Risk For Delinquency Research Articles

Protocol for a systematic review: Universal school-based programmes for improving social and emotional outcomes in children aged 3-11 years: a systematic review and meta-analysis.

Protocol for a systematic review: Universal school-based programmes for improving social and emotional outcomes in children aged 3-11 years: a systematic review and meta-analysis.

Parental Social Bonds and Adolescents’ Convictions

ABSTRACTSocial control theory suggests that adolescents are more likely to deviate when their parental bonds are weak or broken. However, are strong bonds to unconventional parents also a protective factor, or do they increase the risk of delinquency? There is almost no empirical evidence on this puzzle. Combining Danish survey and register data (N = 2,677), this study uses fixed effects linear regressions and finds that parental convictions do not moderate the effect of strong parental social bonds. Rather, the main result shows that indirect supervision (mother knowing the adolescent’s friends) reduces the risk of child conviction, irrespective of maternal conviction.

Fear of Crime and Behavioral Adaptations: Testing the Effects of Fear of Violence on Unstructured Socializing with Peers

ABSTRACTThis study examines whether fear of violent crime experienced by adolescents influences their involvement in unstructured socializing with peers. To test this relationship, we examine data on youth in Chicago collected as part of the Project on Human Development in Chicago Neighborhoods (PHDCN). The results show that the fear of violent crime in neighborhoods and at schools reduces participation in unstructured socializing with peers. However, this result was only observed for adolescents living in neighborhoods with low levels of concentrated disadvantage. This study provides insight into the consequences of fear of crime for individual behavior. Fear of crime can result in withdrawal from social situations, including avoidance of situations that increase the risk for delinquency and victimization.

The Effects of Family Contact on Community Reentry Plans Among Incarcerated Youths

ABSTRACTResearch shows protective factors that mitigate risks for juvenile delinquency can also support the community reentry of incarcerated youths and deter future offending. Family engagement, educational attainment, and secure employment are widely accepted as important protective factors to prevent problematic behavior. Studies suggest these same protective factors are crucial for incarcerated youths and should be an integral part of reentry planning to improve post-release outcomes. Nevertheless, limited research exists on the association between these factors and the value of family involvement in reentry planning for incarcerated youths. This study addresses this gap by examining how increased family contact affects the likelihood of instituting education and employment reentry plans among youths in custody. Data were obtained from the Survey of Youth in Residential Placement (SYRP) that provides information on juvenile offenders in confinement. The SYRP is the first nationally representative cross-sectional survey to gather information directly from youths 10–20 years old in custody (N=7,073). Analyses were conducted using a sequence of regression models to test the relationship between the frequency of family contact and whether a youth had a plan for education or employment upon release. Results reflect that youths with increased family contact were one and a half times more likely to have both educational and employment reentry plans in place relative to youths with no family contact. Findings inform practice and policy to advocate for family involvement with youth in confinement, and further suggest that family plays a decisive role in preparing incarcerated youths for success upon release.

Identifying Multi-Efficient Portfolios

The efficient frontier approach to financial portfolio management is widely accepted to make tradeoffs between risk and reward, where reward is generally the returns from the portfolio and risk is the dispersion of those returns. But when other variables such as dividends, earnings surprise, net margins, etc., are the considered measures of reward, alternate portfolios may likely be efficient. It would be useful in such cases to see if there are certain portfolios that are efficient with respect to multiple variables and to evaluate the losses from using a portfolio that is efficient with respect to one variable but not another. In this paper we introduce the concept of multi-efficient portfolios and present an algorithm to identify them. This work was motivated by the acquisition process in the credit card industry where multiple variables such as net cash flows, risk of delinquency, chance of customer attrition, etc., are important in analyzing and soliciting applications from prospective customers. This multi-efficient portfolio approach has potential use in a wide array of applications where success is determined by performance on multiple variables, such as seed acreage (yield, quality), vendor selection (price, quality, flexibility), workforce planning (transactional versus experiential, simple versus complex, research ability versus teaching ability in universities), product portfolio management (sales, margins, growth, market share). Numerical examples, structural results and numerical analyses are presented to better understand the model and the import of the approach.

