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While youth crime is becoming more violent and serious as youth begin a life a crime at an earlier age, there appears no consensus among the researchers about why and how youth become involved in criminal behavior. Multi problem youth present a new challenge both in terms of conceptualizing the problem, and in providing criminal justice practitioners useful and effective ways to respond. This paper provides an age graded integrated theory of child underdevelopment to better understand the phenomena of multi problem youth and to serve as a basis for early intervention programs to assist youth and better protect communities. ..PAT.-Unpublished Manuscript [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

This review of the literature examines the extent of male predominance in offending using data from self-report studies. We investigate what has happened in the 30 years since the first review of this type was conducted by Hindelang, Hirshi, & Weis (1979); and in particular to determine if the pattern of male predominance has changed as was predicted by Adler (1975), Simon (1975) and others. We use correlation analysis to examine changes in male predominance using the evidence available from self-report studies and we compare the findings from studies conducted in the United States with those conducted in other countries, as well as to trend data from Monitoring the Future. Our results indicate a convergence in the trends of some types of male and female offending, but the convergence can not be attributed to the causes predicted by liberation theorists. ..PAT.-Unpublished Manuscript [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

This paper explores the contribution of community factors to the juvenile violent crime drop that began in 1993. Using a sample of 134 counties, we employ change-score analysis to test the relationships between changes in four categories of community influences and juvenile violent crime trends during the 1990's. The categories include demography, poverty and poor families, community capacity, and illegitimate economic opportunities. We found that community capacity changes were the most strongly related to juvenile violence trends, although different aspects of community capacity were influential during the early and late years of the drop. Poverty concentration appears to have played a role during the latter years. ..PAT.-Unpublished Manuscript [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

This paper analyzes the pathways into serious, violent and chronic offending across race and gender in a large sample of youth referred to the juvenile department in a metropolitan county in Texas. Building on the literature on gender-specific risk factors in offending, this study specifically analyzes the impact of abuse, mental health problems, running away, gang involvement and juvenile justice involvement for serious, violent and chronic offending in a group of deviant youth. The results indicate that mental health problems, running away, gang involvement and prior juvenile justice involvement are positively related to serious, violent and chronic offending for both male and female youth, while abuse appears to be unrelated to serious, violent, and chronic offending for both genders. However, the predictive power of these four risk factors varies across race and ethnicity within gender. Overall, the findings show that these risk factors better predict minority youths' serious, violent and chronic offending than white youths'. ..PAT.-Unpublished Manuscript [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

This longitudinal study examined the prospective effects of involvement with the juvenile justice system (number of juvenile arrests; early versus late onset of first arrest) on subsequent labor market outcomes (unemployment, being fired) for a sample of 203 at-risk young men. Prospective effects were controlled for other risk factors, including parental antisocial behavior, adolescent substance use, mental health problems, low educational attainment, and exposure time, in order to adjust estimates for propensity and spuriousness. Detailed self-reported accounts of the participant's employment history were available from ages 21/22 to 29/30 years. Number and onset age of juvenile arrests was derived from court records. Poisson and Tobit regression analyses (LIMDEP 8.0) indicated that number of juvenile arrests predicted the number of months being unemployed, but not the number of times being fired from a job. Onset age of the first arrest did not predict either outcome measure. Overall, the pattern of findings indicated specificity in the association between arrests and subsequent labor market outcomes: Contact with the juvenile justice system was a salient factor for subsequent unemployment, whereas propensity factors were more salient for being fired from jobs. ..PAT.-Unpublished Manuscript [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Risk measures have been used in program evaluation both to examine changes in risk and to control for risk when analyzing program outcomes. These studies have been criticized for ignoring the impact of neighborhoods on recidivism. In community settings, programs are, in effect, competing with environmental forces. Program participants are nested in both program and neighborhoods, and programs are nested in neighborhoods. The study reported here is part of a larger NIJ-funded study to develop spatially-integrated models of juvenile recidivism incorporating neighborhood, program, and individual characteristics. Using a sample of 11,659 Philadelphia male delinquents nested in 35 programs, we explore the following questions: 1) Which individual traits are the strongest predictors of recidivism ignoring neighborhood and program effects? 2) Do recidivism rates vary across neighborhoods? 3) If so, controlling for individual traits, what neighborhood contexts predict recidivism? 4) Do recidivism rates vary across programs? 5) If so, controlling for individual traits, what program characteristics predict recidivism? 6) Do neighborhood contexts and/or program characteristics predict relationships between individual traits and recidivism? We use a cross-classified hierarchical generalized linear model to tease out neighborhood and program effects controlling for individual characteristics. ..PAT.-Unpublished Manuscript [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The Colorado State Legislature passed a law in 1996 requiring all juveniles to serve one year on parole in addition to the length of their commitment sentence. The purpose of this legislation was to extend the scope of juvenile parole to all youth leaving juvenile institutions. The implementation of this legislation provided the context for a natural experiment which is the basis for this study.This research was concerned with how recidivism outcomes varied among a sample of committed youth (n=278) in Colorado released to parole. A retrospective nonexperimental design was employed in which existing sources of quantitative data were used to provide composite profiles of the sample population in several risk and need areas. Drawing on official records, data were also compiled to provide measures of the parole interventions provided to the parolees and subsequent recidivism outcomes. Findings showed that mandatory parole brings more youth under the umbrella of social control for longer periods of time than is necessary to fulfill a reintegrative function. The intensity of parole surveillance and services was more strongly related to the race/ethnicity of parolees than their unique risk factors and treatment needs. The more time youth spent on parole, the greater the likelihood that these same youth were charged and convicted of new criminal offenses while on parole. Mandatory parole functioned in Colorado as a means to extend the period of formal state supervision without necessarily improving the prospects of successful reintegration for juvenile parolees. ..PAT.-Unpublished Manuscript [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

