Adolescent Offenders Research Articles

An examination of change in dynamic risk of offending over time among serious juvenile offenders

PurposeWe examine whether and how much risk/need indicators change over time in a sample of serious adolescent offenders and whether changes in risk are related to self-reported and official record reports of offending in the year following assessment. MethodsGrowth curve and multilevel mixed-effects models are used to examine change through age 18 in a sample of 1354 serious adolescent offenders participating in the Pathways to Desistance Study. ResultsThree primary findings emerge: 1) Compared to the baseline assessment, overall risk/need scores decrease over time. 2) Risk/need does not change in a uniform sequence across domains and time; the form and rate of change differ by domain. 3) Risk/need indicators were related to later offending, with more recent indicators being more powerful for predicting rearrest. ConclusionsThe findings provide empirical support for recent efforts to incorporate routine risk/need assessment into juvenile justice practice. Repeated assessments are likely to identify fluctuations in areas of risk/need that can be used to inform case management and intervention efforts, even for serious offenders.

State Misdemeanant, Federal Felon: Adolescent Sexual Offenders and the INA

At the age of eighteen, Alberto Velasco-Giron had sex with his fifteen-year old girlfriend. As a result, he was deported.To understand how this could happen, we have to back up a bit. In 1988, Congress amended the Immigration and Nationality Act (“INA”) to state that any alien who commits an “aggravated felony” is subject to deportation. Since that time, Congress has continuously supplemented the definition of aggravated felony to include more and more crimes, the result being that noncitizens were subject to deportation for an ever-growing list of offenses. In 1996, the definition was revised yet again to include “sexual abuse of a minor.” And, on first blush, most would agree that an alien who sexually abuses a child should be removable from the United States.The problem, however, is that the term Congress chose to use was “sexual abuse of a minor,” not “sexual offense involving a minor.” As a result, some state convictions might involve both sex and minors, but may not necessarily be abusive. Statutory rape provides a prime example of this class of convictions. Today, statutory rape law is quite different than it was when first introduced. No longer is the crime gender-specific and no longer does the crime equally penalize all sexual activities with children under the age of consent. Instead, most states have enacted Romeo and Juliet exceptions, exempting consensual sexual contact between adolescents close in age from the harsher penalties that flow from other forms of child rape. In most instances, activities falling under such an exception qualify as either a misdemeanor or no crime whatsoever — the justification being that these crimes typically are not abusive in nature. Indeed, going back to Velasco-Giron’s case, although he was convicted of statutory rape, his crime was labeled a misdemeanor and his only punishment was unsupervised probation.Unfortunately, it would take the Board of Immigration Appeals (“BIA”) almost twenty years to recognize that statutory rape is not inherently “abusive.” As a result, during that time, immigration law largely required that individuals like Velasco-Giron be deported, equating their statutory rape convictions with “sexual abuse of a minor” and, thus, an aggravated felony under the INA. In 2015, however, the BIA reconsidered its earlier position and held that some “meaningful age differential” is required before a statutory rape conviction will categorically qualify as an aggravated felony.In the attached article, State Misdemeanant, Federal Felon: Adolescent Sexual Offenders and the INA, I argue that the BIA’s most recent interpretation, although a move in a right direction, is — just like its earlier interpretation — unreasonable and, thus, not subject to deference by the federal courts. Instead, the only reasonable interpretation of the term “sexual abuse of a minor” is one that is in accord with existing federal statutes defining the actual crime of “sexual abuse of a minor” — an approach that would exempt far more misdemeanor statutory rape convictions than the BIA’s “meaningful age differential” standard currently would allow. Such a conclusion comports not only with Chevron, but with principles of statutory construction and also the rule of lenity.Although some scholars have commented generally on the treatment of statutory rape convictions under the INA, this is the first article to analyze the aggravated felony provision through the lens of statutory rape law in the United States, focusing on the history and the development of that law as a means of better illustrating the mismatch between the BIA’s interpretation and the current understanding of statutory rape. This is also the first article to explore the impact of the BIA’s 2015 ruling, which attempted to modify and soften its earlier rulings — rulings the circuit courts had used to classify almost all statutory rape convictions, even those classified as misdemeanors, as aggravated felonies under the INA. Finally, this article is likewise the first to propose a comprehensive solution to the dilemma posed by having to discern which statutory rape convictions satisfy the requirement of “abuse” under the INA and which do not.

