the use of heroin. In spite of all this, she hardly looks her age. She is tall and slender, with sharp features, and the manner and appearance of a mill girl of twenty-five. She has never learned to use cosmetics successfully. Her large dark eyes have a frank expression which harmonizes with her full and ready, though often inconsistent, statements. In September, 1918, Bertha was referred to the Committee by the Law Enforcement division, as in need of medial attention and superivsion. In spite of all her court appearances, she had never been on probation. She said she was heartily tired of prostitution, and anxious to go to work if she could regain her health. She has been under supervision up to April, 1919. During this time the Committee workers have had an opportunity to observe her efforts at reform. Bertha's mother, sister, and daughter live in a neat and fairly 38 comfortable little house. If the care which Bertha's mother has given Bertha's child is any index, Bertha's own early environment is not responsible for her history. The whole family, including the daughter, look upon Bertha as an unfortunate, but inde- pendent individual, for whom they assume no responsibility, but whom they allow to come home whenever she needs to recuperate. At thirteen, Bertha was in the fifth grade. She left school to go to work. In a few months her mother discovered that she was pregnant and forced a marriage. The husband deserted soon after the baby's birth. Before Bertha was sixteen, another man was supporting her. Ever since, she has been more or less pro- rniscous. Of all her lovers, she admires most a very light negro, who was the leader of a band. She especially liked to go into restaurants with him, for he looked so handsome in his uniform that everybody turned around to look at him. Now Bertha claims that she was forced into prostitution by poverty. She asserts that she dislikes men, as they have brought her only misery and ill-health. She feels rather that she has not been successful in her profession than that it is an essentially impossible one. She has accepted court sentences quite as a matter of course, a part of the necessary risk. She has a good record in every institution in which she has been. Bertha could not be characterized as intentionally non- conformed. She has no desire to break rules for the sake of breaking them. Her lack of conformity comes rather from a constitutional inability to do all that is expected of a member of society. The record of her psychological examination shows some of the defects which have kept her below the level of social com- petency. Bertha is capable of intelligent reading, considering her education. She likes "BS'lzac and Duma's," as she calls them. She answers questions about her reading just as a bright child of twelve might. Her idea of the plot is fairly clear, but there is no discrimination between the characters or orientation in history. Her vocabulary is good, in the Stanford revision ranking between fifteen and sixteen years. She has a markedly figurative style. When asked the difference between poverty and misery, she said, "They both shake hands." Her performance tests were well done, developing efficiency rapidly. Her attitude was co-operative, as she felt that she was doing well. At first she was rather sus- picious, and gave a most entertaining account of the examination 39 given at Bedford, which she considered extremely puerile. All through the test there were marked fluctuations of attention. Her memory span was six. Once she repeated seven, but failed the same series again and could not reproduce it before eight repetitions. Her distributed attention was good, but her con- centrated attention was below normal. Her most conspicuous defect was her performance of the mathematical problems. She cannot make correct change. She is quite complacent about her inability to keep track of money. Her sense of time is also defective. She is unable to locate past events properly. Bertha loves to recount highly colored incidents of her past life, but she claims the Worker's undivided attention. She is frequently caught telling an untruth, when she always confesses, apologizes, and tells another. These are often most obvious, and cannot possibly serve any end. She is particularly fond of assumed names, and has a varied stock of superstitions. On the whole, her reactions may be said to be just at the level of her Binet age, twelve. She has never passed the unstable period of early adolescence. She is still totally unable to form general ideas, to follow any organized plan of life, or to get along at all without the support and assistance of others. ELIZABETH Source: Federal Court. Age: 29. Binet Age: 11-4 This case was referred to the Philadelphia Committee by the Federal police of the Law Enforcement division, as they felt that because of some features of the case she might profit by more informal probation. She has been a prostitute for twelve years. For the last four years she has been living with a man who "has been very good to her." Since he has been in the army she has solicited on the streets. She has served three terms in the House of Correction and a year in Bedford Reformatory. Her Wasser- man is 4 plus and she uses heroin. She is also an inveterate