Intra-abdominal surgical drain dislocation: The unknown factor in the debate between drain vs. drainless policies

Childhood maltreatment and youth delinquency are major public health problems. The present study examines the association between exposure to agency substantiated childhood maltreatment from 0 to 14 years of age and delinquency at 21 years in males and females separately. The study uses data from the Mater Hospital-University of Queensland Study of Pregnancy, an Australian pre-birth longitudinal cohort of mothers and their children. Pregnant women were recruited consecutively at their first antenatal clinic visit at Brisbane's Mater Hospital from 1981 to 1983. We linked substantiated cases of childhood maltreatment, reported to the appropriate child protection services between birth and 14 years of age, to the 21-year survey follow-up. The study sample comprises 1810 males and 2008 females, who had complete data on delinquency at the 21-year follow-up. The odds of delinquency at the 21-year follow-up were 4–6 times higher for maltreated children in the unadjusted models. In the adjusted models, physical abuse, emotional abuse and neglect, as well as emotional abuse with or without neglect were associated with over 3 times a greater risk of delinquency in males. More frequent maltreatment was associated with double the risk of later delinquency in males. However, none of the maltreatment subtypes, nor was the frequency of maltreatment substantiations associated with an increased risk of delinquency in females. Exposure to any childhood maltreatment increased the likelihood of delinquency for males but there was no difference for females. Childhood maltreatment is associated with an increased risk of later delinquency for young adult males, but not females.

Considering the role of food insecurity in low self-control and early delinquency

PurposeThe present study examines whether experiences of household food insecurity during childhood are predictive of low self-control and early involvement in delinquency. MethodsIn order to examine these associations, we employ data from the Fragile Families and Child Wellbeing Study (FFCWS) – a national study that follows a large group of children born in the U.S. between 1998 and 2000. ResultsChildren raised in food insecure households exhibit significantly lower levels of self-control during early childhood and higher levels of delinquency during late childhood than children raised in food secure households, net of covariates. Both transient and persistent food insecurity are significantly and positively associated with low self-control and early delinquency, although persistent food insecurity is associated with larger increases in the risk of low self-control and early delinquency. Ancillary analyses reveal that low self-control partly explains the association between food insecurity and early delinquency. ConclusionsThe general theory of crime may need to be expanded to account for the role of early life stressors linked to a tenuous supply of healthy household foods in the development of self-control. Future research should seek to further elucidate the process by which household food insecurity influences childhood self-control and early delinquency.

Childhood economic disadvantage and antisocial behavior: Intervening factors and pathways

Concerns over the number of children living in poverty arise from our knowledge of the problems children face due to poverty. Many researchers have pointed out the psycho-social outcomes of growing up poor, including antisocial behavior. Literature concerning the development of crime has documented a wide range of factors that may intervene between exposure to disadvantage and the development of delinquency, and that could mediate the linkages between poverty and crime.The relationship between childhood economic disadvantage and antisocial behavior represents a relevant issue for child welfare policies and practices as well as for criminological theory. The aim of this paper is to offer a contribution to the theoretical understanding of the issue by way of an overview of the classical theoretical models concerning the various pathways and processes that may lead young people from socially disadvantaged backgrounds to be at a higher risk of delinquency. It presents the findings on the factors influencing resilience or susceptibility to adverse ecological conditions, with particular reference with the mediating role of family functioning and child-rearing, neighborhood poverty and timing of poverty. Theory implications and the relevance of these findings for policy and practice are discussed.

