Chronic Delinquency Research Articles

Adverse childhood experiences (ACEs), psychotropic medication prescription, and continued offending among youth with serious offending histories in juvenile justice residential placement

PurposeAdverse childhood experiences (ACEs) are linked to a multitude of deleterious outcomes including, but not limited to, persistent mental and physical health problems, increased justice system involvement, and chronic delinquency. Using a statewide multiyear sample of youth completing long-term juvenile justice residential placement, this study extends prior work by assessing the association between childhood aversity, the prescription of psychotropic medication, and continued delinquency. We additionally explore whether these associations vary across race/ethnicity and sex. MethodsBinary logistic regression and structural equation modeling are used to assess the relationship of cumulative ACEs with psychotropic medication prescription. Logistic regression models are used to assess which covariates, including cumulative ACEs and psychotropic medication, are associated with continued offending. Lastly, we examine the moderating effect of race/ethnicity and sex on the association between the prescription of psychotropic medication and continued delinquency. ResultsACE exposure increases mental health indicators, which then increase the likelihood of psychotropic medication prescription. ACEs increase reoffending; however, psychotropic medication prescription is unrelated to recidivism. The ACE effect and non-significance of psychotropic medication on recidivism was consistent across sex and race/ethnicity. ConclusionACEs are related to both psychotropic medication prescription during placement and subsequent recidivism, yielding juvenile justice policy implications.

Chronic pain and delinquency partially explain the effect of the DRD4 gene polymorphism on adult substance use

ABSTRACT Background: The dopamine receptor D4 [DRD4] has been reported to be associated with substance use. Yet, the roles that health conditions and behaviors may play in such association are understudied. Objective: This longitudinal study investigated the potential mediation effects of chronic pain and delinquency in adolescence on the association between the DRD4 2-repeat allele and substance use in adulthood. Sex, witnessing violence, and experiencing violence were also examined as potential moderators for the mediation pathways. Methods: We used the restricted and candidate gene data from the National Longitudinal Study of Adolescent to Adult Health (Waves I–IV) to conduct secondary analysis (N = 8,671; 47% male). A two-step approach was adopted to examine the mediation effects regarding four substance use outcomes in adulthood: number of lifetime alcohol use disorder symptoms, lifetime regular smoker status, past-month smoking, and lifetime “pain killer” misuse. The moderation effects were investigated using stratification and permutation. Results: The DRD4 2-repeat allele was associated with all adulthood substance use outcomes through adolescent chronic pain and delinquency (AORs/IRR range 1.08–3.78; all ps<0.01). The association between delinquency and smoking was higher among females. The association between delinquency and substance use was lower among the participants who witnessed violence in adolescence. Conclusions: This study identified modifiable mediators underlying the association between the DRD4 2-repeat allele and substance use behaviors, concluding that chronic pain and delinquency partially explain the effect of the DRD4 gene polymorphism on adult substance use.

The Impact of Adult Prison Transfer on the Recidivism Outcomes of Blended-Sentenced Juvenile Delinquents

Juvenile justice systems today have various methods to sanction serious, violent, and chronic delinquents. One of these methods is through blended sentencing. Broadly, blended sentencing processes allow for juvenile justice sanctioning first and then, if needed, criminal justice sanctioning—including placement in adult prisons. The current study examines the recidivism outcomes of blended-sentenced youth transferred to adult prisons following a period of state juvenile incarceration compared with a matched group of blended-sentenced youth that avoided adult prison transfer following state juvenile incarceration. Drawing on data from 905 serious delinquent offenders sentenced between 2005 and 2013 in Texas, the current study used Propensity Score Matching and found no post-release recidivism differences between those transferred to adult prison following a period of state juvenile incarceration and those who were released from state juvenile incarceration to the community without experiencing adult prison incarceration.