Adolescent sex offender registration policy: Perspectives on general deterrence potential from criminology and developmental psychology.

Sex offender registration policies have expanded rapidly, now extending to adolescent offenders across the nation. Policies mandating registration are based, in part, on arguments that registration is needed to prevent dangerous sex offenders from committing additional offenses and that risk of registration deters would-be offenders from offending in the first place. Research suggests that registration does not serve the former specific deterrent function for adolescents, but less is known regarding the latter goal of general deterrence. The disciplines of criminology and developmental psychology both offer important theoretical perspectives, but these frameworks have yet to be applied to this unique context. Criminological theory on perceptions of sanction risk offers clear predictions about the potential for registration to serve as a deterrent for would-be adolescent sex offenders. Yet, the literature has not meaningfully acknowledged that (a) most adolescents are probably unaware of the parameters of registration (e.g., age restrictions, range of registerable offenses), and (b) even if adolescents are aware of registration risk, they are unlikely to be effectively deterred by it because of a variety of developmental vulnerabilities (e.g., psychosocial immaturity, perceived normativeness of certain nonviolent sexual offenses that can result in registration). We argue that key elements of criminological and developmental psychological theory must be integrated to gain a better understanding of whether sex offender registration policy can have a general deterrent effect for adolescents. We conclude with a call for interdisciplinary research that addresses the general deterrence gap and its role in guiding empirically driven policy reform.

Self-Control Assessments and Implications for Predicting Adolescent Offending.

Although low self-control is consistently related to adolescent offending, it is unknown whether self-report measures or laboratory behavior tasks yield better predictive utility, or if a combination yields incremental predictive power. This is particularly important because developmental theory indicates that self-control is related to adolescent offending and, consequently, risk assessments rely on self-control measures. The present study (a) examines relationships between self-reported self-control on the Weinberger Adjustment Inventory with Go/No-Go response inhibition, and (b) compares the predictive utility of both assessment strategies for short- and long-term adolescent reoffending. It uses longitudinal data from the Crossroads Study of male, first-time adolescent offenders ages 13-17 (N = 930; 46 % Hispanic/Latino, 37 % Black/African-American, 15 % non-Hispanic White, 2 % other race). The results of the study indicate that the measures are largely unrelated, and that the self-report measure is a better indicator of both short- and long-term reoffending. The laboratory task measure does not add value to what is already predicted by the self-report measure. Implications for assessing self-control during adolescence and consequences of assessment strategy are discussed.

DIFFERENTIATING SERIOUS ADOLESCENT OFFENDERS WHO EXIT THE JUSTICE SYSTEM FROM THOSE WHO DO NOT

Numerous factors have been posited to promote desistance from criminal offending in late adolescence and early adulthood. Research in this area has generally examined these factors for their impact on offending for a period shortly after the occurrence or shifts in possible predictors. The current study takes a slightly different approach. It examines the broad relation of life changes and developmental patterns to wholesale shifts in offending behavior. The current study uses data from the Pathways to Desistance study to compare the developmental patterns of two groups of serious adolescent male offenders: those who are “system successes” with no subsequent criminal justice system involvement and a matched sample for a 7‐year period after court involvement for a felony offense. Findings from growth curve analyses indicate that patterns of change in criminal attitudes, psychosocial development, and legal employment over this extended follow‐up period are related to an absence of offending. These results support further investigation of the synergistic effects of psychological changes and entry into the job market as possible mechanisms promoting desistance during this developmental period. The policy and practice implications of these findings are discussed.

