Delinquent Youth Research Articles

Impact of domestic violence in the manifestation of aggressive behavior among adolescent aged 15

The main purpose of this study is to explore the impact of domestic violence in the manifestation of aggressive behavior among adolescents. Through this research study is aimed to promote research in this area for the purpose of awareness of people and society in Kosovo for consequences of domestic violence in general and children in particular. The reason for such a study lies in the fact that Kosovo society as a society in transition still suffering from the consequences of war and extreme Serbian violence, increasingly spreading phenomena which are based violence, such as domestic violence, violence against children, violence in schools, youth delinquency, etc. For this is designed a case study to get a unique perspective on the experience of domestic violence and its impact on the behavior of a teenager aged 15. Case study was conducted mainly through semi-structured interview. The data were supplemented with additional interviews with other persons and analyzed documentation. Data analysis was done through analysis of the phenomenological interpretation. The main question which is based on the study has been: Why adolescents aged 15 years from families with a history of violence demonstrate aggressive behavior toward others? The case study shows that adolescents in this age because of violence experienced, along with other problems, also demonstrate aggressive behavior, often by modelling the parents’ behavior. Keywords: Domestic violence, violence against children, the aggression, adolescence

A Preliminary Study on Cognitive–Behavior Interventions for Hong Kong Chinese Delinquent Youth

Objectives: This study evaluated a culturally attuned cognitive–behavior intervention for reducing impulsivity and delinquency-related attitudes and behaviors among Chinese delinquent youth in Hong Kong. Methods: A quasi-experimental design was adopted. Twenty participants received CBI, and 20 received routine counseling for a period of 12 months. All participants filled out a standardized questionnaire before the intervention and at 6 and 12 months of intervention. Results: A series of 2 × 3 analyses of variance were used to examine the Time × Group Effects of the two groups of participants. Results suggested, when compared to the control group, the participants in the experimental group showed greater and continuous positive changes in overall impulsivity, nonplanning impulsivity, cognitive impulsivity, and overall delinquency, with effect sizes showing moderate to large magnitude of change. Conclusion: This culturally attuned CBI program may be a useful inclusion in the outreaching social services for Chinese delinquent youth in Hong Kong.

Trajectories of Substance Use Disorder in Youth After Detention: A 12-Year Longitudinal Study

To identify trajectories of substance use disorders (SUDs) in youth during the 12 years after detention and how gender, race/ethnicity, and age at baseline predict trajectories. As part of the Northwestern Juvenile Project, a longitudinal study of 1,829 youth randomly sampled from detention in Chicago, Illinois from 1995 through 1998, participants were reinterviewed in the community or correctional facilities up to 9 times over 12 years. Independent interviewers assessed SUDs using the Diagnostic Interview Schedule for Children 2.3 (baseline) and the Diagnostic Interview Schedule IV (follow-ups). Primary outcome was a mutually exclusive 5-category typology of disorder: no SUD, alcohol alone, marijuana alone, comorbid alcohol and marijuana, or "other" illicit ("hard") drug. Trajectories were estimated using growth mixture models with a 3-category ordinal variable derived from the typology. During the 12-year follow-up, 19.6% of youth did not have an SUD. The remaining 81.4% were in 3 trajectory classes. Class 1 (24.5%), a bell-shaped trajectory, peaked 5 years after baseline when 42.7% had an SUD and 12.5% had comorbid or "other" illicit drug disorders. Class 2 (41.3%) had a higher prevalence of SUD at baseline, 73.8%. Although prevalence decreased over time, 23.5% had an SUD 12 years later. Class 3 (14.6%), the most serious and persistent trajectory, had the highest prevalence of comorbid or "other" illicit drug disorders-52.1% at baseline and 17.4% 12 years later. Males, Hispanics, non-Hispanic whites, and youth who were older at baseline (detention) had the worst outcomes. Gender, race/ethnicity, and age at detention predict trajectories of SUDs in delinquent youth. Findings provide an empirical basis for child psychiatry to address health disparities and improve prevention.

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.

Traumatic Stress Among Seriously Delinquent Youth: Considering the Consequences of Neighborhood Circumstance.

Myriad factors have been found to have an impact on delinquent behavior and traumatic stress. This study proposes a model that tests the relationship between common predictors of delinquency (neighborhood condition, antisocial peer socialization, and exposure to violence) with traumatic stress. Serial mediation was used to test the relationships between these predictors and traumatic stress. Results indicate the mediation effect between neighborhood conditions and traumatic stress significantly reduces the total effect. Implications for traumatic stress in the context of delinquent behavior are discussed.

