Social skills training for juvenile delinquents: post-treatment changes

Objectives

To examine the post-treatment effectiveness of an outpatient, individual social skills training for juvenile delinquents in the Netherlands and to conduct moderator tests for age, gender, ethnicity, and risk of reoffending.

Methods

The sample consisted of juveniles who received Tools4U, a social skills training with a parental component, as a penal sanction (N?=?115). Propensity score matching was used to select a control group of juveniles receiving treatment as usual (TAU) of n?=?108 juveniles (of a total of N?=?354). Assessment of impulsivity, social perspective-taking, social problem-solving, critical reasoning, developmental task-related skills, and treatment integrity took place before and immediately after the treatment.

Results

Treatment integrity was found to be sufficient, so that treatment effects could be attributed to the Tools4U training. Tools4U was more effective than TAU in reducing impulsivity, cognitive distortions (self-centering and assuming the worst), and social perspective-taking deficits (hostile intent attribution). No treatment effects were found on adolescents’ social problem-solving skills, and only caretakers of girls showed improvement in parenting skills. Effects on developmental task-related skills were not in the expected direction: after Tools4U, juveniles reported significantly less social acceptance and self-worth than juveniles receiving TAU.

Conclusions

Tools4U showed generally small effects and no effects on protective factors, which might limit the long-term treatment effects on delinquency. Treatment effects may be improved by implementing additional techniques and improving the parental component for boys in particular.

     

Ethnic differences in the relationship between psychopathy and (re)offending in a sample of juvenile delinquents

The present study focused on the relationship between psychopathy and delinquency in a multiethnic sample of juvenile offenders (N=207, n=105 native Dutch, and n=102 immigrants) referred to a treatment program. Aims were (1) to examine the cross-ethnic equivalence of the Antisocial Process Screening Device (APSD); (2) to compare the mean levels of psychopathic traits in native Dutch and immigrant juvenile delinquents and (3) the strength of the associations between psychopathic traits and delinquency in both the native Dutch and immigrant samples. Measurement invariance was established for APSD factors assessing callous-unemotional (CU) traits and impulsivity. However, there were ethnic differences in the factor structure of narcissism. No differences were found between ethnic groups in mean levels of CU traits and impulsivity. Finally, the association between impulsivity and self-reported delinquency was stronger for native Dutch than for immigrant juveniles. Further research is needed in order to make the treatment of juvenile delinquents with psychopathic traits in ethnic minority groups more effective according to the specific needs of these juveniles.     

Recidivism in subgroups of severe male juvenile offenders

Abstract

Prior research is lacking on the incremental contribution of juvenile offender classification systems in predicting recidivism. To address this gap, the present study examined a five-group classification system of severe adolescent male offenders based on the personality and clinical scales of the Millon Adolescent Clinical Inventory (MACI). Group membership was used to predict adult recidivism while controlling for criminal history. Male juvenile offenders classified as anxious/impulsive were less frequent recidivists than most other groups and had fewer charges after release than some other groups. Offenders classified into the psychopathy group were notable for their high rate of recidivism (nearly 50%). These results highlight the potential utility of offender classification systems for informing risk assessments among severe male juvenile offenders.     

Sustainability of the effects of multisystemic therapy for juvenile delinquents in The Netherlands: effects on delinquency and recidivism

Objectives

The present study focused on the sustainability of the effects of Multisystemic Therapy (MST) on delinquency and recidivism.

Methods

A sample of 256 juveniles with severe and persistent antisocial behavior were randomly assigned to MST (147) and Treatment As Usual (TAU) (109) condition. Pre-test assessment took place before the start of MST/control group treatment. Post-test assessment took place at 6 months after termination of the program. Delinquency (parent and adolescent reported) was assessed 6 months after termination of the treatment. Official judicial data were collected to assess recidivism, with a mean length of follow-up of 3.06 years. ANCOVAs and survival analyses were used to test the effectiveness of MST.

Results

The multi-informant data showed that MST is effective in diminishing delinquent behavior as reported by adolescents and parents, with d’s larger than at post-test assessment immediately after ending of the intervention. The official judicial data, however, suggest that there are no differences between MST and TAU in recidivism. Few and inconsistent moderator effects were found.

Conclusions

According to parent and adolescent reports, the beneficial effects of MST were sustained at the follow-up. This was not supported by official data. These results stress the importance of using multi-informant data on delinquency, as each source of information has its own advantages and disadvantages.     