One of the more influential criminological theories advanced in recent years is Moffitt's developmental taxonomy. A line of research has tested the core propositions from her theory regarding the causes of life-course persistent offenders and the causes of adolescence-limited offenders. At the same time, very little empirical research has investigated the factors that are associated with why some adolescents abstain from delinquent involvement. In this study we use data from the National Longitudinal Study of Adolescent Health (Add Health) to examine environmental and genetic contributions to delinquent abstention. Analysis of the Add Health data reveals that exposure to antisocial peers and that levels of self-control are associated with abstention from delinquency. In addition, there is some evidence to suggest that two genetic polymorphisms (DRD2 and DRD4) have protective effects against delinquent involvement. ..PAT.-Unpublished Manuscript [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Moral Kombat is an ethics based restorative justice program run by the First Tennessee Human Resource Agency. Initially, the program focused on character education and ethical behavior training for older, troubled, at-risk youth. Moral Kombat has expanded to include training in parenting, emotion control, life skills, dealing with drug and alcohol abuse, and a program to combat theft, shoplifting, and bad check writing. It has also expanded to include adults as well as adolescents.Data were collected on approximately 450 youths who were in the Moral Kombat program from July 1, 2003 through June 30, 2004. The paper presents results (new charges), including a comparison by gender and comparisons with similar juvenile programs. Implications for juvenile justice and for future research are presented. ..PAT.-Unpublished Manuscript [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Many women experience concerns about weight and body image while in adolescence. Body dissatisfaction has been found to be related to depression among adolescent females; however, few studies have examined other outcomes related to body dissatisfaction. Agnew's General Strain Theory suggests that negative experiences (such as body dissatisfaction) sometimes result in deviant outcomes. Further, Agnew's General Strain Theory has caused an upsurge of research that has created the need to examine this theory with special attention to race/ethnicity and gender. This study used a national study of adolescents (Add Health) to investigate the relationship between body image satisfaction and delinquency. In addition, African American and White females were examined separately to determine whether racial differences exacerbate the ways body image satisfaction and delinquency might be related. Results indicate that violent delinquency among white females is related to body dissatisfaction. In contrast, body dissatisfaction is not related to delinquency among African American females. Results suggest a need for understanding criminological theory in the context of race and gender. Suggestions for future research are provided. ..PAT.-Unpublished Manuscript [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

