Thesis (M. P. A.)--Texas State University-San Marcos, 2005. / "Spring 2005." Includes bibliographical references (leaves 70-73).

An analysis of the effects of resocialization programming on juvenile offender resiliency levels was conducted with 220 juveniles committed to a maximum security facility. Data were examined on the subjects' age, race/ethnicity, length of time at the facility, level of resocialization, and resiliency score. The resocialization programming contains cognitive and social components that would be instrumental in augmenting juvenile offender resiliency levels. Analysis of the variables did not show a significant increase in juvenile offender resiliency levels. The results did display that students who were at the facility longer and who were in the older age groups had higher levels of resocialization.

This study employed a multivariate, multidimensional approach to understanding psychosocial and personality variables associated with institutional maladjustment and recidivism among youthful offenders. Participants included nine hundred serious and chronic male youthful offenders incarcerated in the Texas Youth Commission (TYC); sample sizes varied by analysis. Empirically-validated psychosocial factors (e.g., intelligence, home approval status), past criminal history variables, and two self-report personality measures of empathy and hostility were entered into hierarchical regression and structural equation modeling (SEM) analyses to predict institutional behavior and recidivism at one- and three-year intervals after release from the TYC. Confirmatory factor analysis of the personality measures revealed one underlying factor indicative of their theoretical constructs of empathy and hostility. Some differences were noted between youth in the specialized treatment programs; however, effect sizes were small to moderate. Overall, regression and SEM results indicated the variables accounted for a meaningful proportion of the variance in the outcomes. Specifically, although length of stay in the TYC was associated with institutional behavior, younger age of onset, higher hostility, and greater home disapproval also contributed significantly. Past criminal behavior was predictive of future reoffending, but lower empathy, greater home disapproval, and younger age of onset accounted for a substantial portion of the variance in recidivism. Institutional maladjustment served as a mediator between the psychosocial and personality variables and the recidivism outcomes. Treatment implications are provided, including a discussion of the tenuous association between length of sentence and recidivism and an emphasis on the importance of evaluating dynamic personality and psychosocial variables beyond static measures of past behavior.

The problems that gang members create within adult correctional facilities continue to receive attention in the literature. Gang members within juvenile institutions have received far less attention from researchers, and misconduct of these juveniles, both serious and non-serious, is relatively unexplored. This study explored the institutional misconduct of 4,309 male delinquents released from the Texas Youth Commission. Youths younger at commitment, those with a higher TYC risk score, and those youths with emotional problems were found more likely to commit both serious and non-serious institutional misconduct, regardless of gang membership. This thesis concludes with suggestions for additional research on gang members within juvenile institutions and the relationship of gang membership to institutional misconduct.