What Becomes of Chronic Juvenile Delinquents? Multifinality at Midlife

Popular in the field of developmental psychopathology, multifinality means that an initial condition or status can manifest in diverse outcomes across life. Using a near population of federal correctional clients selected from the Midwestern United States, the current study examined the association of chronic delinquent offender status on assorted life outcomes at midlife (average age of offenders was nearly 44 years). Although just 16% of the current offenders were formerly chronic delinquents, they accounted for 13.9% of current employment, 54.6% of antisocial personality disorder (ASPD) cases, 54% of those at the 90th percentile for arrest charges, 45.8% of those at the 90th percentile for assaultive arrest charges, 53% of gang activity, 43.8% of lifetime traumatic brain injury, and 22.9% of lifetime mental illness. Logistic regression models indicated that former chronic delinquency was associated with 41% reduced odds of employment, 897% increased odds of ASPD, 81% increased odds of 90th percentile offending, 82% increased odds of 90th percentile assaultive offending, 144% increased odds of gang activity, 115% increased odds of traumatic brain injury, and 141% increased odds of lifetime mental illness. Former chronic delinquency has more consistent predictive validity among males than females and among Whites than African Americans. Multifinality is a useful concept to understand the developmental course of chronic delinquency and assess noncriminal yet nevertheless socially and societally burdensome outcomes.

A Path to Serious, Violent, Chronic Delinquency: The Harmful Aftermath of Adverse Childhood Experiences

Adverse childhood experiences can affect the development of a child in many ways, leading to highly maladaptive behaviors, such as serious, violent, and chronic (SVC) delinquency. This study uses data from 64,329 Florida Department of Juvenile Justice youth, collected from 2007 to 2012, to examine both the direct and indirect effects of adverse childhood experiences (ACEs) on SVC delinquency. Using a generalized structural equation model, the effects of ACE scores are estimated on a youth’s likelihood of engaging in SVC delinquency while considering pathways through maladaptive personality traits (aggression and impulsivity), as well as adolescent problem behaviors (deviant peer imitation, school difficulties, substance abuse problems, and mental illness). The results suggest that a large proportion of the relationship between childhood adversity and SVC delinquency is mediated by maladaptive personality traits and adolescent problem behaviors. Study limitations and directions for future research are also discussed.

Psychosocial adversity, delinquent pathway and internalizing psychopathology in juvenile male offenders

The main aim of the present study was to investigate the presence of a set of risk factors relating to childhood life events and other psychosocial factors that may be associated with criminal indicators and with the prevalence of internalizing psychopathology in a sample of adolescent offenders. Fifty male adolescents in the custody of the Portuguese Juvenile Justice System participated in the study (M=15.8years of age). The Adolescent Psychopathology Scale — Short Form (APS-SF) was administered in a structured interview format, and the sociodemographic, family and criminal data questionnaire was filled in by the justice professional after consulting the adolescent's file. Forty-six percent of all subjects had previous delinquent behavior. About 32% of the boys had committed violent offenses and 88% acted with peers. Also, the persistence of the delinquent behavior (50% of the offenders), coupled with the increase in the severity of the crimes committed (38% of the sample), suggests that these adolescents were at risk for serious and chronic delinquency at the time of the intervention. About 32% of the participants reported posttraumatic stress disorder symptoms, 20% had suicide ideation, and a lower percentage reported other internalizing problems. Institutionalization, maltreatment and conduct problems in childhood, and family risk factors (parental conflict, absence of a father figure, lack of parental control and family substance addiction) were related with the report of internalizing problems. Moreover, the increase in the severity of criminal offenses and living in a correctional facility were associated with higher levels of posttraumatic stress, interpersonal problems, anxiety and depression. This study draws attention to the importance of assessing indicators of psychopathology and of psychosocial risk in intervention programs with young offenders, but also to the need of family focused interventions in order to help prevent recidivism.

Predicting the transition from juvenile delinquency to adult criminality: Gender-specific influences in two high-risk samples.

Most juvenile offenders desist from offending as they become adults, but many continue and ultimately enter the adult corrections system. There has been little prospective examination of which variables may predict the latter transition, particularly for women. Our aim was to find out, for men and women separately, what variables identifiable in adolescent offenders predict their continuation of offending into adult life. Participants were 61 male and 81 female youths who had been referred from the juvenile justice system for chronic delinquency and recruited into randomised controlled trials comparing Multidimensional Treatment Foster Care with group care ('treatment as usual'). All participants had attained adulthood by the time of our study. We first examined gender differences in childhood risk factors and then used Cox proportional-hazards models to estimate the relationship of potential risk factors to first adult arrest. Results indicated that, for men, juvenile justice referrals alone predicted risk of any first adult arrest as well as arrest for felony arrest specifically. Each additional juvenile referral increased the risk of any adult arrest by 9% and of adult felony arrest by 8%. For women, family violence, parental divorce and cumulative childhood risk factors, but not juvenile justice referrals, were significant predictors of adult arrest. Each additional childhood risk factor increased the risk of adult arrest by 21%. Women who experienced parental divorce were nearly three times more likely to be arrested as an adult, and those who experienced family violence 2.5 times more so than those without such experiences. We found preliminary evidence of gender differences in childhood risk factors for adult offending, and, thus potentially, for the development and use of interventions tailored differently for girls and boys and young men and young women to reduce their risk of becoming adult recidivists. Copyright © 2015 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd.