It Starts at Home: Parental Supervision Among a Group of Active Juvenile OffendersAbstractThe apparently simple solution to juvenile delinquency is that prevention begins at home. Parents of delinquents are frequently blamed for their wayward children, and criticized for their child-rearing techniques. The purpose of this paper is to examine the parent/child relationship between a group of active juvenile offenders and their parents. During the course of a larger project, information was collected regarding juvenile perceptions of severity of punishment from their parents, how wrong it is to lie to your parents, and several questions to create an index of parental supervision. This paper seeks to answer the question of whether parents of delinquent children provide significantly less supervision than "regular" parents. The sample consists of 118 active juvenile offenders selected as a convenience sample of juveniles recently referred to a large urban jurisdiction. Bivariate correlations indicate that juveniles reporting lower levels of parent supervision are more likely to report delinquent activity. Factors predicting both self report delinquency and parent supervision will be presented, along with policy implications. ..PAT.-Unpublished Manuscript [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Historically, delinquent girls have been ignored by both researchers and practitioners. The gender-specific needs of delinquent youth have become an important concern and ongoing research reveals that delinquent girls differ from boys in their types of offending, life experiences, and treatment needs. Gender-specific programs have been developed to serve offending girls, but many of these programs have not been evaluated to determine their impact. Additionally, the extent to which these programs are tailored to meet specific needs of delinquent girls, or how these programs incorporate such needs into their curricula, is not always clear. These gaps in the literature provide opportunity for any researcher but are particularly suited for feminist research. This paper will report on findings of research conducted with adolescent females who are residing in a girls-only detention center and participating in a once-weekly, equine-assisted psychotherapy program. Through the adoption of a feminist research perspective, utilizing a feminist, ethnographic approach in which data was collected through participant observation, focus groups, and one-on-one interviews, the current research explores the reciprocal relationships between the program and the participating girls, their relationships with peers and staff members, and their experiences in their detention center. ..PAT.-Unpublished Manuscript [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Behavioral genetic research has revealed that biogenic factors play a role in the development of antisocial behaviors. Much of this research has also explicated the way in which the environment and genes may combine to create different phenotypes. We draw heavily from this literature and use data from the National Longitudinal Study of Adolescent Health to examine genetic and environmental effects on adolescent delinquent involvement. The results of the multivariate models reveal that genes have a direct effect on youthful misconduct. Most importantly, however, is that genetic factors interact with delinquent peers and with low self-control to predict variation in delinquency. Analysis of the Add Health data also provides evidence suggesting that there is a shared genetic pathway to delinquent involvement, to antisocial peer group formation, and to the development of low self-control. ..PAT.-Unpublished Manuscript [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Although delinquency is prevalent among juveniles, the mechanism of leading delinquency is inconclusive. However, much research suggests that there is a positive relationship between delinquency and the association with delinquent peers. Past studies show that youth often engage in delinquency with their peers. At the developmental stage of youth, peers are one of the most influential factors on individual's behavior. However, past research tends to measure the association with delinquent peers by asking the number of delinquent friends regardless structure. There is only handful research done with network approach in recent decades. However, they engaged in massive quantitative analysis which hinders researchers from seeing the function of cohesive peer groups regarding delinquency. I intend to reveal the mechanism of delinquency from structural aspect at much smaller scale .In my paper, I will attempt to explain the relationship between delinquency and delinquent peers with social network approach. ..PAT.-Unpublished Manuscript [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

In their classic study, The Polish Peasant in Europe and America (1920), Thomas and Znaniecki state that "social disorganization is not an exceptional phenomenon limited to certain periods or certain societies; some of it is found always and everywhere." The purpose of the present paper is to assess the applicability of social disorganization as it relates to a domain that has been predominately excluded from past analyses. Specifically, the present study makes use of data from the Montana Prevention Needs Assessment Survey (1998) to assess the degree to which aggregate measures of community structure and individually perceived measures of community process have an impact on the outcome of delinquent behavior. In doing so, it makes a unique contribution in its use of aggregate and individual-level data, and its application of a predominately urban theory to a rural context. The study finds that both community structure and process do have a statistically significant impact in the present data. ..PAT.-Unpublished Manuscript [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Literature on the phenomenon of urban delinquency has linked plausible explanations for its causation to characteristics found in criminological theories such as anti-social behavior, social disorganization, differential association, rational choice, and general strain. However, there is an emerging sociological perspective referred to as "oppositional culture," that also provides a plausible explanation for the existence and causation of urban delinquency. Through an analysis of crime, unemployment, and poverty data, this paper examines the development of the urban "oppositional culture," its delinquency label, and what impact it has on policing practices and policy in urban communities. ..PAT.-Unpublished Manuscript [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