Psychopathic features in young incarcerated females

Purpose – The purpose of this paper is to explore the relationship between psychopathic features as measured with the Psychopathy Checklist: Youth Version (PCL:YV) and behavioural and emotional functioning in young female offenders in custody. Design/methodology/approach – This is a quantitative interview study investigating the relationship with psychopathic traits, measured with the PCL:YV (Forth et al., 2003), and different psychological characteristics as well as AD/HD, self-harm, and childhood trauma in adolescent offenders across genders. Data were collected from a sample of 40 female and 40 male adolescents who were incarcerated in Victoria, Australia. Findings – Results indicated that the behavioural subscales of the PCL:YV were associated with externalising behaviours possibly underpinned by histories of abuse and substantiated child protection incidences. The presence of AD/HD was strongly associated with affective deficits suggesting that the PCL:YV may be identifying young females with AD/HD rather than core psychopathic traits. Findings also indicate that female-specific manifestations of manipulation are likely being misidentified as behavioural phenomena precluding clinical recognition as a core interpersonal trait. Significant dissimilarities with a young male comparison group were identified and are discussed within. Research limitations/implications – The sample size is very small and the results should be seen as an indication rather than generalising. Originality/value – Studies on female juvenile offenders is rare and this study adds to the literature on the construct of psychopathy and its relationship to psychosocial factors as well as associations with AD/HD, self-harm, and childhood trauma, among incarcerated adolescents.

The role of peer arrests on the development of youths' attitudes towards the justice system.

During adolescence, youths develop attitudes about the justice system. Although there is consistent evidence that personal experiences with legal actors contribute to attitudes toward the justice system, adolescents' attitudes may also be influenced vicariously through their friends' experiences with the justice system. Using data from a sample of 1,216 first-time male adolescent offenders, the present study examines how attitudes toward the justice system develop over 24 months following the adolescent's first arrest. Even after accounting for personal justice system experiences, including self-reported offending, time on the streets, and contacts with the police, results indicate that adolescents with friends who were arrested report more negative attitudes toward the justice system than those without friends who were arrested. Further, experiencing a friend's arrest has a larger impact on the attitudes of youths who are experiencing it for the first time. We provide evidence that attitudes toward the justice system are a product of accumulated social experiences-both personal and vicarious-with the justice system.

The Strengths Assessment Inventory-Youth Version: An evaluation of the psychometric properties with male and female justice-involved youth.

Strengths constitute an important element of developmental assessments. It is consistent with evidence-based practice to use assessment tools that adequately measure a given construct and are appropriate for use with their targeted population. The Strengths Assessment Inventory-Youth Version (SAI-Y; Rawana & Brownlee, 2010)-a self-report measure of personal strengths, self-concept, and emotional functioning-was administered to 230 male and female adolescent offenders. Confirmatory factor analyses revealed that the SAI-Y's factor structure demonstrated an acceptable fit overall, while some factors fit the data well, and fewer factors displayed a questionable fit. A majority of scale scores were found to exhibit good reliability for both sexes, with three empirical scale scores demonstrating poor reliability. In addition, scores on the SAI-Y also achieved satisfactory convergent and divergent validity. Total strength scores were significantly correlated in the expected direction with most theoretically related measures of emotional and behavioral functioning (e.g., self-esteem, treatment readiness, antisocial attitudes). Lastly, moderate gender effects and small ethnicity differences in response patterns were found. This was the first validation study of the SAI-Y with a justice-involved sample and the results suggest it is an appropriate measure for use with both male and female justice-involved young persons in detention and in the community. (PsycINFO Database Record

The effect of race/ethnicity on the relation between substance use disorder diagnosis and substance use treatment receipt among male serious adolescent offenders