Juvenile Delinquency in the USSR: A Criminological Survey

This article examines some statistical data concerning juvenile delinquency in the USSR, analyzes social and demographic characteristics of juvenile delinquents, and describes special methods of preventing and combating juvenile delinquency in the USSR.

In those cases when the article does not contain direct references to the source of the data, the author cites the results of various research studies which are in his possession.     

Preventing juvenile sexual offending through parental monitoring: a comparison study of youth’s experiences of supervision

ABSTRACT

The parental monitoring literature has long observed a link between parental monitoring and juvenile antisocial behaviour. This study extends this line of research to juveniles who commit sexual abuse. The present study investigates whether juvenile reports of parental monitoring differ between juvenile sexual offenders (n?=?338), juvenile delinquents (n?=?346), and non-incarcerated juvenile controls (n?=?256). Results indicate that both incarcerated groups reported significantly less parental knowledge compared to juvenile controls. Further, both juvenile sexual offenders and juvenile controls reported significantly more parental control compared to juvenile delinquents. With regard to parental solicitation, the results were mixed for sexual offenders. They reported high levels of solicitation for some items (e.g. what the youth was doing, who they were with), and lower levels for other items (e.g. where the youth was, whether an adult would be present). When repeating these analyses with the exclusion of non-parent caregivers, a similar pattern of results emerged; however, item-level analyses revealed that parents of juvenile delinquents reported certain types of solicitation and control behaviours more frequently (e.g. asked where the youth was going, made sure the rules were followed) compared to findings from the main sample. Potential explanations for these findings as well as practical implications for prevention are discussed.     

Moral judgement,cognitive distortions and empathy in incarcerated delinquent and community control adolescents

Abstract

Immature moral judgements, cognitive distortions and low empathy could contribute to criminal offending and are often targeted in interventions aimed at reducing risk of recidivism. We compared 58 delinquent 13–18-year-olds, incarcerated in youth homes in Sweden (29 males, 29 females) with 58 (29 males, 29 females) community control adolescents individually matched on age, gender, ethnicity and socio-economic position. Self-report questionnaires examined moral judgement, cognitive distortions, and empathy. Delinquent adolescents exhibited less mature moral judgements and more cognitive distortions than control adolescents. However, no association between delinquency status and self-reported empathy was found. In addition, girls reported more mature moral judgements, less cognitive distortions and more empathy than boys did. Moral judgement and empathy were positively correlated and both measures were negatively correlated with cognitive distortions. Our data support the idea that moral judgement and cognitive distortions are important treatment targets for juvenile delinquents, whereas empathy may be less meaningful to address directly.     

Factors related to recidivism for youthful offenders

Little is known about youth who were previously placed in a detention facility and what factors predict a subsequent recidivism to placement. This study of a two-county juvenile offender population (one urban and one rural) investigates what demographic, educational, mental health, substance dependence, and court-related variables predict recidivism to detention placement. Findings from logistic regression analysis indicate that seven variables significantly predict juvenile offenders’ recidivism placement, some expected and some unexpected. Predictors that made recidivism more likely include youth with a previous conduct disorder diagnosis, a self-reported previous suicide attempt, age, and number of court offenses. Conversely, predictors that made recidivism less likely include race (Caucasian), a previous attention-deficit hyperactivity disorder diagnosis, and a misdemeanor conviction. These findings indicate that the use of a community-based suicide and mental health screening and referral approach may help to identify and assist these high-risk youth in receiving needed services prior to juvenile court involvement or during delinquency adjudication.     

The long term recidivism risk of young sexual offenders in England and Wales– enduring risk or redemption?

PurposeTo examine the long-term sexual recidivism risk of juvenile sex offenders in England and Wales, and to compare the risk to that of a first time sexual offense for non-convicted juveniles. Additionally, the study explores the long term sexual recidivism risk of other types of juvenile offenders, and the long term violent recidivism risk of these groups.MethodsThe England and Wales Offenders Index was used to extract birth cohort data. Life table methods were used to estimate cumulative recidivism risk, and discrete time hazard models were used to compare hazard functions.ResultsAt the five year period, 7% of juvenile sexual offenders have been reconvicted of a sexual offense; reaching 13% by the end of the 35 year follow-up. When the reconviction hazard of the juvenile sexual offenders was compared with the first sexual conviction risk of a non-convicted comparison group, the hazards converged statistically after 17 years.ConclusionsThe study has implications for the registration periods of juvenile sex offenders. Indefinite registration for some juveniles needs to be considered, and a review of registration after a conviction free period would provide more balance between the protection of the public and the rights of the offender.     