A close reading of the academic research literature as well as discussions with program providers can leave the impression that programs which share the same label -i.e., individual counseling, family counseling, etc. - may in fact be operationalized in ways that lead one to question whether they are in fact the same "type" of program at all. Conversely, when one examines what is being "done" as a program delivers its services, programs with divergent labels sometimes begin to look quite similar after all. To further complicate the categorizing process, program that can be confidently labeled as providing the same basic type of service may differ in the range of supplemental services which are bundled with the main service. In this paper I discuss the program categorization process developed to code primary and supplemental service components within a database of almost 500 juvenile justice intervention studies as well as how this process impacted the ways in which program providers conceptualized their programs and program services in a program improvement project conducted across a state juvenile justice system. ..PAT.-Unpublished Manuscript [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Youths' exposure to school violence is ecologically patterned, occurring disproportionately in public schools located in urban disadvantaged communities. We know less, however, about how situational processes and environmental contexts shape school violence. In addition, limited research has examined the reciprocal nature of school and neighborhood conflicts. Here we draw from a qualitative study of violence in the lives of African American youths from a disadvantaged inner-city community to examine young men's experiences with school-based violence. Specifically, we investigate how conflicts are shaped by the school setting, and also unfold and spill over between neighborhoods and schools. Our findings highlight the importance of examining the situational and ecological contexts of youth violence to further illuminate its causes and consequences. ..PAT.-Unpublished Manuscript [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Youths are increasingly exposed to high rates of various types of violence in their surrounding communities as well as in their homes, on playgrounds, and at school. This exposure to violent acts can impact juveniles in many ways. However, how the exposure affects them remains unclear. Using Agnew's General Strain Theory (GST), this study examines a juvenile's exposure to violence and its potential effects. Through the use of a national survey of high school youth (n=733) and their weapon-related experiences, exposure to violence at school and in the community is investigated by examining the impact on their absences from school. The results from logistic regression suggest that exposure to violence (in respect to location, relationship, and intensity) acts as a negative stimulus for juveniles in terms of GST's dimensions of recency, duration, and clustering. ..PAT.-Unpublished Manuscript [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Wisconsin reformulated its juvenile justice system in 1996 by enacting a new and separate statutory chapter to deal with juvenile delinquent and status offenders in the state. This new "Juvenile Code" was heralded as the panacea for remedying the perceived inconsistent and ineffective nature of the existing Children's Code, which focuses primarily on the best interests of the state's children. This reaction followed a national paradigmatic shift in juvenile justice philosophy, which embraced a get tough attitude toward crime and delinquency. Through the legislative purpose and intent of its Juvenile Code, Wisconsin incorporated the due process and crime control models of justice, as well as the more modern concept of balanced and restorative justice. This paper challenges Wisconsin (and other states) to evaluate its decision to transform its Juvenile Code by (1) assessing the history of juvenile law in the state, (2) acknowledging the underlying philosophy of these laws and how they have been influenced by balanced and restorative justice, and (3) determining an evidence-based direction for effective and meaningful juvenile justice policies and practices in the future. ..PAT.-Unpublished Manuscript [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

While social learning theory has been one of the most empirically tested and robustly supported theories in criminology, less empirical attention has been given to how social learning variables and delinquency vary as a function of macro-structural conditions. Aker's proposes a mediating hypothesis in that structural, neighborhood-level variables (e.g., disadvantage) will have indirect effects on youths delinquency through social learning (e.g., differential association). In fact, while it is expected that delinquency will vary by neighborhoods as a partial function of structural characteristics, once social learning variables are taken into account the effects of neighborhood structure will be substantially reduced. The current study uses data from the longitudinal cohort study of the Project on Human Development in Chicago Neighborhoods to address Aker's mediating hypothesis. We discuss our findings in the context of social learning theory and address limitations. ..PAT.-Unpublished Manuscript [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

While school violence has been spotlighted in the media, it has received little empirical attention relative to other juvenile crime and victimization issues. Those studies that have examined school violence have focused primarily on individual-level causes, neglecting more complex contextual risk factors. Specific hypotheses for the present research were based on the qualitative work of the National Research Council and National Institute of Medicine (NRC/NIM; 2003). Their case studies of six school shootings provided observations regarding how environment, peer interactions, and individual characteristics interacted to produce a school shooter. The present analyses empirically test the NRC/NIM's conclusions regarding predictors of school violence. Using data from the National Longitudinal Study of Adolescent Health (Add Health), the present investigation examines how predictors at the individual, school, and community-levels influence in-school weapon-carrying. While the act of weapon-carrying is not inherently violent, the presence of weapons on school property has been shown to create an increased risk for victimization. Specific hypotheses will examine the unique effects of community environment, school environment, and individual-level characteristics (e.g., mental health, parental and school attachments, social status, etc.) on in-school weapon-carrying. Analyses will also determine if predictors of weapon-carrying vary by urbanicity of school location. ..PAT.-Unpublished Manuscript [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

While numerous studies have examined the correlation between maltreatment and delinquency, few have addressed the influence of child maltreatment on gang membership. Even fewer studies have focused on an incarcerated sample. Using data obtained from the Texas Youth Commission in face-to-face interviews with over 1,000 youth, this paper assesses the differences between gang and non-gang members in terms of demographic characteristics (age, gender, race/ethnicity). Specifically, the paper discusses the relationship between child maltreatment and gang membership. Policy implications for dealing with child maltreatment in terms of gang membership will be discussed, as well as suggestions for future research. ..PAT.-Unpublished Manuscript [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

While criminologists mostly explain the positive correlation between deviant peer associations and adolescent deviance based on control and/or social learning theory, Agnew suggests that General Strain Theory (GST) makes a unique contribution to the explanation of peer influence on delinquency and drug use among adolescents. Indeed, previous researchers have found empirical evidence of deviant peer associations as a conditioning factor that increases the effects of strain on adolescent deviance. We, however, propose that the significant conditioning effects be understood as deviant peer associations increasing the effects of strain on negative emotions and the effects of negative emotions on adolescent deviance rather than increasing the direct effects of strain on delinquency and drug use. Besides this elaboration of the previous finding, we intend to expand GST research on peer influence by hypothesizing that deviant peer associations tend to increase delinquency and drug use partly by generating negative emotions, which, in turn, lead not only to adolescent deviance but also to strain that further increases delinquency and drug use via negative emotions. To test these hypotheses, we analyze data from the National Longitudinal Study of Adolescent Health. ..PAT.-Unpublished Manuscript [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