The high rates of substance disorders in the juvenile justice system, as well as the relation between substance use and reoffending, suggest the importance of substance use treatment service and understanding the factors that influence treatment provision. The current study tested whether race/ethnicity affects the relation between substance use disorder diagnosis and the receipt of substance use treatment services among a sample of male serious juvenile offenders (N=638). Findings showed that among adolescents with a substance use disorder diagnosis, there were no race/ethnicity differences in substance use treatment receipt. However, among adolescents without a substance use disorder diagnosis, non-Hispanic Caucasians were more likely to receive substance use treatment than were Hispanics or African-Americans. Additionally, findings showed that there were race/ethnicity differences in service receipt at moderate levels of substance use problems, such that non-Hispanic Caucasians were more likely to receive substance use treatment than Hispanics or African-Americans. There were no race/ethnicity differences in treatment receipt when substance use problems were either very severe or very low. Results suggest that race/ethnicity may play a role in service provision in the juvenile justice system when levels of need are less clear.

Effect of Gun Carrying on Perceptions of Risk Among Adolescent Offenders

We observed how perceptions of risks, costs, crime rewards, and violence exposure change as individual gun-carrying behavior changes among high-risk adolescents. We analyzed a longitudinal study (2000-2010) of serious juvenile offenders in Maricopa County, Arizona, or Philadelphia County, Pennsylvania, assessing within-person changes in risk and reward perceptions, and violence exposure as individuals initiated or ceased gun carrying. Despite being associated with heightened exposure to violence, gun carrying was linked to lower perceptions of risks and costs and higher perceived rewards of offending. Gun carrying was not time-stable, as certain individuals both started and stopped carrying during the study. Within-person changes in carrying guns were associated with shifting perceptions of risks, costs, and rewards of crime, and changes in exposure to violence in expected directions. Gun carrying reduces perceptions of risks associated with offending while increasing actual risk of violence exposure. This suggests that there is an important disconnect between perceptions and objective levels of safety among high-risk youths. Gun-carrying decisions may not only be influenced by factors of protection and self-defense, but also by perceptions of risks and reward associated with engaging in crime more generally.

Machine learning of structural magnetic resonance imaging predicts psychopathic traits in adolescent offenders

Classification models are becoming useful tools for finding patterns in neuroimaging data sets that are not observable to the naked eye. Many of these models are applied to discriminating clinical groups such as schizophrenic patients from healthy controls or from patients with bipolar disorder. A more nuanced model might be to discriminate between levels of personality traits. Here, as a proof of concept, we take an initial step toward developing prediction models to differentiate individuals based on a personality disorder: psychopathy. We included three groups of adolescent participants: incarcerated youth with elevated psychopathic traits (i.e., callous and unemotional traits and conduct disordered traits; n=71), incarcerated youth with low psychopathic traits (n=72), and non-incarcerated youth as healthy controls (n=21). Support vector machine (SVM) learning models were developed to separate these groups using an out-of-sample cross-validation method on voxel-based morphometry (VBM) data. Regions of interest from the paralimbic system, identified in an independent forensic sample, were successful in differentiating youth groups. Models seeking to classify incarcerated individuals to have high or low psychopathic traits achieved 69.23% overall accuracy. As expected, accuracy increased in models differentiating healthy controls from individuals with high psychopathic traits (82.61%) and low psychopathic traits (80.65%). Here we have laid the foundation for using neural correlates of personality traits to identify group membership within and beyond psychopathy. This is only the first step, of many, toward prediction models using neural measures as a proxy for personality traits. As these methods are improved, prediction models with neural measures of personality traits could have far-reaching impact on diagnosis, treatment, and prediction of future behavior.

Factors associated with recidivism among adolescents girls in conflict with the law in an institution in Brasília, Federal District, Brazil.

Recidivism is a challenge for the Brazilian socio-educational system because it is associated with personal, social and environmental factors, especially among juvenile offenders. This study examined key characteristics and potential association with recidivism in 391 female adolescent offenders from a correctional institution in Brasília, Federal District, Brazil, between 2004 and 2011. Cross-sectional data on socio-demographics, drug use and offense characteristics from institutional information were examined. Associate factors with recidivism were examined using negative binomial regression analyses. 32.5% of offenders were recidivists at present admission and the mean frequency of recidivism among recidivists was 2.16. About half (53.6%) of the sample reported drug use. After the adjustment, recidivism was positively associated with: age; offender's drug use; residence status; offense type; and no family drug use. Factors associated with juvenile offenders' recidivism confirm findings from elsewhere, and should inform targeted interventions in Brazil.