Juvenile delinquency in Romania: a comparison between minors in prisons and re-education services

ABSTRACTThis article assesses the relationships between the individual and family characteristics of minors and juvenile delinquency in Romania. This cross-sectional study involved Romanian delinquent minors, 285 of whom were incarcerated in prisons in Romania and 280 subject to educational measures in re-education services in Romania. The multivariate logistic regression analysis showed that delinquency in incarcerated minors is associated with age, the offence committed, drug use, school dropout rates, recidivism, family alcoholism, the relationship with the biological parents, and the number of biological siblings. The study provides baseline data to identify at-risk minors in order to develop prevention programmes. We have adopted a public health approach to analysing delinquency and targets risk factors.

Predictors of Intervention Success in a Sports-Based Program for Adolescents at Risk of Juvenile Delinquency.

To prevent juvenile delinquency, there is growing interest in the use of sports-based interventions. To date, there is little empirical research that provides insights into for whom, how, and when sports-based crime prevention programs are most effective. Therefore, the current study assessed which youth, coach, and context factors were predictive of change in risk factors and protective factors for delinquency in a sports-based crime prevention program for at-risk adolescents. Participants (N = 155) and their teachers filled in questionnaires about risk and protective factors for delinquency at the start of the intervention and 13 months later. In addition, the coaches and participants filled in questionnaires about the predictors of intervention success. The youths showed significant improvements over the course of the intervention. Various youth, coach, and context factors (e.g., the type of education of youth and the sociomoral climate at the sports club) were associated to change in the outcome variables.

What Broker Charges Reveal About Mortgage Credit Risk

Prior to the subprime crisis, mortgage brokers charged higher percentage fees for loans that turned out to be riskier ex post, even when conditioning on other risk characteristics. High conditional fees reveal borrower attributes that are associated with high borrower risk, such as suboptimal shopping behavior, high valuation for the loan or high borrower-specific broker costs. Borrowers who pay high conditional fees are inherently more risky, not just because they pay high fees. We find a stronger association between conditional fees and delinquency risk when lenders have fewer incentives to screen borrowers, for purchase rather than refinance loans, and for loans originated by brokers who have less frequent interactions with the lender. Our findings shed light on the proposed QRM exemption criteria for risk retention requirements for residential mortgage securitizations.

Testing three pathways to substance use and delinquency among low-income African American adolescents

ObjectiveMounting literature suggests that parental monitoring, risky peer norms, and future orientation correlate with illicit drug use and delinquency. However, few studies have investigated these constructs simultaneously in a single statistical model with low income African American youth. This study examined parental monitoring, peer norms and future orientation as primary pathways to drug use and delinquent behaviors in a large sample of African American urban adolescents. MethodsA path model tested direct paths from peer norms, parental monitoring, and future orientation to drug use and delinquency outcomes after adjusting for potential confounders such as age, socioeconomic, and sexual orientation in a sample of 541 African American youth. ResultsGreater scores on measures of risky peer norms were associated with heightened risk of delinquency with an effect size that was twice in magnitude compared to the protective effects of future orientation. Regarding substance use, greater perceived risky peer norms correlated with the increased likelihood of substance use with a standardized effect size 3.33 times in magnitude compared to the protective effects of parental monitoring. ConclusionsFindings from this study suggest that interventions targeting risky peer norms among adolescent African American youth may correlate with a greater impact on reductions in substance use and delinquency than exclusively targeting parental monitoring or future orientation.

A critical-positive youth development model for intervening with minority youth at risk for delinquency.

Minority youths who experience adversity in the forms of concentrated poverty, neighborhood violence, and social marginalization are at increased risk for delinquency. Yet, traditional approaches to reducing delinquency do not typically account for these social-structural risk factors. This article proposes a model of intervening that was developed to address this limitation. The current model was informed by the findings of a 9-month ethnography of a leadership development program for African American youths as well as positive youth development and critical theory frameworks. It delineates the roles of key intervention features in enhancing important assets among minority youths that help them to better navigate adverse social-structural conditions, decrease problem behaviors, and increase prosocial behaviors. (PsycINFO Database Record

What Broker Charges Reveal about Mortgage Credit Risk

Prior to the subprime crisis, mortgage brokers charged higher percentage fees for loans that turned out to be riskier ex post, even when conditioning on other risk characteristics. High conditional fees reveal borrower attributes that are associated with high borrower risk, such as suboptimal shopping behavior, high valuation for the loan or high borrower-specific broker costs. Borrowers who pay high conditional fees are inherently more risky, not just because they pay high fees. We find a stronger association between conditional fees and delinquency risk when lenders have fewer incentives to screen bor- rowers, for purchase rather than refinance loans, and for loans originated by brokers who have less frequent interactions with the lender. Our findings shed light on the pro- posed QRM exemption criteria for risk retention requirements for residential mortgage securitizations.