While boys still account for the lion's share of juvenile arrests, the increase in girls' arrests for assault has triggered increased attention to the issue of girls' violence. Policy makers and practitioners express concern over the sharp increase in the number of arrests of girls for assault reported in official arrest statistics. Some attribute the recent trend of increases in female arrests for violent crimes to a criminalizing of violence between intimates. Others cite a change in social and family attitude toward girls' aggression. Still others maintain that the increase in girls' assault arrests is due to a combination of re-labeling family conflicts as violent offenses and changes in police practices when responding to domestic incidents. We use 2005 data from the FBI's National Incident Reporting System to examine gender affiliations between juvenile arrestees, specifically those who have been arrested for intimidation, simple assault, and aggravated assault, and their victims. These data will be analyzed to describe the age and sex of the arrestee(s), the age and sex of the victim(s), victim-offender relationships, location of the incidents, whether or not a weapon was involved, injury to the victim(s), and the characteristics of any other suspects arrested in the incident. ..PAT.-Unpublished Manuscript [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Whether working is a beneficial or harmful experience to school-age adolescents has attracted a noticeable amount of empirical studies. A general consensus is that working intensively, such as more than 15 to 20 hours per week, positively associates with juveniles' delinquent and drug use behaviors. However, little attention has been placed on the impact of work place context on youth outcomes. This study fills the gap by examining how pro-social work context affects juveniles' delinquent behaviors. Data from a national survey is used in this research, and theoretical contributions from the findings are discussed. ..PAT.-Unpublished Manuscript [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

When General Strain Theory (GST) was first conceptualized, Agnew suggested a composite measure of strain was sufficient in order to evaluate the effects of such experiences on deviant, and sometimes delinquent behaviors. However, due to inconsistent results in studies using composite strain measures, Agnew (2003) in collaboration with others (Broidy & Agnew, 1997) now suggests that the identification of unique types of strain for specific populations could lend greater consistency and explanatory power to this theory. The current study seeks to build upon existing strain research by focusing on college undergraduates, a population whose "types of strain" has yet to be examined. Applying the principles outlined in GST, we will describe the types of daily hassles, school, relationship, and work strain college students report and the extent to which negative feelings and deviant behaviors result. Data were collected by administering an 87-item survey to a random sample of 850 college undergraduates at a medium-sized university located in the Southeastern region of the United States. Statistical analysis was used to examine the data in order to identify correlations between strain and deviant coping mechanisms. ..PAT.-Unpublished Manuscript [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