Evolutionary regression? Assessing the problem of hidden biases in criminal justice applications using propensity scores

Propensity score methods rely on an untestable assumption of unconfoundedness for making causal inference. Yet, empirical applications using propensity scores in criminology routinely invoke this assumption without careful scrutiny. We use a dataset with a wide range of observable, potential confounders, which allows us to evaluate recidivism outcomes for adolescent offenders who are sentenced to either placement or probation. We then systematically withhold important known confounders from the matching process to demonstrate the effectiveness of sensitivity checks in sizing up the robustness of these treatment effect estimates in the case where hidden biases clearly exist. We find important variability in the estimated treatment effect, and a large degree of imbalance in ‘unobserved’ covariates, which we did not explicitly control for. The hidden biases observed in our controlled analysis would have at least been suggested in an actual application by the low gamma statistics that attended our analysis, a statistic that is not reported in most criminological applications of propensity score analysis. Researchers who use propensity score methods should openly discuss potential limitations of their analysis due to hidden bias and report bias sensitivity checks based on the gamma statistic when statistically significant treatment effects are reported.

Franklin E. Zimring and David S. Tanenhaus (eds.): Choosing the Future for American Juvenile Justice, New York University Press, New York, 2014, 256 pp, ISBN: 9781479816873

The current state of the American juvenile system is failing both the juveniles and the rights related to their welfare and the welfare of others. Due to this, it is imperative for new policies to be incorporated into the system to achieve progressive reforms in juvenile justice. Franklin E. Zimring and David S. Tanenhaus’ Choosing the Future for American Juvenile Justice provides the resources and arguments for doing so, as their book seeks to aid the development of more effective directions of future policies and institutions relating to the juvenile court’s delinquency jurisdiction. The book is divided into three parts. The first section profiles the attitudes and legislative changes that were results of the 1990s and how they are a part of current reform discussions. The second section identifies six important priorities for law reform that should be acted upon in the immediate future. Lastly, the third section searches for strategies and appeals for the juvenile system with the intent of achieving progressive reforms. By focusing in-depth analysis on multiple factors from numerous angles, the book reveals that that the current system in place is not accomplishing its goal and must be reformed in a more practical manner. The first two chapters, written by Zimring, focus on America’s youth violence because it was a main factor for the movement of state penal legislation in the 1990s and the priority of citizens’ concerns. His points are important because the violence done by juveniles and tests the extent of the severity with which the legal system can respond. The importance for reform is necessary because extreme youth violence is usually the initial spark of could become potentially criminal careers. Juveniles are in a vulnerable stage of their development and youth violence is a clear indication that the ones who should be protecting their well-being, the state and parents, are failing both individual adolescents and society as a whole. The book includes examples of the influx of school shootings in the 1990s, such as Columbine in the United States, that generated public fear and provoked new laws. Zimring’s argument depicts how public concern and prosecutorial ambition rooting from the 1990s produced legislation that reduced judicial and probation authority and shifted towards more prosecutorial power. The chapter convincingly reveals that this legislation should be reversed, and power should be reinstated with the judicial and probation authority. He demonstrates well that juveniles do not have the capacity to fully understand the consequences of their actions and should not be prosecuted to the same extent of adult criminals. Michael F. Caldwell goes in-depth as he covers the changes in law regulating juvenile sex offenders. He argues that scientific evidence concludes that the current policies should not be the same for juvenile sex offenders. After reviewing his evidence, the laws that require and extension of sex offender registration to adolescent sex offenders seem quite pointless. Because it is dealing with juveniles who are still in their vulnerable development stage, the requirement for registration provides no additional protection to the community or any assistance to law enforcement investigations. The only time juvenile sex offenders should be required to register as a sex offender is when they violate adult sex crimes, otherwise their actions should be addressed in a more sensitive and individualized manner. Aaron Kupchik, in Chapter 4, discusses how the increase in power and presence of police in schools is & Eric Kleiser ekleiser@indiana.edu

How well do the adolescent risk factors predict re-arrest frequency across race/ethnicity among serious adolescent offenders?