Examining the link between traumatic events and delinquency among juvenile delinquent girls: A longitudinal study.

Researchers have postulated associations between childhood trauma and delinquency, but few have examined the direction of these relationships prospectively and, specifically, with samples of delinquent girls. The purpose of this study was to examine the relationship between traumatic events and delinquency for girls in the juvenile justice system using a cross-lagged model. Developmental differences in associations as a function of high school entry status were also examined. The sample included 166 girls in the juvenile justice system who were mandated to community-based out-of-home care due to chronic delinquency. Overall, study results provide evidence that trauma and delinquency risk pathways vary according to high school entry status. Implications for future research and practice are discussed.

MTFC for High-Risk Adolescent Girls: A Comparison of Outcomes in England and the United States

The current study examined 12-month outcomes for girls enrolled in an implementation trial of Multidimensional Treatment Foster Care (MTFC) in England. In addition to examining changes from pretreatment to posttreatment, we also compared results for girls enrolled in the England implementation trial to girls enrolled in a randomized controlled trial (RCT) of MTFC in the United States. The England MTFC sample included 58 girls in foster care between the ages of 12 and 16 years. The U.S. MTFC intervention sample included 81 girls between the ages of 13 and 17 years who were referred to out-of-home care due to chronic delinquency. Results indicated improvement in offending, violent behavior, risky sexual behavior, self-harm, and school activities for girls enrolled in the England implementation trial. The effect sizes of these results were similar to those obtained in the U.S. RCT, with the exception of substance use, which showed significant decreases for girls enrolled in the U.S. RCT but not for girls enrolled in the England implementation trial. These results, in combination with other cross-cultural findings, support the notion that MTFC might be relevant across U.S. and European cultures.

Overview of: “Getting the Law Involved a Quasi-Experiment in Early Intervention Involving Collaboration Between Schools and the District Attorney's Office”

Research Summary Precursors to serious and chronic delinquency often emerge in childhood, stimulating calls for early interventions. Most intervention efforts rely solely on social service programs—often to the exclusion of the juvenile justice system. The juvenile justice system has been reluctant to become involved in the lives of relatively young children fearing net widening or further straining resources that could be used for older youth with documented delinquency histories. We report here the results of an early intervention program sponsored by and housed in a district attorney's office in Louisiana. Using a quasi-experimental design, we examined outcomes associated with program involvement as well as whether the obvious involvement of the prosecutor's office was associated with further reductions in problem behavior. 1 : The results revealed that significant reductions in problem behaviors of young children could be attributed to program participation. 2 : The obvious involvement of the district attorney's office, however, was associated with limited, albeit significant, reductions in specific problem behaviors. 3 : These findings show that successful early intervention efforts can be made part of the juvenile justice system and that in some limited situations prosecutorial involvement can result in positive outcomes. Policy Implications The expansion of early intervention programming into the juvenile justice system offers opportunities to address early problem behavior. Our study and its results have the following policy implications. 1 : Closely coupled partnerships between schools and the juvenile justice system can effectively address, mitigate, and perhaps prevent an early onset of antisocial behavior. 2 : Even so, coupling early intervention efforts to the mission of the juvenile justice system warrants debate. Net-widening, resource diffusion, and the potential for officials to rely too heavily on the deterrent characteristics of the justice system represent serious threats to the integrity of effective early intervention programs. 3 : We suggest substantial debate and consideration is given before coupling early intervention efforts to the juvenile justice system.

Why criminal behavior of chronic delinquents could be even strengthen after forensic treatment?