We executed the Youth Level of Service/Case Management Inventory to male deliquents in Japanese juvenile classification home and made a reoffending risk level table after follow-up study. ..PAT.-Unpublished Manuscript [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Voices of students who are both perpetrators and victims of school violence. What they were thinking at the time of their crime/victimization? What were their motives to engage in the acts that resulted in the demise? ..PAT.-Unpublished Manuscript [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Violence and Serious Theft: Development and Prediction from Childhood to Adulthood ..PAT.-Unpublished Manuscript [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Validation studies of the YLS/CMI are beginning to demonstrate the tool's ability to predict re-offending of delinquent youth. However, the research evaluating the tool's psychometric properties and predictive validity for Native and non-Native youth has not been fully explored. The purpose of this current study was to examine the psychometric properties of the YLS/CMI as well to investigate the instrument's predictive validity with a sample of 1,893 youth from the Upper Midwest. Both bivariate and multivariate analyses were conducted in the validation study that included three indicators of recidivism: (1) recommitment to a juvenile institution, (2) commitment to an adult institution, and (3) revocation. The findings suggest that the YLS/CMI does demonstrate predictive validity for this youthful sample. ..PAT.-Unpublished Manuscript [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Utilizing an offense-based definition of white-collar crime, this study examines juvenile involvement in traditional white-collar offenses. Data was gathered from juvenile delinquency referrals made to the Florida Department of Juvenile Justice between January 2004 and January 2008 and consists of a sample of 190 juveniles charged with financial fraud and computer crimes and a randomly matched sample of 190 juveniles charged with more conventional crimes. The data is analyzed to determine whether or not there are any differences between theoretical expectations and the demographics of the juveniles in the two distinct crime categories. ..PAT.-Unpublished Manuscript [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Using data from wave IV of the National Youth Survey, the effect of drug-related peer delinquency on delinquency is modeled as a function of the bond to peers. Due to the complexities of such a test, this paper discusses limitations of both the standard linear model and Tobit regression when applied to delinquency data coupled with statistical interactions. Results from a censored least absolute deviations model and why this is a useful alternative to OLS and Tobit are discussed. The results suggest the effect of peers increases with the intensity of bonds to peers. However, encouragement is provided for further investigating peer influence, a process, as opposed to a simple peer effect. ..PAT.-Unpublished Manuscript [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Using data from a sample of 672 males and females interviewed in person in 2004-2005, part of an ongoing longitudinal study of American Indian youth, I examine the relationship between gender and juvenile delinquency. It was hypothesized that delinquent behavior differs between males and females, with boys more likely to engage in aggressive behavior and girls more likely to engage in deceit/theft and serious rule violating behaviors. It was also hypothesized that girls who have more positive parenting experiences would be less likely to be delinquent, and that deviant peers would have stronger effects on delinquent behavior for boys than for girls. Results indicate that boys are significantly more likely to engage in aggressive behaviors, such as fighting, as well as nonaggressive behaviors like property crime. Deviant peers was the strongest predictor of delinquent behavior for both males and females, with few significant gender interactions. There were no differences in the effects of positive parenting on overall delinquency for males and females, although females who experience more positive parenting are less likely to be deceitful or steal. ..PAT.-Unpublished Manuscript [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Using Canadian data from the National Longitudinal Survey of Children and Youth (NLSCY) this study seeks to examine: (a) the impact family, peer exposure, and school experience have on the development of Identity Styles of adolescents; (b) whether Identity styles are associated with adolescent delinquent and deviant behaviors; (c) whether Identity Styles mediate the relationships between family characteristics adolescent delinquent and deviant behaviors. While identity-processing styles have mostly been analyzed from an identity studies perspective, this paper conceptualizes identity styles within criminological theories of self-control (Gottfredson and Hirschi 1990). Specifically Identity Styles are viewed as the psychosocial processes responsible for individual variation in the level of self-regulation/control displayed. Therefore, we hypothesize that some parenting strategies and family situations will promote the development of Identity Styles that emphasize higher self-regulation and self-discipline, which in turn will be associated with less delinquent and deviant behaviors. ..PAT.-Unpublished Manuscript [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Urban parks have been both praised and vilified. One view characterizes them as peaceful respites from urban density for apartment dwellers with no outdoor space they can call their own. Others see them as disputed spaces, with little guardianship; owned by everyone and taken care of by no one. Viewed in this way urban parks are contested places easily taken over for undesirable activities (i.e., living spaces for the homeless, markets for drug dealers, and delinquent behavior magnets for juveniles). Worse yet, these activities tend to spill out into the surrounding neighborhood; setting an expectation about acceptable behavior in the area. Few studies have explicitly examined the role of parks in shaping crime rates in their surrounding area. The current research combines information about the type of park (e.g. active vs. passive etc.), characteristics of nearby streets, and official crime data to examine the proximity effect of parks on their immediate surroundings. ..PAT.-Unpublished Manuscript [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Two distinct lines of research on the understanding of how the group nature of delinquency impacts behavioral outcomes have cropped up in recent years. The first, drawn from the prevention literature, looks at how intervention and prevention programs, with their tendency to group deviant youth together, may actually promote further deviance. The second, drawn from the criminological theory literature, uses the methodological technique of social network analysis to help further our understanding of the role that group characteristics play in creating, and maintaining, delinquent peer groups in regular interaction. The goal of the current research is to combine these two related spheres of research to use the advanced methodology of social network analysis to help understand how the one's peer group influences individual behavior in settings that are designed to reduce negative outcomes, such as delinquency and substance use. Using a sample from a randomized study of an after-school program, this research examines the impact of ASP involvement on students' friendship choices over the course of one school year. Policy and theoretical implications are discussed. ..PAT.-Unpublished Manuscript [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Truant youths represent an important target group for addressing drug use and related problems, and lowering risk for moving into the juvenile justice system. We are implementing and evaluating a brief intervention (BI) for truant youths brought to a Tampa, FL Truancy Center by law enforcement. We plan to enroll 300 officially non-delinquent and minor delinquent truants and their parents in this NIDA funded, Stage 2 clinical trial. The BI is grounded in Rational-Emotive Therapy and Behavior Problem Solving Therapy. Three groups will be compared: (1) a 2-session youth only condition (BI-Y), (2) a 2-session youth and 1-session parent condition (BI-YP), and (3) a standard truancy care (STS) condition enhanced by referral services. The impact of these service conditions on drug use and related behaviors (e.g., delinquent behavior) will be assessed up to 18 months, involving five data collection points. We hypothesize that both the BI-Y and BI-YP conditions will reveal significant intervention effects compared to the STS group, and that BI-YP participants will reveal greater treatment effects compared to BI-Y, based on the expectation that enhanced parenting will favorably impact intervention effects. We report on the design, implementation and some preliminary descriptive information on truant youths currently in this study. ..PAT.-Unpublished Manuscript [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Trajectory models have identified a group of offenders who show a pattern of little offending in their teenage years and then show a precipitous increase in crime in later adolescence. Interactional theory suggests that late bloomers are individuals with significant deficits in human capital (e.g., educational achievement) who would have been likely candidates for offending in their earlier years had it not been for strong family and school constraints on their behavior. After they leave the protective cocoon of family and school, however, those deficits create the conditions under which offending increases. We examine the viability of this explanation with data from the Rochester Youth Development Study, a longitudinal study that follows subjects from age 14 to age 31. Specifically, we examine whether the late blooming group can be differentiated - in terms of their deficits in human capital and the weakening of constraints as they approach young adulthood - from those who also have low offending levels in their early teenage years but do not show a precipitous increase in later adolescence. ..PAT.-Unpublished Manuscript [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

