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JUVENILE OFFENDERS: WHAT WORKS? A Summary of Research Findings
Roxanne Lieb
Washington State Institute for Public Policy The Evergreen State College Mail Stop: TA-00, Seminar 3162 Olympia, Washington 98505 Phone: (360) 866-6000, ext. 6380 Fax: (360) 866-6825
October 1994
1
Introduction and Contents
This document can assist policymakers in understanding the major research findings in juvenile delinquency. It summarizes key findings and offers an overview. It is not an exhaustive review of the literature. Readers should consult the bibliography for publication citations.
The following topics are covered: • Risk Factors for Juvenile Delinquency
• Can Juvenile Offenders Be Rehabilitated? • Are Diversion Programs Effective?
Page
3 4 7 8
• What Works With Violent & Chronic Juvenile Offenders? • Connection Between Juvenile and Adult • Criminal Careers • Results of Deinstitutionalization • Privately- and Publicly-Operated Facilities • Prevention of Delinquency • Influence of Single Parent Families
10 11 13 14 16 17
• Bibliography
The author thanks Janie Maki, Staci Thomas, Peggy Roper, and Tom Sykes for their assistance.
2
Risk Factors for Juvenile Delinquency
“Overall, research findings support the conclusion that no single cause accounts for all delinquency and no single pathway leads to a life of crime.”
Huizinga, Loeber and Thornberry, 1994
A literature review found the following factors to be important predictors of delinquency: 1. Early conduct problems—aggression, stealing, truancy, lying, drug use—are not only general predictors of delinquency many years later, but especially of serious delinquency, and in certain cases, of recidivism. 2. Children who have not outgrown their aggressiveness by early adolescence appear to be at high risk for delinquency. 3. Although juvenile arrest or conviction is a predictor of arrest or conviction in adulthood, the seriousness of the juvenile offense appears to be a better
Roxanne Lieb
Washington State Institute for Public Policy The Evergreen State College Mail Stop: TA-00, Seminar 3162 Olympia, Washington 98505 Phone: (360) 866-6000, ext. 6380 Fax: (360) 866-6825
October 1994
1
Introduction and Contents
This document can assist policymakers in understanding the major research findings in juvenile delinquency. It summarizes key findings and offers an overview. It is not an exhaustive review of the literature. Readers should consult the bibliography for publication citations.
The following topics are covered: • Risk Factors for Juvenile Delinquency
• Can Juvenile Offenders Be Rehabilitated? • Are Diversion Programs Effective?
Page
3 4 7 8
• What Works With Violent & Chronic Juvenile Offenders? • Connection Between Juvenile and Adult • Criminal Careers • Results of Deinstitutionalization • Privately- and Publicly-Operated Facilities • Prevention of Delinquency • Influence of Single Parent Families
10 11 13 14 16 17
• Bibliography
The author thanks Janie Maki, Staci Thomas, Peggy Roper, and Tom Sykes for their assistance.
2
Risk Factors for Juvenile Delinquency
“Overall, research findings support the conclusion that no single cause accounts for all delinquency and no single pathway leads to a life of crime.”
Huizinga, Loeber and Thornberry, 1994
A literature review found the following factors to be important predictors of delinquency: 1. Early conduct problems—aggression, stealing, truancy, lying, drug use—are not only general predictors of delinquency many years later, but especially of serious delinquency, and in certain cases, of recidivism. 2. Children who have not outgrown their aggressiveness by early adolescence appear to be at high risk for delinquency. 3. Although juvenile arrest or conviction is a predictor of arrest or conviction in adulthood, the seriousness of the juvenile offense appears to be a better
Bibliography: 18 Gensheimer and Associates (1986), “Diverting Youth from the Juvenile Justice System: A Meta-Analysis of Intervention Efficacy,” in S.J