The efforts of the formal system of government to achieve social reintegration of chronic offenders is reflected, inter alia, through the application of a large number of educational and training retrain and therapeutic treatment in penal institutions. However, they still do not give the desired results. So, in this paper we analyze the results of studies that investigate effects of various forms of forensic treatment on the criminal re-offend. It was found that, in this context, it is important to determine whether the offender has a psychological predisposition toward antisocial behaviour, and whether deviations are present which do not have the character of mental illness, but have the impact on stubbornly chronically maintaining delinquency. Based on the results of empirical data from the relevant studies and practical experiences of forensic therapeutic experts, it was found that some forms of treatment, including training for development social skills, life skills, and empathy, for certain categories of violent offenders, not only does not lead to the expected reduction of violence, but even at first glance, paradoxical result, as many as five times more frequent criminal recovery, compared to the same category of offenders who are not covered by treatment. When this tendency is particularly worrying that in these cases the victims are subjected to insidious attacks against and become more vulnerable because they are representatives of the criminal justice system misled the attackers to make treatment safer. The paper points out the possible reasons for such negative outcomes of treatment and is located contraindicated category form of forensic psychotherapy to the riskiest psychological profile. It was estimated that the usual methods of psychotherapy and mental needs advisory applied in clinical trials in patients unsuitable for delinquent population. It was concluded that any rehabilitation treatment must be designed in accordance with psychological characteristics of the target group and each individual delinquents. Beside that, it is necessary to ensure the continued education of representatives of the judiciary in this area, as order to prevent damage due to indiscriminate referral of offenders to treatment contraindicated.

Understanding desisting and persisting forms of delinquency: the unique contributions of disruptive behavior disorders and interpersonal callousness

While associations between conduct disorder (CD), oppositional defiant disorder (ODD), attention deficit hyperactivity disorder (ADHD), and interpersonal callousness (IC) symptoms and delinquency onset are well established, less is known about whether these characteristics differentiate desisting and persisting delinquency. The current study examined whether childhood and adolescent CD, ODD, ADHD, and IC symptoms uniquely distinguished boys who exhibited persisting versus desisting delinquency from adolescence into adulthood. Participants were 503 boys (57% African American) repeatedly assessed from ages 7 to 25. Associations between childhood and adolescent CD, ODD, ADHD, and IC symptoms and desisting and persisting delinquency were examined independently and after controlling for their co-occurrence and multiple covariates. Conduct disorder and IC symptoms in childhood and adolescence were higher among boys whose delinquency persisted into adulthood relative to those boys whose delinquency desisted across time. After controlling for the overlap between symptoms of ADHD, ODD, CD and IC, only adolescent CD and IC symptoms emerged as unique predictors of the differentiation between persisters and desisters. Moreover, adolescent CD and IC symptoms continued to contribute unique variance even after childhood levels of these characteristics were accounted for. Boys with elevated levels of CD and IC symptoms in childhood and adolescence are at risk for exhibiting a pattern of delinquency that persists from adolescence into adulthood. Intervention efforts designed to prevent chronic delinquency should target youth with co-occurring CD and IC symptoms in childhood and adolescence.

Inside the Prison Black Box

The importation model is a venerable theoretical explanation for inmate misconduct but it has not been extended in nearly 50 years. The current study advances a life course importation model of inmate behavior where life events in childhood cascade to predict antisocial behavior during adolescence and misconduct occurring during periods of confinement. Based on data from 2,520 institutionalized male delinquents, ordinary least squares, logistic, and negative binomial regression models indicated that family background variables were largely predictive of multiple facets of delinquent careers. Negative binomial regression models of institutional misconduct indicated that proximal delinquent career variables were more consistently associated with misconduct than distal family background factors. Because institutional behavior can be understood as the importing of family deprivation experiences and chronic delinquency, the life course importation model is a useful conceptual framework to study crime over the life course, even including periods of confinement.

Pathways to Women's Crime: Differences Among Women Convicted of Drug, Violence and Fraud Offenses

ABSTRACT The current study was conducted on 60 Israeli female inmates. Our aim was to examine the differences among women convicted for drug, violence, and fraud offenses by socio-demographic variables and self-control and aggression levels. Results revealed that the drug group was characterized by measures attributed to chronic delinquency, and the fraud group was found to fit the pathway to low crime. At the same time, the violence group was not characterized by any of these patterns. The findings were discussed in relation to their theoretical contribution and applicability.