This three semester project was an outgrowth of a service learning grant awarded by the Louisiana Board of Regents in which faculty recipients spent one semester in the Fall of 2006 involved in service learning training as well as the planning and development of a service learning component to be introduced into a traditional classroom course. In the Spring of 2007, one section of a two section Juvenile Delinquency course incorporated a service learning component requirement for students to complete. Students were required to volunteer 20 hours minimum of volunteer service to one of more than 40 public and non-profit community organizations providing services to at-risk youth. Students choosing not to participate in service learning were permitted to transfer into the non-service learning course. Because of the success of this initial course, service learning was incorporated the following Fall 2007 semester into a Criminology course. This paper focuses on the outcomes of those two courses in which generally students reported ambivalence initially about performing mandatory voluntary service over the course of the semester, but at the completion of their service learning projects they expressed personal satisfaction in having received some "real world experience" from their coursework. ..PAT.-Unpublished Manuscript [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

This study is based on structured in-depth life-history interviews with 34 gang members (age: 13-19, Males =21, Females = 13) and 20 'ordinary kids' randomly matched to the gang members. Additional data come from observations, archival data, and expert interviews. A typology developed by Jacobs & Wright is used for analysing patterns of revenge. The ordinary kids report ethical norms embedded in the conventional society. These kids do not display any patterns of violence or thoughts of revenge, although they proclaim thoughts of revenge for rape, however without any actual plan for it. Revenge as motivation for maintaining self esteem/respect is not a matter of question. The gang members report a set of categorical and emotionally loaded ethical norms, described as commandments, based on an "eye to eye-logic", "learning a lesson", and a keep up of self-esteem/respect based on coercion and fright. The commandments are used to regulate social life in the gang, style and image, loyalty and fusion and sanctions, and to maintain the gang as deviant and criminal. The typology of retaliation acts are mainly in accordance with the pattern developed by Jacobs & Wright. ..PAT.-Unpublished Manuscript [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

This study expands upon earlier work by Kurlychek and Johnson that found juveniles sentenced in adult court to receive harsher sentences than similarly situated young adult offenders.  Using sentencing data from Maryland this study compares a sample of 4,500 juvenile offenders (ages 15 to 17) sentenced in adult court, to a matched sample of adult offenders (ages 18 to 20).  This study provides several extensions to the previous work by using propensity scoring to select a more directly comparable sample of youth based on factors known to influence sentencing.  Also, this study uses Tobit analysis to explore the role of guideline departures in explaining differential sentencing outcomes between juvenile and adult offenders sentenced in adult court.  Preliminary findings suggest that juveniles sentenced in Maryland adult courts do indeed receive more serious sentences than similar adults and that this difference can be partially explained by judge's offering downward departures from the sentencing guidelines more often for adult, than for juvenile, offenders. ..PAT.-Unpublished Manuscript [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

This study examines the underlying assumptions associated with the intergenerational transmission of crime and delinquency. Using survey data from Part IV of Delinquency in a Birth Cohort II: Philadelphia (1958-1988), the present study compares the commission and frequency of crime among those with a criminal parent(s) against those who lack such parents. The sample comprises 782 young adults who have had different levels of contact with the juvenile justice system in the past. Follow up interviews were conducted with individuals who were identified as delinquent in Wolfgang's 1945-1963 longitudinal Birth Cohort study. Approximately 105 (13.7%) of surveyed delinquents admit to having a parent with a history of arrests. Unlike other studies that focus generally on family instability and crime, this study focuses specifically on the relationship between parental criminality and delinquency. Furthermore, this study reexamines the assumptions that race and socioeconomic status mitigate the relationship between these two variables. ..PAT.-Unpublished Manuscript [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