Expressive writing intervention promotes resilience among juvenile justice-involved youth

Youth involved in child welfare and juvenile justice systems suffer from alarmingly high rates of mental health challenges. In particular, exposure to trauma (e.g., maltreatment) is one critical experience that amplifies their risk for delinquency and recidivism. Despite a profound need to address these youth's mental health needs, there is a paucity of trauma-informed and youth-centered treatments that are clinically feasible in under-resourced residential settings (e.g., juvenile detention facilities). In response to this gap, our research team collaborated with the juvenile justice subsection of a large American city's child welfare system with the goal of creating an intervention tailored to the needs of underserved system-involved youth. The resultant program, WRITE ON (Writing and Reflecting on Identity To Empower Ourselves as Narrators), leverages research on the therapeutic benefits of expressive writing to implement a brief, cost-effective intervention in youth residential settings. This paper describes intervention development and presents findings from the pilot study, which comprised a multisite experimental evaluation of youth (N=53) residing in short-term detention facilities. This pilot study aimed to: 1) assess intervention implementation fidelity, including participant satisfaction, and 2) evaluate the mental health outcomes of youth receiving WRITE ON as compared to those in a comparison support group (CSG). Results indicated that the intervention was delivered with good fidelity, participants reported high levels of satisfaction, and WRITE ON participants exhibited significant (p<0.01) gains in resilience compared to their counterparts in the CSG. Collectively, results suggest that a larger clinical trial investigating the effectiveness of WRITE ON with system-involved youth is warranted.

Childhood adversity and the risk of substance use and delinquency: The role of protective adult relationships

Youth involved in the child welfare system experience multiple early adversities that can contribute to increased risk of substance use and delinquency. Although adverse childhood experiences (ACEs) have been associated with poorer behavioral outcomes among youth, less is known about the possible protective factors that may influence the relationship between early adversity and risk-taking behavior. This study examined whether protective adult relationships moderated the link between cumulative ACEs and substance use and delinquency after controlling for demographic characteristics in child welfare-involved youth. The sample included 1054 youth, ages 11–17, from the National Survey of Child and Adolescent Well-Being II who were in the first wave of data collection. Results showed that protective adult relationships moderated the relationship between ACEs and substance use, but not for delinquency. Specifically, under lower levels of protective adult relationships, cumulative ACEs related to increased substance use among youth. Implications for child welfare practices to target youths' support systems are discussed.

Looking behind mortgage delinquencies

Delinquency rates for mortgages originated before and after the financial crisis are examined using a novel and large panel obtained by merging data from tax records and credit registers. First, we estimate the selection into the mortgage market using an exogenous index of local credit supply as exclusion restriction. Second, controlling for selection we estimate the impact of income shocks on the delinquency rate. We find that since 2008 the selection process has led to the halving of the delinquency rate. Conditional on the creation of a new mortgage, job losses nearly double the delinquency risk; estimates uncorrected for selection are severely downward biased.