Collateral Narratives: Neoliberal Citizenship, Juvenile Delinquency, and Cambodian American Refugee Youth ina.k.a. Don Bonus

Collateral Narratives: Neoliberal Citizenship, Juvenile Delinquency, and Cambodian American Refugee Youth in<i>a.k.a. Don Bonus</i>

Social Bonds, Juvenile Delinquency, and Korean Adolescents

Social bonds theory is one of the most influential and tested perspectives for explaining juvenile delinquency, yet tests have often been methodologically limited. Prior research has failed to examine how intra- and interindividual variation in social bonding influences delinquency. In addition, there are few applications of this theory to non-Western contexts. Thus, the current study attempts to test the cross-cultural generalizability of social bonds theory and overcome weaknesses of prior research. We use longitudinal panel analyses and five waves of data from the Korean Youth Panel Survey to examine the influence of nine measures of social bonding on delinquent behavior. By estimating different panel models, we find some support for social bonds as indicators of within- and between-individual variation in delinquency. Specifically, the emphasis on education in Korea and the role of parents in supervising their children play an integral role in reducing the delinquency of Korean youth.

Moving Beyond Fatherhood Involvement: The Association Between Father–Child Relationship Quality and Youth Delinquency Trajectories

The effect of nonresidential father relationship characteristics on delinquency trajectories among low‐income youth (N = 799) was examined using data from the Three Cities Study, a longitudinal study of mothers and their children eligible for Temporary Assistance for Needy Families in Boston, Chicago, and San Antonio. Growth curve models were employed to track delinquency trajectories and their rate of growth. Characteristics of father–child relationships (anger–alienation, trust–communication) were specified as predictors of delinquency while controlling for father involvement and family structure. Trust–communication influenced delinquency growth, but the rate of growth slowed as youth aged. Implications for programs, interventions, and policy are explored.

Cumulative trauma, adversity and grief symptoms associated with fronto-temporal regions in life-course persistent delinquent boys

Delinquent youth have substantial trauma exposure, with life-course persistent delinquents [LCPD] demonstrating notably elevated cross-diagnostic psychopathology and cognitive deficits. Because adolescents remain in the midst of brain and neurocognitive development, tailored interventions are key to improving functional outcomes. This structural magnetic resonance imaging study compared neuroanatomical profiles of 23 LCPD and 20 matched control adolescent boys. LCPD youth had smaller overall gray matter, and left hippocampal, volumes alongside less cortical surface area and folding within the left pars opercularis and supramarginal cortex. LCPD youth had more adversity-related exposures, and their higher Cumulative Trauma, Adversity and Grief [C-TAG] symptoms were associated with less surface area and folding in the pars opercularis and lingual gyrus. Neuroanatomical differences between LCPD and control youth overlap with data from both maltreatment and antisocial literatures. The affected left frontal regions also share connections to language- and executive-related functions, aligning well with LCPD youths' cognitive and behavioral difficulties. These data also dovetail with research suggesting the possibility of neurodevelopmental delays or disruptions related to cumulative adversity burden. Thus, concurrent treatment of LCPD youths' C-TAG symptoms and, cognitive deficits with overlapping neuroanatomical bases, may be most effective in improving outcomes and optimizing neurodevelopmental trajectories.

Good parents, bad parents: Rethinking family involvement in juvenile justice

This article proposes a new theoretical model for studying family involvement in youth delinquency cases in juvenile court. It argues that before we can assess the family’s effect on case outcomes, we must first have a clearer understanding about the process by which family involvement is formed to consider the myriad factors that go beyond the idea of a ‘good’ or ‘bad’ parent. Based on qualitative data on families in New York City Family Court, this article shows how family involvement is not a predetermined factor but rather, the result of the institutional process itself as shaped by the family’s interactions with court staff as well as the youths’ behaviors and interactions with parents and staff.

