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Call number: LD2668 .T4 1943 S6 / Master of Science

This communication study investigated characteristics of evidence that influenced memory and beliefs about juvenile delinquency across multiple time periods. Four hypotheses were proposed: (H1) vivid evidence is more memorable than nonvivid evidence, (H2) story evidence is more memorable than statistical evidence, (H3) vivid evidence is more persuasive than nonvivid evidence after 48 hours, but not after one week, and (H4) story evidence is more persuasive than statistical evidence after 1 week, but not after 48 hours. A 2 x 2 x 3 factorial design with an offset control was employed, using evidence (story or statistical), vividness (vivid or nonvivid), and time (immediate, or 48 hour delay, or 1 week delay) as independent variables, and recognition memory and judgment of belief as dependent variables. Four written messages, reflecting a complete crossing of evidence and vividness, were used as different types of evidence to attempt to persuade beliefs. A total of 280 undergraduate college students participated in the experiment. Hypotheses 1 and 2 were supported by main effects for vividness and evidence, and by a significant ordinal two-way interaction between vividness and evidence such that vivid story was the most memorable form of evidence. The two-way interactions used to test Hypotheses 3 and 4 were nonsignificant. A main effect for evidence related to Hypothesis 4 indicated that statistical evidence was more persuasive than story evidence at the delayed time periods. Thus, Hypotheses 3 and 4 were not supported. Alternative explanations were discussed to account for the persuasiveness of statistical evidence and the lack of persuasiveness of story evidence at the delayed time periods. Limitations of the study were noted, such as the small amount of experimental variance accounted for in some of the findings, and the limited generalizability of the findings. Finally, several suggestions for future research, including reconceptualizing evidence as a multidimensional construct, were presented.

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The overrepresentation of youth of color in the juvenile justice system, often referred to as disproportionate minority contact (DMC) can be found at many stages of the juvenile justice continuum. Further, research has shown that overrepresentation is not necessarily related to higher rates of criminal activity and suggests that case processing disparities can contribute to DMC. Risk assessment instruments (RAI) are objective techniques used to make decisions about youth in the juvenile justice system. This study examined the effects of implementing an RAI designed to make detention decisions, in a predominantly rural parish in Louisiana. Police officers from three law enforcement agencies investigated 202 cases during the evaluation period. The measures included an objective detention risk screening instrument, a contact form which contained juvenile demographic information, a two-item questionnaire assessing law enforcement's impression of the youth's need for detention placement and risk to public safety, and an arrest coding sheet which assessed subsequent police contacts and arrests among youth over 3 and 6 months of street time (i.e., time outside of secure confinement). Results revealed that overall law enforcement was unwilling to consistently complete the tool and continued to use subjective decision making, with completion rates ranging from 61% to 97% across the participating agencies. Also, subjective decision making by law enforcement actually helped minority youth as law enforcement consistently disregarded formal overrides included in the RAI, resulting in fewer minority youth being detained than were indicated by the RAI. Further, implementation of the tool, as constructed, resulted in small but insignificant reductions in the rates of overall confinement and rates of minority confinement when compared to the rates of confinement during the same time period of the previous year. Additionally, the RAI did not significantly predict future police contact due to items that did not predict recidivism in this sample. Use of a three-item version resulted in a significant increase in the tool's predictive ability. This study demonstrates the importance of additional validity testing following the implementation of detention risk assessment instruments to ensure that these tools reduce unnecessary confinement while protecting public safety.

