Institutionalization: A Viable Alternative in the Treatment of Delinquent Adolescents?

The present study used the Maslow hierarchy to evaluate relative need satisfaction of delinquent adolescents across different environ mental influences. The four most basic levels of the need hierarchy were utilized-physiological, physical safety and security, affec tion, and self-esteem. A forced-choice Need Satisfaction Schedule was administered to four groups, each with fifty adolescents in it. Each group represented a different physical and/or psychological environment to which many adolescent delinquents are exposed-two institutional and two extra-institutional environments were sampled. Significant differences occurred between the institutional and extra-institutional groups at three of the four need-satisfaction levels. The results favored the extra-institutional environment as more need satisfying for the adolescents. Implications of these re sults for institutional and extra-institutional treatment goals were discussed.