The roles of family environment, parental rearing styles and personality traits in the development of delinquency in Chinese youth

Background: Youth delinquency is a major public health problem worldwide. The family environment, parental rearing styles, and personality traits have been demonstrated to be important factors in juvenile delinquency. This study investigated the family environment, parental rearing styles, and personality traits in Chinese juvenile offenders.Methods: A total of 290 juvenile offenders and 188 juvenile controls, who had no delinquency record, between 12 and 25 years of age completed: a Family Environment Scale-Chinese Version (FES-CV), a Family Upbringing Styles questionnaire (FUSQ), a Big Five-factor Inventory (FFI-R), and, a Barrett Impulsiveness Scale (BIS-11).Results: Cohesion, expressiveness, and active-recreational orientation scores were significantly higher, and conflict, achievement orientation, and moral-religious emphasis scores were significantly lower in offenders than in controls (p < 0.05, p < 0.01, p < 0.001). Scores along all 10 FUSQ dimensions were significantly lower in offenders than that in controls (p < 0.001). Openness and agreeableness scores were significantly lower, while impulsivity scores were significantly higher in offenders than that in controls (p < 0.001).Conclusion: Family environments, parental rearing styles, and personality traits affected the development of young delinquency.

Psychopathic traits and maltreatment: Relations with aggression and mental health problems in detained boys

Psychopathic traits and a history of maltreatment are well-known risk factors for mental health problems and aggression. A better insight in the impact of such risk factors on juvenile delinquents is likely to help tailoring treatment. Therefore, this study aimed to examine mental health problems and aggression in detained delinquent youths with various levels of psychopathic traits and maltreatment. Standardized questionnaires were used to assign 439 detained male adolescents (N = 439; from 13 to 18years of age) to one of six mutually exclusive groups: adolescents with (1) low psychopathic traits without maltreatment; (2) low psychopathic traits and one type of maltreatment; (3) low psychopathic traits and multiple types of maltreatment; (4) high psychopathic traits without maltreatment; (5) high psychopathic traits and one type of maltreatment and finally (6) high psychopathic traits and multiple types of maltreatment. Next, groups were compared on mental health problems, mental disorders and reactive and proactive aggression. Findings indicated that compared to the low psychopathic traits groups, high psychopathic traits groups had markedly higher levels of externalizing mental health problems (such as attention deficit/hyperactivity, substance abuse, rule-breaking), proactive and reactive aggression, but not of internalizing mental health problems (anxiety and depression). Mental health problems in boys with a low level of psychopathic traits increased with the number of types of maltreatment in their history. In boys with a high level of psychopathic traits, group differences did not reach significance. Levels of proactive and reactive aggression increased with the number of types of maltreatment in boys with low levels of psychopathic traits, but not in those with high psychopathic traits. Thus, in detained adolescents both psychopathic traits and the number of maltreatment types are related to the severity of mental health problems and types of aggression. When used in routine screening procedures, these risk factors may thus improve identification and support targeted treatment-allocation of detained adolescents with serious clinical problems.

Longitudinal Relations Among Parental Monitoring Strategies, Knowledge, and Adolescent Delinquency in a Racially Diverse At-Risk Sample

Parents raising youth in high-risk communities at times rely on active, involved monitoring strategies in order to increase both knowledge about youth activities and the likelihood that adolescents will abstain from problem behavior. Key monitoring literature suggests that some of these active monitoring strategies predict increases in adolescent problem behavior rather than protect against it. However, this literature has studied racially homogenous, low-risk samples, raising questions about generalizability. With a diverse sample of youth (N = 753; 58% male; 46% Black) and families living in high-risk neighborhoods, bidirectional longitudinal relations were examined among three aspects of monitoring (parental discussions of daily activities, parental curfew rules, and adolescent communication with parents), parental knowledge, and youth delinquency. Parental discussion of daily activities was the strongest predictor of parental knowledge, which negatively predicted delinquency. However, these aspects of monitoring did not predict later delinquency. Findings were consistent across gender and race/urbanicity. Results highlight the importance of active and involved parental monitoring strategies in contexts where they are most needed.

Community Disadvantage, Prosocial Bonds, and Juvenile Reoffending

Prior efforts suggest that adverse community contexts have the ability to impact juvenile recidivism. However, far less research has examined the indirect effects of community disadvantage on delinquent youth reoffending. As a result, it remains unclear whether several theoretically relevant mechanisms mediate the effects of disadvantage on continued delinquent behavior. Drawing from theoretical models of contextual effects, as well as social control theory, the present study examines whether prosocial bonds are salient mechanisms in the context–recidivism relationship. Using a sample of over 20,000 juvenile offenders, our results indicate that both prosocial relationships and prosocial activities partially mediate the effect of community disadvantage on youth reoffending. Findings from the current study are discussed, along with policy implications and directions for future research in this area.

The Relation Between Living Group Climate, Aggression, and Callous-Unemotional Traits in Delinquent Boys in Detention.