cigarette smoker. Elizabeth's home was good; in fact, she has some very respect- able relatives whom she sometimes visits, who believe that she is married. Her mother died when she was very young, her father married a woman about her own age, and Elizabeth was given to her grandmother, who had very little control over her. At 40 fifteen she finished the eighth grade, and went to work in a factory. Another girl told her that she could make money more easily and kept showing Elizabeth her pretty clothes. At seventeen, Elizabeth became a prostitute deliberately, she says, because she was tired of work. In the light of her character as we know it, however, it seems more likely that she simply yielded to suggestion. Elizabeth is really fond of housework. She has a little house (in a tenderloin neighborhood), which she keeps in perfect order. Her hands look like a charwoman's. She is devoted to her com- mon-law husband, whom she thinks might perhaps marry her "She has never asked him" and yet she has not the strength of character to be faithful to him. She has repeatedly stolen from people who have been kind to her, even from Bertha, who has been her friend for years. Unlike Bertha, Elizabeth is ashamed of her profession. While Bertha glories in her ability to relate wild tales, Elizabeth prefers to appear like other people. For a short time she held satisfactorily a temporary position in a business office. She said she loved it there, as she likes to be among people who talk nicely. A position was found for her as ward maid in a hospital, and she got on very well, until her roommate reported her for smoking, and she was discharged. She is able to work well under supervision, but she is unable to assume responsibility for herself. Her psychological diagnosis is normal, dull social insuffi- ciency due to weak character. She did very well on the per- formance tests. Her score on the Terman revision is 11-4, with a basal age of ten. During the tests she showed a lack of self- confidence, and required a great deal of urging. She passed all the twelve-year tests except the memory span. Her span for digits is five on one repetition, six on two . (auditory) . It is much higher on the visual presentation, seven on one, and eight on two, repetitions. Her vocabulary is below the twelve-year level. This and her memory span seem to be her greatest deficiencies. Her mental defects are not enough in themselves to account for her failure to conform. The reason for this must be sought in her suggestibility and her weak will. 41 SOME GENERAL CONCLUSIONS Since normality is essentially a social judgment, it does not depend upon the specific defects or abilities of the individual. Many people who would rank as normal have more serious defects than some of the non-conformed, and yet their environment has | been such that they never fall below the social standard. The mental defects seem to appear in some circumstances which demand the individual's best efforts just as the neurotic tendency, under some particular stress, results in a psychopathic condition. \^~ The only treatment which can serve as a preventive of this type of delinquency consists in recognition and special care of those who show the sort of defects which result in social non- conformity. For these individuals all kinds of stabilizing influ- ences are necessary. Attention to health and housing conditions, along with adequate education furthering complete adjustment to environment, contributes to habits of conformity. The individual whose environment affords balancing influences, is best prepared to survive the emotional strain of adolescence. The public school is gradually coming to the point of making special provision, particularly along occupational and industrial lines, for the exceptional child. This provision should not stop with the backward and feeble-minded child, but should be carried into the training of the "normal." Since society is coming to realize that there is no qualitative dividing line between the "bad" and the "good" in the sense of social conformity, but that the difference is often the result of some accident of environment, it should also realize the tremendous importance of education as its greatest corrective or preventive opportunity. Since work and play conditions may throw the balance for conformity or non-conformity, it is essential that a careful study should be made of the needs of each individual child, by means of analysis of his special abilities and defects. In addition to the emphasis on social training any study of delinquent girls points out another responsibility which society must assume. Modern city life makes public recreation as much of an obligation as public schools. The majority of girls picked 42 up on the street by the protective officers come from the mill districts in which there are the poorest recreational facilities. They are mostly self-supporting, not foreign-born, but of good American stock. They look for a "good time" on the streets and in questionable dance-halls because they have no other place. It is not even enough to provide school training which shall really equip a girl for life, unless we follow her on into the working age with opportunities for an adequate, wholesome outlet for adoles- cent activity.