Gender differences in delinquency at 21 years following childhood maltreatment: A birth cohort study

Childhood maltreatment and youth delinquency are major public health problems. The present study examines the association between exposure to agency substantiated childhood maltreatment from 0 to 14years of age and delinquency at 21years in males and females separately. The study uses data from the Mater Hospital-University of Queensland Study of Pregnancy, an Australian pre-birth longitudinal cohort of mothers and their children. Pregnant women were recruited consecutively at their first antenatal clinic visit at Brisbane's Mater Hospital from 1981 to 1983. We linked substantiated cases of childhood maltreatment, reported to the appropriate child protection services between birth and 14years of age, to the 21-year survey follow-up. The study sample comprises 1810 males and 2008 females, who had complete data on delinquency at the 21-year follow-up. The odds of delinquency at the 21-year follow-up were 4–6 times higher for maltreated children in the unadjusted models. In the adjusted models, physical abuse, emotional abuse and neglect, as well as emotional abuse with or without neglect were associated with over 3 times a greater risk of delinquency in males. More frequent maltreatment was associated with double the risk of later delinquency in males. However, none of the maltreatment subtypes, nor was the frequency of maltreatment substantiations associated with an increased risk of delinquency in females. Exposure to any childhood maltreatment increased the likelihood of delinquency for males but there was no difference for females. Childhood maltreatment is associated with an increased risk of later delinquency for young adult males, but not females.

Individual in Context: The Role of Impulse Control on the Association between the Home, School, and Neighborhood Developmental Contexts and Adolescent Delinquency.

Social ecological theories and decades of supporting research suggest that contexts exert a powerful influence on adolescent delinquency. Individual traits, such as impulse control, also pose a developmental disadvantage to adolescents through increasing risk of delinquency. However, such individual differences may also predispose some youth to struggle more in adverse environments, but also to excel in enriched environments. Despite the prominence of impulse control in both developmental and criminological literatures, researchers are only beginning to consider impulse control as an individual characteristic that may affect developmental outcomes in response to environmental input. Using a racially diverse (Latino 46 %; Black 37 %; White 15 %; other race 2 %) sample of 1,216 first-time, male, juvenile offenders from the longitudinal Crossroads Study, this study examined key interactions between baseline impulse control and the home, school, and neighborhood contexts in relation to delinquency within the following 6 months. The results indicated that even after accounting for prior delinquency, youth in more negative home, school, and neighborhood contexts engaged in the same amount of delinquency in the following 6 months regardless of their level of impulse control. However, the effects of positive home, school, and neighborhood contexts on delinquency were stronger for youth with moderate or high impulse control and minimally affected youth with low impulse control. The findings suggest two risk factors for delinquency: low impulse control as a dispositional vulnerability that operates independently of developmental context, and a second that results from a contextual vulnerability.

Future orientation climate in the school class: Relations to adolescent delinquency, heavy alcohol use, and internalizing problems

It is well known, based on previous research, that adolescents' thoughts and feelings about their future are related to the risk of delinquency, alcohol use as well as health. However, other well-known facts are that adolescents' actions are substantially shaped in interaction with peers and that, during adolescence, individuals spend a considerable amount of the day at school, in interaction with classmates. Despite this, there is an almost complete lack of studies exploring to what extent the school climate, as measured by thoughts and feelings about the future, can influence individual adolescents. The aim of the current study is to investigate whether the future orientation (FO) climate, measured at the school class level, is related to delinquency, alcohol use and internalizing problems at the individual level, among a sample of Swedish students 14–15years of age. The data used come from the Swedish part of the Youth in Europe (YES!) study, which is part of the larger project Children of Immigrants - Longitudinal Survey in Four European Countries (CILS4EU). In the present paper, we use data from the first wave, collected among 8th grade students in 2010/11 (n=4119–4364). The method used was multilevel modeling (linear probability models (LPM) and linear regression analysis). The results showed that, in school classes where a high proportion of students had a positive future orientation, the risk of heavy alcohol use at the individual level was lower, also after adjusting for individual FO and for individual- and class-level socioeconomic conditions. A similar, but not statistically significant, tendency was found for delinquency. In addition, having a high proportion of students with a positive FO in a school class was associated with fewer internalizing problems, also after controlling for individual FO and socioeconomic conditions at the individual and school class level. We conclude that the surrounding school class, in terms of its general future orientation climate, may play a role for individual outcomes in the form of problem behaviors and mental health.