The field of criminology has devoted considerable time and attention to assessing the main risk factors associated with delinquency and criminal behavior. This line of research consistently documents that certain individual, familial, and situational risk factors are related to offending especially in adolescence. At the same time, there are two limitations to this line of work. The first is that most studies do not consider the extent to which these relationships hold across demographic groups, especially with respect to race/ethnicity. The second has been the reliance on general population/non-offender-based samples. This study aims to fill these two gaps. Using longitudinal data from the Pathways to Desistance, a study of serious adolescent offenders processed in two juvenile court systems, we investigate the extent to which a wide array risk factors relate to the frequency of re-arrests in a seven year follow-up across white, black, and Hispanic offenders.

Sex Differences in Sources of Resilience and Vulnerability to Risk for Delinquency.

Research on adolescent risk factors for delinquency has suggested that, due to genetic differences, youth may respond differently to risk factors, with some youth displaying resilience and others a heightened vulnerability. Using a behavioral genetic design and data from the National Longitudinal Study of Adolescent to Adult Health, this study examines whether there are sex differences in the genetic and environmental factors that influence the ways in which adolescents respond to cumulative risk for violent, nonviolent, and overall delinquency in a sample of twins (152 MZ male, 155 MZ female, 140 DZ male, 130 DZ female, and 204 DZ opposite-sex twin pairs). The results revealed that males tended to show greater vulnerability to risk for all types of delinquency, and females exhibited greater resilience. Among males, additive genetic factors accounted for 41, 29, and 43 % of the variance in responses to risk for violent, nonviolent, and overall delinquency, respectively. The remaining proportion of variance in each model was attributed to unique environmental influences, with the exception of 11 % of the variance in nonviolent responses to risk being attributed to common environmental factors. Among females, no significant genetic influences were observed; however, common environmental contributions to differences in the ways females respond to risk for violent, nonviolent, and overall delinquency were 44, 42, and 45 %, respectively. The remaining variance was attributed to unique environmental influences. Overall, genetic factors moderately influenced males' responses to risk while environmental factors fully explain variation in females' responses to risk. The implications of these findings are discussed in the context of improving the understanding of relationships between risks and outcomes, as well as informing policy and practice with adolescent offenders.

Exploring the sanction–crime relationship through a lens of procedural justice

PurposeResearch overwhelmingly explores “kinds of people” as moderators of the sanction–crime relationship (Piquero et al., 2011). This work, on the other hand, focuses on the sanction experience and draws upon the procedural justice doctrine and key ideas in Sherman's (1993, 2014) defiance theory to test whether individual evaluations of procedural justice condition the effect of legal sanctions on subsequent criminal behavior. MethodsUsing a sample of serious adolescent offenders, generalized linear regression models with interaction terms are employed to test whether the effect of legal sanctions on involvement, variety, and frequency of offending is conditioned by procedural justice. Significant interaction effects of legal sanction and procedural justice are illustrated with graphical methods. ResultsResults suggest that evaluations of procedural justice condition the sanction–crime relationship. Sanctions lead to a higher likelihood of offending among individuals with low evaluations of procedural justice. However, among those with higher evaluations of procedural justice, there is no significant relationship between sanctions and subsequent offending. ConclusionIncreasing perceptions of procedural justice reduces unintended consequences of sanctioning experiences. In an era of heightened focus on interactions between citizens and criminal justice professionals, enhancing procedural justice is not only ethical but also protects against deviance amplification processes.

Oppositional defiant disorder dimensions and subtypes among detained male adolescent offenders.

