An experimental evaluation of teen courts

Teen Court (TC) is a juvenile diversion program designed to prevent the formal processing of first-time juvenile offenders within the juvenile justice system. TC instead utilizes informal processing and sanctions in order to prevent future offending. Despite its widespread popularity throughout the United States of America, little rigorous research has been conducted on the effectiveness of the TC model for reducing recidivism. Using an experimental design, this study examined the effectiveness of TC in reducing recidivism and improving the attitudes and opinions of juvenile offenders in comparison with a control group of youth who were formally processed. Self-reported delinquency was higher for those youth who participated in TC. TC youth were also found to have significantly lower scores on a scale of belief in conventional rules than had youth who were processed in the Department of Juveniles Services. Implications of these findings are discussed.

Wendy Povitsky StickleEmail:

---

Wendy Povitsky Stickle   is a doctoral candidate at the University of Maryland Department of Criminology and Criminal Justice. Her research interests include juvenile delinquency and delinquency prevention. Currently, Stickle is examining the effects of co-offending on trajectories of offending and is investigating the risk factors associated with weapon carrying in schools. Nadine M. Connell   is an assistant professor at Rowan University in the Department of Law and Justice Studies. Her research interests include program and policy evaluation, the social dynamics of group behavior, and capital punishment. Connell has worked with the Capital Jury Project as well as several juvenile delinquency prevention initiatives. She is currently involved in an evaluation of the efficacy of school based programs on student bullying and adolescent ATOD use in the state of New Jersey. Denise M. Wilson   is a Ph.D. graduate student at the University of Maryland Department of Criminology and Criminal Justice. Her research interests include juvenile delinquency, prevention and corrections. She is currently working on data analysis of a randomized experiment testing the effects of after-school programs on adolescent development. Denise C. Gottfredson   is a professor at the University of Maryland Department of Criminal Justice and Criminology. Her research interests include delinquency and delinquency prevention, and particularly the effects of school environments on youth behavior. Gottfredson has conducted randomized experiments to test the effectiveness of the Baltimore City Drug Treatment Court, the Strengthening Families Program, and is currently directing a randomized trial of the effects of after school programs on the development of problem behavior.