Sustaining families, dissuading crime: The effectiveness of a family preservation program with male delinquents

Purpose

Family factors have long been considered an important contributor to the criminogenic process. Family Preservation (FP) programs attempt to improve family functioning and, thereby, dissuade future delinquency. Despite years of delivery, the limited research concerning the influence of FP programs on juvenile delinquency remains inconclusive.

Methods

This study examined the effectiveness of an FP program implemented in a metropolitan county of a large Southern state. Subjects were adjudicated male juveniles referred to the program by the courts. Recidivism outcomes for FP participants were compared against those of a simple random sample of non-participants.

Results

Findings suggest that FP does not impact recidivism among study participants. Issues with treatment fidelity may be responsible for the lack of results for this program.

Conclusion

These findings fail to lend support to the FP program. However, they do demonstrate the importance of treatment fidelity in juvenile justice programming.     

BROKEN HOMES AND MIDDLE-CLASS DELINQUENCY:

This research note presents the results of an empirical study that examines the relationship between broken homes and middle-class delinquents known to the juvenile justice system and compares the findings with a recent study that focused on the relationship between broken juveniles homes and self-reported delinquency. A comparison of the two studies reveals that both studies found little or no relationship between broken homes and middle-class delinquency.     

Significant Gender Differences in Factors Related to the Detention of Youthful Offenders

An important priority of the U.S. juvenile justice system is to reduce the number of youthful offenders who are placed into secure detention placement. Though significant research examining these predictors exists, there is limited analysis of gender-specific predictors. Using existing juvenile court and mental health assessment case records of 433 youthful offenders from two Midwestern U.S. counties, this study sought to identify separately for males and females the legal (including number of delinquency adjudications, age at first delinquency adjudication, number of court offenses, and type of offense) and extralegal (including demographic, maltreatment, mental health, and school-related disabilities) factors that impact recidivism to detention placement. Multivariate logistic regression analyses revealed that the predictors of recidivism leading to repeat secure detention placement were indeed different for males and females, although there were some shared predictors. For both genders, the number of court offenses and having a previous suicide attempt were significant predictors. In addition, for females, having a diagnosis of attention-deficit/hyperactivity disorder and a misdemeanor offense were protective against recidivism. For males, three other variables significantly predicted recidivism: age, race, and a conduct disorder diagnosis.     

Predicting juvenile delinquency: A review of correlates and a confirmation by recent research based on an integrated theoretical model

This study is an exploration of the effects of setting cases for trial in a court that permits jury trials for juveniles. Although few cases actually go to trial, cases set for trial have an impact on juveniles and the court. The study reported here is based on data from a study of 710 youths upon whom delinquency petitions were filed in a suburban court in 1980. Of these youths, 94 had cases set for trial and 7 actually went to trial.

The first part of the article gives a brief historical perspective on the juvenile right to jury trial, discusses why defense attorneys set cases to trial, and describes some of the difficulties in measuring the impact of jury trials. The second part reports on the impact of trial setting in “Suburban Court” on case outcomes and case processing time. A partial correlation analysis shows that there is no significant association between setting a case for trial and either adjudication or final disposition, even when other factors are held constant. Setting a case for trial has a significant association with long case processing times, however. Cases set for trial take almost twice as long as other cases to move from filing to adjudication.     

Contrasting psychosocial outcomes in Chinese delinquent adolescents with attention deficit and hyperactivity disorder symptoms and/or reading disability

Many studies reported high prevalence of attention deficit hyperactivity disorder (ADHD) and reading disability (RD) among delinquent adolescents. Very few have examined their psychosocial outcomes. The present study compared the psychosocial outcomes and delinquency outcomes in Chinese juvenile delinquents with ADHD symptoms (AS) and/or RD. Delinquents with AS (n = 29), RD (n = 24) and their comorbidity (n = 35) were recruited from juvenile institutions along with typically developing controls (n = 29) from local schools; all completed questionnaire on psychosocial characteristics and delinquency outcomes. Participants with AS were associated with poor academic orientation whereas participants with RD were characterized with negative main effects across all psychosocial constructs being tested. The comorbid group performed similar to the RD group yet it exhibited a significantly higher delinquency severity. The present findings provide a better picture of the unique psychosocial profile associated with different groups, allowing for better matching for future identification and intervention programme.     

