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Do Status Offenders Get Worse? Some Clarifications on the Question of Escalation

NCJ Number
116704
Journal
Crime and Delinquency Volume: 35 Issue: 2 Dated: (April 1989) Pages: 202-216
Author(s)
R G Shelden; J A Horvath; S Tracy
Date Published
1989
Length
15 pages
Annotation
Data from a longitudinal study of juvenile court referrals reveal that whether or not status offenders 'escalate' is dependent upon gender and the specific type of status offense committed.
Abstract
Specifically, male status offenders were found to be more likely than females to escalate. Also, runaways and unmanageables were far less likely to escalate than those who were first referred for truancy, curfew, and liquor law violations. Status offenders are also compared with other offenders in terms of the total number of subsequent referrals and whether or not a youth had an arrest record as an adult. Some of the problems associated with the study of status offenders are discussed. (Author abstract)