Objective To ascertain the neurodevelopmental characteristics of Xhosa speaking children from Buffalo City, South Africa, who are on trial. Hypothesis Delinquent children have a greater prevalence of neurodevelopmental challenges than non offenders. Design A prospective cross sectional study which uses a series of structured questionnaires in concert with clinical and neurocognitive assessments. Twenty, on trial, males and females, aged between 13 and 17 years old, their parents or guardians and educators were interviewed. The results were compared to general population norms defined by North American populations using Conners’ 2TM Rating Scales, STRANDS self reports and PEERAMID neurodevelopmental examination. The Xhosa Senior South African Individual Scale Revised was used for psychometric testing. Outcome measures Presence of one or more neurodevelopmental disorders including symptoms of attention deficit hyperactivity disorder (ADHD), intellectual disorder and / or neurodevelopmental deficit. Results Ten percent of participants had a diagnosis of ADHD, both were males. Symptoms of ADHD were identified in 64% of males and 33% of females. Neurodevelopmental challenges were present in 94% (17/18). An incidental finding was high levels of anxiety. Conclusions The prevalence of an ADHD diagnosis was not higher than the general population, however, the presence of symptoms was high and supported findings in the literature. Neurodevelopmental challenges were present in the majority. Further research is indicated to ascertain the role of anxiety in this population. The development and validation of culturally appropriate assessment tools is a further identified need.

Thesis advisor: Ruth G. McRoy / Thesis advisor: Thomas M. Crea / Youth involved with both the child welfare and juvenile justice systems are referred to as dually involved youth. Children involved in the child welfare system are highly vulnerable for maladaptive outcomes, and in particular, engagement in delinquent behaviors. Those youth who criminally offend are likely to shift back and forth between the two systems, potentially increasing their vulnerability for poor outcomes. The theoretical bases for this study are derived from ecological systems and attachment theories, specifically the influence of trauma on attachment. The Massachusetts Department of Children and Families (DCF) and the Department of Youth Services (DYS) provided the data for this secondary analysis of the characteristics of dually involved youth and the factors related to offense severity for youth committed to DYS. The study explored: 1) the relationship of gender, race, and age of delinquency commitment to offense severity; 2) the influence of child welfare involvement (measured by total unique count of social workers, home removal, and out-of-home placement) to offense severity; 3) the influence of prior maltreatment to offense severity; and 4) the association of gender and race to the likelihood of dual involvement. Results indicated that while maltreatment was found to be significantly associated with more severe offenses, greater child welfare involvement was associated with less severe offenses. Additionally, the results indicated that female juvenile delinquents were significantly more likely to be dually involved. The issues of racial disproportionality within the juvenile justice and child welfare systems were examined. While results did not indicate statistical significance in determining the likelihood of dual involvement based on race, disproportionality in the juvenile justice system exists. Implications for policy changes included the following: 1) the need for gender specific programming, 2) an increased commitment to reducing disproportionality in the child welfare and juvenile justice systems, 3) increased focus on multisystem services to meet the needs of youth. Strategies for using kinship placements as an avenue to maintain familial connections are discussed. Additional research is needed to explore the influence of the interaction between gender and race, mental health and environment factors (e.g., poverty, neighborhood characteristics) on likelihood of dual involvement. / Thesis (PhD) — Boston College, 2014. / Submitted to: Boston College. Graduate School of Social Work. / Discipline: Social Work.

The purpose of this study was to explore, classify, and evaluate the personal experiences of juvenile offenders following release from a state training school. During a two month period beginning in the fall of 1967, a group of twenty-three releasees from the MacLaren School for Boys in Woodburn, Oregon were interviewed on a weekly basis in the Portland metropolitan area. The boys, ranging in age from thirteen to seventeen were contacted in their homes, schools, and other settings to learn of positive, negative, and critical experiences encountered in the community. Open ended questions based upon a twenty- seven item schedule were administered to the boys, focusing upon personal experiences in six major areas: school, family, peer group, community, work and authority. Responses were recorded verbatim and classified according to the boys’ judgments of positive and negative connotations. Critical experiences were also recorded to determine specific incidents which brought the boys into contact with legal authorities or otherwise seriously affected their parole status. Positive, negative, and critical experiences from this study were analyzed both descriptively and statistically. Null hypotheses were tested to determine the quality, quantity, and intensity of experiences with respect to such major variables as age of the boys, race, length of stay in the community, records of school attendance, and personality inventory characteristics. Experiences were similarly related with respect to other variables found to be present as a result of the interviewing experience. Findings yielded evidence to indicate a predominance of negative experiences in the boys’ contacts with the community following release. The highest proportion of these occurred within the boys’ families, followed by contacts with authority and school, respectively. Peer group relationships for the boys indicated the highest proportion of positive experiences when compared with other major categories.

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