Delinquent Behaviour,Psychosomatic Symptoms and the Idea of 'Healthy Delinquency'

This study examines the association between self-reported delinquent behaviour and psychosomatic symptoms in a nationally representative sample of 15-16-year old Finnish adolescents. Some theorists have suggested that psychosomatic symptoms are related to inability to break culturally given norms. If this is so, delinquents should have less symptoms than non-delinquents. To assess this idea, two hypotheses are formulated: delinquency is associated with decreased symptoms (the 'hydraulic' hypothesis), or delinquency is associated with increased symptoms (the 'stress' hypothesis). In support of the second hypothesis, the results indicate that delinquency and psychosomatic symptoms are positively associated. The effect of delinquency on symptoms is robust in the presence of a number of control variables. The findings are discussed i.a. from the point of view of increasing research interest in the positive effects of delinquency. While positive effects are likely to exist in specific contexts, delinquency as such does not lead to a reduction of psychosomatic symptoms.     

CONTROLLING OTHER PEOPLE'S CHILDREN: RACIALIZED VIEWS OF DELINQUENCY AND WHITES’ PUNITIVE ATTITUDES TOWARD JUVENILE OFFENDERS*

The juvenile justice system was founded on, and until recently developed around, the idea that society should afford delinquents more leniency and rehabilitative care than adult criminals because of their lower levels of physical and cognitive development and, thus, diminished culpability for law violations and higher amenability to treatment. The past four decades, however, have witnessed a sustained movement to recriminalize delinquency through the enactment of policies that treat juvenile offenders more like their adult counterparts. Feld (1999a) and others have argued that this punitive turn in juvenile justice is in part a result of the racialization of delinquency and violent victimization in the post–Civil Rights era. This study provides the first test of the key assumption underlying this thesis, namely, that Whites’ support for getting tough with juvenile offenders is in part tied to racialized views of youth crime. Drawing on data from a recent national survey, we examine the extent to which relative racial typifications about delinquency and victimization, as well as racial resentment, are associated with general punitiveness toward juvenile offenders as well as support for lower minimum ages of criminal justice jurisdiction. Regression results show that Whites who hold such typifications and those who are more racially resentful are both more likely to embrace punitive youth justice policies and favor transfers for younger offenders. The implications of the findings are discussed.     

Parental Involvement in Juvenile Sex Offender Treatment: Requiring a Role as Informed Supervisor

Sex offenses, particularly those against children, have always been viewed negatively in society. A large portion of these offenses are committed by children against children. Most state legislatures focus on punitive measures when dealing with juvenile sex offenses, yet few place treatment on equal ground. Treatment has been shown to be effective in reducing the rate of recidivism of juvenile sex offenders. Juvenile sex offenders that participate in treatment have shown lower recidivism rates than adult offenders or untreated juvenile sex offenders. This Note advocates that states adopt legislation based on a successful statute in Colorado that creates a sex offender management board consisting of a multidisciplinary treatment team for juvenile sex offenders' treatment while requiring parental involvement in treatment as “informed supervisors” when the team deems it appropriate.

Key Points for the Family Court Community:
• Sex offender treatment on juveniles has been successful in reducing recidivism, as juveniles are more receptive to treatment than adults.
• Supervision and treatment of juvenile sex offenders would be more effective if parents or guardians are involved in the juvenile's sex offender treatment.
• States should adopt legislation based on the Colorado model that creates a sex offender management board and multidisciplinary team to supervise the treatment of juvenile sex offenders and requires appropriate parental involvement in the treatment as “informed supervisors”.

     

SELF-CONCEPT, DELINQUENCY, AND POSITIVE PEER CULTURE

This is an empirical attempt to assess juvenile delinquency and correction. in an institutional setting, in terms of agency and communion (two aspects of self) as defined by Bakan (1966). The Jusness Inventory, a standard inventory for assessing social adaptability and conformity, used with a multi scaled index was employed on juvenile delinquents in a positive peer culture program items of the Jesness Inventory judged to be a genetic and communal are listed.     

Contact crimes in relation to neuroticism,impulsiveness, conscience formation and intelligence: An exploratory discriminant analysis in juvenile delinquents

Abstract

Using archival data, we investigate the relationship between the type of crime committed and personality characteristics from a sample of 100 juvenile Dutch delinquents, who had been screened at a bureau for ambulant youth care. Possibly confounding variables such as age, education and family background were controlled for using exploratory non-linear techniques.

It appeared that delinquents who had committed crimes that involved victim contact were on average more impulsive, less neurotic and often had a less well developed conscience than those juvenile delinquents who had committed crimes that involved no contact with a victim. The latter were on average less impulsive, more neurotic and more often had a sufficiently or partially developed conscience. The relation with intelligence was inconclusive.