No description available.

During the 1990's the number of young people being permanently excluded from school increased from 2910 (1990-91) to a peak of 12700 (1996-1997). This increase coincided with the resurgence of the debate centring on lawless and delinquent youth. With the publication of Young People and Crime (Graham and Bowling, 1995) and Misspent Youth (Audit Commission, 1996) the role of school exclusion in delinquency causation appears to have become widely accepted within youth justice thinking. Indeed, and despite the limited research evidence available, the common sense assumption that school exclusion inexorably promotes crime received wide support, something which has resulted in the excluded pupil being portrayed as a latter day folk devil. This research seeks to question this taken-for-granted assumption. By drawing upon what can be broadly described as a refutationist approach, the research questions the causal priority of school exclusion in youth crime. Research interviews were conducted with 56 young people who had experience of being excluded from school. Self-report questions revealed that 40 young people had offended of whom 28 had been cautioned or prosecuted for an offence. Despite the high levels of offending present within the sample the research findings suggest that exclusion is not itself a causal factor with 90% (36) of those young people who had offended reporting onset that commenced prior to their first exclusion. Moreover, 50 (89%) of the total number of young people stated that they were no more likely to commit crime since being excluded. Indeed - and rather significantly, for 31 (55.4%) respondents it appeared that due to the imposition of parental sanction, offending was likely to reduce during their exclusion as they were" grounded" for the whole exclusion period. Moreover, interviews with the young people also revealed that in addition to school exclusion a number of other identified "risk" factors were present in the lives of most of the young people within the sample (see for example Farrington, 1996; Youth Justice Board, 2001). The research concludes that whilst the relationship between school exclusion and crime is highly complex it is certainly neither a sufficient nor a necessary condition for a young person to commit crime.

This study was an investigation of the relationship between feelings of insecurity of institutionalized delinquent boys and the following personality variables: Ascendancy, Responsibility, Emotional Stability, Sociability, Cautiousness, Original Thinking, Personal Relations, and Vigor.

Juvenile delinquency is a social issue which has been shown to have a significant cost to society in a variety of ways which include community safety, the cost of arrest, charges, and court processes, as well as the damage done in families and to the youth through the label of juvenile delinquent or Person in Need of Supervision (PINs). One important area in treatment and discharge planning for youth designated as either juvenile delinquent or Persons in Need of Supervision is the inclusion of supports to help youth change the trajectory from these behaviors into more socially acceptable activities and actions. The research problem addressed in this study is that the supports utilized at this time are insufficient and ineffective, as evidenced by rates of recidivism. The purpose of this study was to explore whether the use of non-custodial grandparents in treatment and discharge planning as a support system is of value to the youth and their parents. Using a grounded theory methodology, professional staff from Multidimensional Treatment Foster Care (MTFC) programs, now known as Treatment Foster Care Oregon (TFCO), which work with these youths and their families and was developed based on social learning theory, participated in interviews to obtain data regarding the use of non-custodial grandparents and whether they were found to be of value. The results of the study support the use of grandparents under specific conditions, such as when they have positive relationships with parents and when they are positive role models themselves. NVivo 11 software was used to assist in the process of analyzing the data collected from these professionals. The implications for social change remain that the process of assisting youth to make these changes could create safer communities with lower crime rates, and decreases in the costs associated with the legal process, and these savings can then be passed on to communities and to the taxpayer.

The purpose of the present study was to compare the criminal histories of juveniles who are incarcerated versus detained within the juvenile justice system. Specifically, this study compared youths with and without a special education diagnosis that were either detained or incarcerated on various delinquency variables. The variables that were examined were: ethnicity, age at first offense, number of referrals in criminal record, and level of most serious offense. It was hypothesized that there would be no significant associations between the incarcerated and detained youths on each of these variables when examining the observed frequencies. Additionally, it was hypothesized that there would be no significant associations between the special education and non-special education youths. In terms of ethnicity, there was a significant association between the special education and non-special education youths for the entire sample as well as the detained sample. There was a significant association found between the non-special education incarcerated and non-special education detained youths on the observed frequencies of age of first offense and between special education and non-special education youths in the incarcerated sample. When evaluating the total number of referrals, a significant association was found between the incarcerated and detained youths, incarcerated and detained non-special education youths, incarcerated and detained special education youths, and incarcerated and detained emotionally disturbed youths. There was also a significant association found between special education and non-special education youths in the detained sample as well as the incarcerated sample on the number of referrals. The analyses of the level of most serious offense revealed significant associations between the incarcerated and detained non-special education youths, incarcerated and detained special education youths, and incarcerated and detained emotionally disturbed youths. There were no significant associations found between the learning disabled incarcerated and learning disabled detained youths on any variables. The results highlight the many areas in which incarcerated youths and detained youths, as well as special education and non-special education youths, differ within the juvenile justice system. The implications of these findings, future areas for research, and the study's limitations are discussed.

