The Role of Clinical Assessment in the Juvenile Court: Predictors of Juvenile Dispositions and Recidivism

Niarhos, Frances; Routh, Donald K.

doi:10.1207/s15374424jccp2102_7

Cited by 66 publications

(51 citation statements)

References 25 publications

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“…Among these legal factors, a youth's prior record is an especially important predictor of disposition (Matarazzo, Carrington, & Hiscott, 2001). In particular, the severity of a juvenile's sanctions for prior adjudicated offenses significantly influences the likelihood that a youth is placed in secure confinement (Carrington & Moyer, 1995;Henretta, Frazier, & Bishop, 1986;Lee, 1996;Phillips & Dinitz, 1982;Stryker, Nagel, & Hagan, 1983;Thornberry & Christensen, 1984).Although current research confirms the secondary role of individual and contextual factors in shaping juvenile courts dispositions (Niarhos & Routh, 1992;Campbell & Schmidt, 2000), some researchers have found that certain extralegal factors, including the presence or absence of substance abuse problems, family dysfunction, deviant peer associations, antisocial attitudes, and antisocial personality factors, are related to dispositional outcome, even after controlling for legal factors (Hoge et al, 1995;Campbell & Schmidt, 2000). Other studies have found that certain contextual factors, such as whether the juvenile is attending school, working, or living in a two-parent household, are associated with dispositional outcomes, even after controlling for legal and offender characteristics, but the findings of this research have been inconsistent (Cohen & Kluegel, 1978;Kueneman & Linden, 1983;Kueneman et al, 1992;Thomas & Cage, 1977).…”

mentioning

confidence: 61%

Legal, individual, and environmental predictors of court disposition in a sample of serious adolescent offenders.

Cauffman

Piquero

Kimonis

et al. 2007

Law and Human Behavior

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Historically, the juvenile court has been expected to consider each youth's distinct rehabilitative needs in the dispositional decision-making process, rather than focusing on legal factors alone. This study examines the extent to which demographic, psychological, contextual, and legal factors, independently predict dispositional outcomes (i.e., probation vs. confinement) within two juvenile court jurisdictions (Philadelphia, Phoenix). The sample consists of 1,355 14-to 18-year-old male and female juvenile offenders adjudicated of a serious criminal offense. Results suggest that legal factors have the strongest influence on disposition in both jurisdictions. For example, a higher number of prior court referrals is associated with an increased likelihood of secure confinement in both jurisdictions. Juveniles adjudicated of violent offenses are more likely to receive secure confinement in Phoenix, but are more likely to be placed on probation in Philadelphia. Race is unrelated to dispositional outcome, but, males are consistently more likely than females to be placed in secure confinement. Importantly, individual factors (e.g., developmental maturity) generally were not powerful independent predictors of disposition. Finally, an examination of the predictors of juvenile versus adult court transfer in Phoenix indicated that males, older juveniles, and those with a violent adjudicated charge were more likely to be transferred to adult court, while juveniles scoring high on responsibility as well as those juveniles with an alcohol dependence diagnosis were more likely to be retained in juvenile court. KeywordsAdolescence; Juvenile justice; Waiver to adult court; Sentencing; Maturity NIH-PA Author ManuscriptNIH-PA Author Manuscript NIH-PA Author ManuscriptThe contemporary juvenile justice system must balance the two competing challenges of optimally providing for youths' positive development and ensuring public safety (Grisso, 2003), with the former goal differentiating it from adult criminal courts. Although landmark juvenile cases, including Kent v. U.S. (1966) and In re Gault (1967) have reduced differences between adult and juvenile courts by providing juveniles with more procedural guarantees of due process, they have also highlighted the enduring role of personal and environmental characteristics specific to each youth (e.g., maturity, behavioral and emotional factors) in dispositional decision-making (In re Gault, 387 U.S. 1, 1967; Kent v. United States, 383 U.S. 541, 1966). In theory, the primary goal of the juvenile justice system is to administer "custommade" dispositions to youths based on a case-by-case consideration of each youth's distinct rehabilitative needs (Connell, 1980;Horwitz & Wasserman, 1980). This customization should result in different juvenile court dispositions for adolescent offenders whose personality characteristics and social backgrounds differ but who may commit similar offenses. In practice, however, as is the case in adult criminal courts, dispositional decisions in conte...

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confidence: 61%

Legal, individual, and environmental predictors of court disposition in a sample of serious adolescent offenders.

Cauffman

Piquero

Kimonis

et al. 2007

Law and Human Behavior

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“…2 Research on pre-arrest factors has shown that offenders who are male, those who are initially arrested at younger ages, and those with more prior offenses have higher rates of recidivism post-placement (Brent & Tollett, 1999;Greenwood, 1996;Niarhos & Routh, 1992). Other studies have demonstrated that traits such as substance abuse (Dembo, Williams, Schmeidler, Getreu, & Berry, 1991), associating with delinquent peers (Catalano, Wells, Jenson, & Hawkins, 1989), and school failure (Loeber & Dishion, 1983;Niarhos & Routh, 1992) all contribute to greater recidivism risk. Another body of research has investigated the influence of placement type on recidivism.…”

Section: Literature Reviewmentioning

confidence: 99%

Listening to Juvenile Offenders: Can Residential Treatment Prevent Recidivism?

Abrams¹

2005

Child Adolesc Soc Work J

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This paper explores clients' perspectives on their treatment in two different residential correctional facilities for juvenile male offenders. Although a wealth of literature has investigated risk factors for recidivism, little is known about how youth offenders experience the treatment or deterrence aspects of institutional confinement. Through an ethnographic study of two correctional facilities and in-depth interviews with 19 young men, the author provides a rich description of how youth offenders understand their time in residential care and examines how these programs influence offenders' motivations to desist from crime. The principles derived from this study will provide critical information for social workers and researchers seeking to enhance the effectiveness and quality of institutional care for male juvenile offenders.

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“…Victims of sexual abuse, compared to non-victims, begin drug use earlier and are more likely to be regular users of illicit drugs (Bodinger-Deuriate, 1991). Juvenile offenders with positive substance use histories are significantly more likely to reoffend than youths who do not use substances (Myner et al, 1998;Niarhos and Routh, 1992).…”

Section: Risk Factors For Delinquency Among Girlsmentioning

confidence: 99%

Young female offenders: Increasingly visible yet poorly understood

Sondheimer

2001

Gend. Issues

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The Role of Clinical Assessment in the Juvenile Court: Predictors of Juvenile Dispositions and Recidivism

Cited by 66 publications

References 25 publications

Legal, individual, and environmental predictors of court disposition in a sample of serious adolescent offenders.

Legal, individual, and environmental predictors of court disposition in a sample of serious adolescent offenders.

Listening to Juvenile Offenders: Can Residential Treatment Prevent Recidivism?

Young female offenders: Increasingly visible yet poorly understood

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