Inside the Prison Black Box: Toward a Life Course Importation Model of Inmate Behavior.

The importation model is a venerable theoretical explanation for inmate misconduct but it has not been extended in nearly 50 years. The current study advances a life course importation model of inmate behavior where life events in childhood cascade to predict antisocial behavior during adolescence and misconduct occurring during periods of confinement. Based on data from 2,520 institutionalized male delinquents, ordinary least squares, logistic, and negative binomial regression models indicated that family background variables were largely predictive of multiple facets of delinquent careers. Negative binomial regression models of institutional misconduct indicated that proximal delinquent career variables were more consistently associated with misconduct than distal family background factors. Because institutional behavior can be understood as the importing of family deprivation experiences and chronic delinquency, the life course importation model is a useful conceptual framework to study crime over the life course, even including periods of confinement.

Serious (Violent or Chronic) Juvenile Offenders: A Systematic Review of Treatment Effectiveness in Secure Corrections

Treating serious juvenile offenders in secure corrections pays off. This Campbell Systematic Review shows that treatment programs with cognitive elements in particular reduce general recidivism (relapse into crime) and especially recidivism into serious crime.ABSTRACTBackgroundJuveniles responsible for violent offenses are at high risk of becoming chronic offenders, committing many types of offenses. A challenge in the treatment of the these violent or chronic delinquents is that the majority are well into the delinquent careers. It remains to be demonstrated what specific strategies provided within secure correctional facilities are promising in rehabilitating incarcerated these serious juvenile offenders.ObjectivesTo systematically collect and assess the quality of the outcomes of empirical research regarding the effectiveness of treatment programmes implemented in secure corrections designed to decrease the reoffending rate and type of offense for serious (chronic or violent) delinquents (12‐21 years old).Search StrategySeveral strategies were used to identify studies that met the explicit criteria of this review. We conducted a specific search in 14 relevant electronic databases about the topic area, including the Campbell SPECTR database of trials. Experts in the field were consulted and relevant citations were followed up.Selection CriteriaThis review included experimental (with random assignment) and quasi‐experimental (without random assignment) studies with control or comparison groups. Furthermore, the outcomes presented in the studies include recidivism rates or at least information about new offenses. The program recipients were juveniles either male or female, in secure corrections aged between 12 and 21 years old, under either the adult or juvenile jurisdictions, characterised as serious (chronic or violent) delinquents.Data collection and analysisSeparate meta‐analyses were carried out for the two different recidivism measures (general and serious recidivism) and for completers and intent‐to‐treat (as assigned) data. We selected as the effect‐size index the odds ratio and its translation to natural logarithm. The meta‐analytic calculations were carried out assuming a random‐effects model. When the heterogeneity Q test was statistically significant, mixed‐effects analyses were carried out to search for moderator variables that could explain the variability among the effect estimates. For qualitative moderator variables, weighted analyses of variance were applied on the effect estimates, whereas the relationship between continuous moderator variables and the effect estimates was assessed by weighted regression models.Main ResultsThe overall results at the last follow up for completers showed a statistically significant positive result in favour of treatment. For the intent‐to‐treat data, both fixed‐ and random‐effects models were statistically significant. This result showed that even under the more conservative intent‐to‐treat model, the interventions were still effective overall. Moderator variables did not show a statistically significant results to explain the heterogeneity in relation to effectiveness of the treatment. We found evidence for positive effects of the cognitive and cognitive‐behavioural treatments and of the multi‐focus programmes.Reviewers’ conclusionsIn general, the programmes “do work” to reduce the general and, specially, the serious recidivism of serious institutionalised juvenile offenders. This is particularly true in the case of interventions with a cognitive or cognitive‐behavioural emphasis, applied to male samples in centres of juvenile reform. It seems also that the educative non‐structured programs did not work to reduce the recidivism.This review should be cited as:Garrido, V. and Morales, L.A. (2007). Serious (violent and chronic) juvenile offenders: a Systematic Review of treatment effectiveness in secure corrections. In: The Campbell Collaboration Reviews of Intervention and Policy Evaluations (C2‐RIPE), July 2007. Philadelphia, Pennsylvania: Campbell Collaboration.