In adolescent offenders, oppositional defiant disorder (ODD) and its dimensions/subtypes have been frequently ignored due to the stronger focus on criminal behaviours. The revised criteria of the DSM-5 now allow diagnosing ODD in older youths independent of conduct disorder (CD). This study aimed at analysing ODD dimensions/subtypes and their relation to suicidality, comorbid psychiatric disorders, and criminal behaviours after release from detention in a sample of detained male adolescents. Suicidality and psychiatric disorders (including ODD symptoms) were assessed in a consecutive sample of 158 male adolescents (Mage =16.89years) from the Zurich Juvenile Detention Centre. Based on previous research findings, an irritable ODD dimension and a defiant/vindictive ODD dimension based on ODD symptoms were defined. Latent Class Analysis (LCA) was used to identify distinct subtypes of adolescent offenders according to their ODD symptom profiles. Logistic regression and Cox regression were used to analyse the relations of ODD dimensions/ODD subtypes to comorbid psychopathology and criminal reoffenses from official data. The ODD-irritable dimension, but not the ODD defiant/vindictive dimension predicted comorbid anxiety, suicidality and violent reoffending. LCA identified four subtypes, namely, a no-ODD subtype, a severe ODD subtype and two moderate ODD subtypes with either defiant or irritable symptoms. The irritable ODD subtype and the severe ODD subtype were related to suicidality and comorbid affective/anxiety disorders. The irritable ODD subtype was the strongest predictor of criminal (violent) reoffending even when controlling for CD. The present findings confirm the presence of ODD dimensions/subtypes in a highly disturbed adolescent offender sample. Irritable youths were at risk of suicide and persistent criminal behaviours. Due to the severe consequences of irritability, a standardized assessment approach and a specific treatment is needed in prison to prevent suicide among the detainees and further harm to the society. As defined in the DSM-5, the present findings confirm the validity of ODD and ODD dimensions/subtypes as a diagnostic category among older youths.

Female adolescent sexual and nonsexual violent offenders: a comparison of the prevalence and impact of risk and protective factors for general recidivism.

BackgroundThis study adds to the scarce literature on female adolescent sexual offenders by examining differences between female adolescent sexual and nonsexual violent offenders in the prevalence and impact of dynamic risk and protective factors for general recidivism.MethodThe sample consisted of female adolescents who were convicted for a sexual offense (FSOs; n =31) or nonsexual violent offense (FNSOs; n = 407), and for whom the Washington State Juvenile Court Assessment was completed.ResultsIn FSOs, considerably more protective and fewer risk factors were present than in FNSOs in almost all domains (i.e., school, relationships, family, attitude and aggression). In addition, differences in the impact of risk/protective factors on general recidivism were found. In FSOs, risk/protective factors in the family and aggression domains were especially important, whereas in FNSOs, risk/protective factors in the attitude domain were especially important.ConclusionsThe results of this study indicate that treatment programs developed for mainstream female offenders may also be useful for female sexual offenders in reducing general recidivism. Furthermore, the results are of importance for determining the main focus of treatment for both mainstream and sexual female adolescent offenders.

Interrogations, confessions, and adolescent offenders' perceptions of the legal system.

The potential consequences of interrogations and false confessions have been discussed primarily in terms of the risk for wrongful conviction, especially among adolescents and other vulnerable populations. However, it is possible that such experiences influence adolescents' perceptions of the legal system more generally. In the present study, we examined whether incarcerated male juvenile offenders' (n = 193) perceptions of police and the courts were related to their confession and interrogation experiences. High-pressure interrogation experiences and self-reported false confessions to police were associated with more negative perceptions of police. However, self-reported true confessions were not significantly associated with youths' perceptions of the police. Neither interrogation nor confession experiences (true or false) were related to youths' perceptions of the courts. Results provide additional support for policy reform of interrogation practices with young suspects. A more developmentally appropriate approach to criminal interrogations with youth may simultaneously improve police-youth relations and protect vulnerable suspects in the interrogation room.