Recent research has postulated a correlation between childhood trauma and delinquency, but few empirical studies have examined the causal relationship between these constructs over time and, specifically, with juvenile delinquent girls. The purpose of this study, therefore, was to use an existing longitudinal data set to explore the relationship between childhood trauma experiences and the development of antisocial behavior over time. The sample included juvenile delinquent girls (N = 166) who were part of two nationally funded research projects conducted by researchers at the Oregon Social Learning Center (OSLC) entitled OSLC Relationship Study I comparing Mutlidimensional Treatment Foster Care (MTFC) and group care. A cross-lagged model was used to examine the association between trauma and delinquency across three time points. Multiple group analyses were conducted based on the moderating effects of age, cumulative historical trauma experiences, sexual abuse and out-of-home placements. Overall, study results showed that trauma and delinquency rates were not associated over time for the full sample. The moderating effect of age was partially supported with younger and older girls exhibiting different pathways. Implications for future research and practice are discussed.

abstract: Juvenile delinquency is a complex issue that effects youth, families, and society. Studies have found that parenting styles are a significant contributor to numerous behaviors that influence juvenile delinquency, specifically substance use and poor academic achievement. This literature has been used by to the juvenile justice system to develop family based interventions for delinquent youth in efforts to reduce recidivism. However, previous studies have primarily sampled from the general population, which has limited their usefulness in creating selective interventions for the delinquent population. This thesis offers Baumrind (1966) and Maccoby & Martin's (1983) theory of parenting style typologies as a framework for understanding the effects of parenting style on substance use and academic achievement among delinquent youth. Using juvenile court case files from Maricopa County collected from 2005-2010, (N = 181), logistic regression was performed to test the hypotheses that (1) delinquent youth with Authoritarian, Uninvolved, and Permissive parenting will be more likely to use substances than youth with Authoritative parenting and that (2) delinquent youth with Authoritarian, Uninvolved, and Permissive parenting will be more likely to have poor academic achievement than youth with Authoritative parenting. Using Authoritative parenting as the reference group, it was found that delinquent youth with Permissive and Uninvolved parenting had a higher likelihood of substance use than delinquent youth with Authoritative parenting, and that delinquent youth with Permissive parenting had a higher likelihood of poor academic achievement than youth with Authoritative parenting. These findings have important theoretical implications as well as practical implications for intervention strategies for delinquent youth, which are additionally discussed. / Dissertation/Thesis / Masters Thesis Criminology and Criminal Justice 2014

This study compared the effects of competitive basketball experiences, no basketball experiences, and choral experiences of girls in the Gainesville State Training School upon selected personality factors, behavior, and social status.

The purpose of this investigation was (1) to perform hearing screening tests on 100 youths who are classified as delinquent; (2) to evaluate more completely the hearing of those who fail the hearing screening tests in order to determine the nature and severity of the losses; and (3) to determine whether or not any significant number of the youths tested demonstrate nonorganic components in their reported audiometric thresholds.

In recent years the NCAA has had problems with the delinquent behavior of collegiate athletes on and off the field. The ability to know what causes athletes to act out will help athletic programs and reputations. Psychological behaviors have been related to sports performance and behavior in prior studies In this study, we hypothesized that higher Emotional Intelligence in collegiate athletes, the ability to perceive, understand and manage one's emotions, will be related to lower acts of delinquent behavior on and off the field, as well as better performance during games. Study participants were Virginia Tech Soccer, Basketball, and Football male student athletes. We assessed emotional intelligence using the MSCEIT v.2.0 and also measured self report delinquent behavior and game statistics. None of our hypotheses were supported. A major reason for the lack of evidence to support our hypotheses may have been low statistical power and possible sampling biases. / Master of Science