Multidimensional treatment foster care for girls in the juvenile justice system: 2-year follow-up of a randomized clinical trial.

This study is a 2-year follow-up of girls with serious and chronic delinquency who were enrolled in a randomized clinical trial conducted from 1997 to 2002 comparing multidimensional treatment foster care (MTFC) and group care (N = 81). Girls were referred by juvenile court judges and had an average of over 11 criminal referrals when they entered the study. A latent variable analysis of covariance model controlling for initial status demonstrated maintenance of effects for MTFC in preventing delinquency at the 2-year assessment, as measured by days in locked settings, number of criminal referrals, and self-reported delinquency. A latent variable growth model focusing on variance in individual trajectories across the course of the study also demonstrated the efficacy of MTFC. Older girls exhibited less delinquency over time relative to younger girls in both conditions. Implications for gender-sensitive programming for youths referred from juvenile justice are discussed.

Intervention outcomes for girls referred from juvenile justice: Effects on delinquency.

An increasing number of girls are entering the juvenile justice system. However, intervention programs for delinquent girls have not been examined empirically. The authors examined the 12-month outcomes of a randomized intervention trial for girls with chronic delinquency (N = 81). Girls were randomly assigned into an experimental condition (Multidimensional Treatment Foster Care; MTFC) or a control condition (group care; GC). Analyses of covariance indicated that MTFC youth had a significantly greater reduction in the number of days spent in locked settings and in caregiver-reported delinquency and had 42% fewer criminal referrals than GC youth (a trend) at the 12-month follow-up. Implications for reducing girls' chronic delinquency are discussed.

Risk, Reinforcement, Retention in Treatment, and Reoffending for Boys and Girls in Multidimensional Treatment Foster Care

In this study, the author examined the impact of youth and family preplacement risk factors on multidimensional treatment foster care (MTFC) parent—youth interactions,youth treatment completion, and outcomes for boy and girl adolescents who have problems with chronic delinquency. In particular, she looked at (a) how levels of preplacement youth and family risk factors for chronically delinquent boys and girls who were treated with MTFC affect parent—youth interactions during treatment, (b) how these interactions and preplacement youth and family risk factors relate to treatment completion for boys and girls, and (c) how treatment completion for girls and boys affects reoffending behavior during the 12 months postplacement. As hypothesized, results indicated higher levels of preplacement youth and family risk for girls compared with boys; however, contrary to the author's hypothesis, levels of preplacement youth and family risk were not found to have a significant impact on MTFC parent—youth interactions.As expected, MTFC parent—youth interactions were significantly related to treatment completion, and treatment completion was significantly related to lower rates of reoffending behavior for both boys and girls.Treatment components specific to MTFC are reviewed and directions for future research are suggested.

Emotions Matter: Making the Case for the Role of Young Children's Emotional Development for Early School Readiness

This Social Policy Report considers the importance of young children’s emotional development for their school readiness, suggesting that social scientists can provide policy makers with concrete ways to conceptualize, measure and target young children’s emotional adjustment in early educational and child care settings. This Report then reviews a recent and persuasive body of rigorous research, to determine whether children’s emotional adjustment can be significantly affected by interventions implemented in the preschool and early school years. Results of this review suggest that family early educational, and clinical interventions offer policy makers a wide array of choices in ways that they can make sound investments in young children’s emotional development and school readiness. This research suggests that, while young children’s emotional and behavioral problems are costly to their chances of school success, these problems are identifiable early, are amenable to change, and can be reduced over time. What kinds of investments should policy makers be advised to make, at what point in young children’s development, and in what settings? While modest investments in low-cost interventions initially may seem appealing, this report suggests that there are few bargains to be had when investing in young children’s emotional adjustment. With this caveat in mind, the findings of this report suggest that policy makers should broaden early elementary educational mandates for school readiness to include children’s emotional and behavioral adjustments as key programmatic goals. Policy makers should consider targeting young children’s emotional adjustment prior to school entry, in diverse settings such as Head Start, child care settings, as well as in the first few years of school. Finally, young children’s emotional adjustment can serve as an important benchmark of programmatic success in other policy arenas focusing on child welfare, family support, and economic self-sufficiency, as well as in education.