This study examines the relationship between minority female adolescent delinquency and association with negative peer groups. Data were gathered from a sample of 208 "at risk" female adolescents, and multiple variables measuring relationships among family and friends were correlated to determine their association with adolescent behavior. Multiple linear regression tests were generated to discover which variables among adolescents were the best predictors of delinquency. Results indicated that a variety of predictors were strongly correlated and as a result, these variables were shown to play a significant role in the behavior of minority female adolescents. ..PAT.-Unpublished Manuscript [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

This study examines the degree to which stable characteristics and socio-developmental influences can be integrated to provide a better understanding of variation in juvenile delinquency throughout adolescence. Over four time points, we examine the ways in which stable psychological functioning may have an effect on several time-variant social factors. Based on a sample of 278 juvenile offenders, results suggest the importance of both time-stable and time-variant influences on juvenile delinquency throughout adolescence. Theoretical and methodological implications are discussed. ..PAT.-Unpublished Manuscript [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

This study examines gender differences in responses to strain using Agnew's General Strain Theory (GST) as framework. The study uses a national panel survey of Korean youth. This Korean Youth Panel Survey (Lee et al, 2003; 2004; 2005) was conducted by the National Youth Policy Institute of Korea and interviewed middle school students in 2003, then in 2004 and 2005. We first examine gender differences in experiences of strain and how this affects delinquency measures. Second, a key assumption of the GST is that, various factors condition the effects of strain on delinquency. We then examine whether relationships between strain and delinquency are conditioned by exposure to delinquent peers, attachment to family, teachers, or peers, and self control; and whether these relationships vary by gender The use of a Korean sample expands testing of western-based theories to non-western samples, allowing examination of the relevance of this framework in non-western settings. Implications for policy are also discussed. ..PAT.-Unpublished Manuscript [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

This study details the attitudes of youth about the national police in a developing Caribbean nation. Youth attending school during 2006 were surveyed concerning their attitudes about the police, self-reported delinquency, and other attitudes and behaviors. This study explores the correlates of these attitudes and compares and contrasts these findings to studies conducted with youth in the United States. ..PAT.-Unpublished Manuscript [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

This research study will focus on gender specific programming offered to juveniles in a detention center. Many programs offered to juveniles in detention centers were created for males and then when females became an increasing part of the population these male programs were altered to work for the female population. This study will examine female only programming offered in detention facilities and the effectiveness of these programs offered. In the juvenile justice system there are an increasing number of females being placed in detention centers and these females are being placed for a number of reasons. Historically, males made up most of the population in detention centers and programs used in that facility were aimed at helping males. When females entered the detention centers the programs already in place at the facility were altered to address female issues. This study will examine the gender specific programs available at detention centers and study the effectiveness of these programs according to each programs individual philosophy. ..PAT.-Unpublished Manuscript [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

This research focuses on the hypothesis that authoritarian parenting (AP) is a race socializing protective factor that differentially neutralizes risks for delinquency and violence in high-risk African American adolescents. Five risk factors are incorporated in the study to assess the hypothesized effect of AP on African American and white adolescents. Reliability analyses will be used to assess consistency of the measures and to develop an authoritarian parenting scale. Since AP is hypothesized to include parenting behaviors (responsiveness and monitoring) conceptualized as authoritative parenting (ATP), regression analyses will be performed to assess the differential effects of ATP on the adolescents. Subsequently, the unique parenting behaviors of authoritarian parents (restrictive parental control) will be added to the ATP regression model to determine if there is additional explanatory power. The panel design of the Rochester Youth Development Study allows for a short term analysis. The effects of AP on high risk adolescents will be determined by regressing wave 6 delinquency on Wave 5 AP. The hypothesis will have attained support if coefficients for African American adolescents are greater than coefficients for white adolescents. ..PAT.-Unpublished Manuscript [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

This research examined Anderson's (1999) "code of the street" theory of juvenile delinquency and the importance of respect in the inner-city. This theory divides inner-city youth and residents into two groups: "decent" and "street." Code of the street theory holds that a reputation for violence is a key to earning respect among other inner-city youth. This respect is a key to survival for inner-city youth, so decent youth will often "code-switch" by responding violently to disrespect. Anderson's theory predicts that these youth, both decent and street, will support the use of violence as a way to gain and keep respect. The theory was analyzed using qualitative interviews from the New York City Youth Violence Study (NYCYVS, Fagan and Wilkinson, 1995; Wilkinson, 2003). Results give mixed support for the "code of the street" theory of respect. Both decent and street youth tended to believe that violence is a valid response to physical disrespect, but is not a valid response to non-physical disrespect. Youth of both orientations also tended to be aware of non-violent means of gaining respect and to differentiate between "respect" and "reputation." ..PAT.-Unpublished Manuscript [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]