Aggression and callous-unemotional (CU) traits are common problems in incarcerated delinquent youth. The present study was conducted to examine whether living group climate was associated with aggression and CU traits in late adolescent male offenders ( N = 156) in a German youth prison. A structural equation model was fitted to the data and showed associations between repression and reactive aggression and CU traits, but no associations between an open and supportive living group climate and aggression and CU traits. Previous research in Dutch youth prisons did not find a relation between repression and aggression, buta relation between a positive living group climate and less aggression. These different findings may reflect differences in the German and Dutch prison system. Implications for practice are discussed.

America's Disposable Youth: Undocumented Delinquent Juveniles

Through discriminatory rhetoric state and local officials construct delinquent juvenile immigrant youth as the embodiment of a threat to public safety and American values. Accordingly, alleged delinquent undocumented immigrant children who have spent the majority of their lives in the United States, are subjected to discrimination and exclusionary practices, which enable lessened protections under the law. This article critically analyzes how undocumented delinquent youth, mainly Latino males, are constructed through the various narratives of immigrant children that are perpetuated by the media and policymakers, and how this impacts their treatment within the juvenile justice and immigration systems. Central to this analysis is how the immigrant children’s multiple identities of race, class, gender and socio-economic status intersect and impact the Latino delinquent immigrant child’s interactions within these legal institutions. The article examines how increased interior immigration enforcement through the creation of state and local policies for the referral of delinquent immigrant youth to the Department of Homeland Security, Immigration and Customs Enforcement to begin removal proceedings. In examining state and local policies, the article considers the inherent bias and the targeting of particular groups that may develop from varied state and local policies that are not uniform and based on the discretion of political actors. Overall, this article takes a critical look at the contrasting ways in which vulnerable undocumented immigrant youth are defined within these legal systems and how the “othering” of Latino male youth facilitates decreased guarantees of substantive legal protections and due process rights, which reinforce existing hierarchies and stereotypes.

Mental Illness and Juvenile Offenders.

Within the past decade, reliance on the juvenile justice system to meet the needs of juvenile offenders with mental health concerns has increased. Due to this tendency, research has been conducted on the effectiveness of various intervention and treatment programs/approaches with varied success. Recent literature suggests that because of interrelated problems involved for youth in the juvenile justice system with mental health issues, a dynamic system of care that extends beyond mere treatment within the juvenile justice system is the most promising. The authors provide a brief overview of the extent to which delinquency and mental illness co-occur; why treatment for these individuals requires a system of care; intervention models; and the juvenile justice systems role in providing mental health services to delinquent youth. Current and future advancements and implications for practitioners are provided.

A Test of an Integrative Model Using Social Factors and Personality Traits: Prediction on the Delinquency of South Korean Youth.

To more fully comprehend juvenile delinquency, it is necessary to take an integrative approach, with consideration of both personality traits of social risk factors. Many scholars argue the necessity and strength of integrative approach on the ground that juvenile delinquency is an outcome of interplay of individual and social factors. The present study examines the general applicability of an integrative model of personal traits and social risk factors to youth delinquency in the South Korean context. The empirical results show that the delinquency predictors in the current South Korean sample are closely aligned to Loeber and Farrington's theoretical propositions and that found in Western nations. Perhaps this is because South Korea has undergone rapid Westernization for the last decades. Because the correlates in this sample and Western theoretical propositions and studies overlap, an integrative model of personality trait and social risk factors is indeed generally applicable to South Korea. This finding also depicts the extent of Westernization in the South Korean society at least among adolescents. Limitations of the present study and directions for the future study are discussed.

Juvenile Delinquency.

This issue of Child and Adolescent Psychiatric Clinics of North America focuses on juvenile delinquency, advancements over the past century, current proceedings, and ongoing dilemmas. With the recognition of children, their vulnerability, and unique needs delineating them from adults, many policies and services have been established to protect and meet the needs of children. These changes also encompassed youth delinquency. The first youth detention center, The New York House of Refuge, was developed and the first juvenile court was established in Chicago during the nineteenth century. Keywords: Juvenile justice; Language: en

An Ecological Approach to Understanding Delinquency of Youths in Foster Care

ABSTRACTThis review highlights the importance of an ecological approach to understanding delinquent behaviors of youth in foster care. The author provides clarification on the specific aspects of Ecological Theory that are considered in this review. The author highlights how Brofenbrenner’s Ecological Theory can be useful for various professionals working with these youths. Relevance of the theory in regards to implications for both clinical practice and policy are discussed, in addition to research. The author describes how an ecological approach provides a more comprehensive approach to understanding delinquency of youth in care.