NCJ Number
230984
Journal
Pennsylvania Progress Volume: 11 Issue: 4 Dated: January 2006 Pages: 1-10
Date Published
January 2006
Length
10 pages
Annotation
This publication presents the methodology and findings to date of a Pennsylvania longitudinal study ("Pathways to Desistance") that is in its fifth year of following the progress of a large sample of serious juvenile offenders in order to determine how, why, and under what circumstances they grow out of offending.
Abstract
Since at this point investigators have examined data for only 2 years of change in the lives of the youth, it is too early to report on desistance in offending over time. What has been found thus far is that there is variability in how the youth offend over time, but patterns of desistance will only be determined after the sample has been followed into their twenties; however, the study has already produced some interesting and suggestive findings, some that could be important for the juvenile justice field. Thus far, data show that treatment works with juveniles, both to lower substance use and significantly reduce offending. Data analysis show that even the treatment that occurs in what researchers call "the natural environment" (i.e., research not administered under controlled conditions by trained personnel) tended to yield significant benefits. After examining follow-up data on youth who had obvious substance use or mental health problems, researchers unexpectedly found that they were more likely to be matched with the services they needed in secure public facilities. This may mean that structured screening and assessment procedures adopted in these settings are yielding benefits in terms of better targeting of services. The researchers have also been exploring other patterns and themes in the data, such as whether attitudes toward the justice system change over time, the links between different parenting styles and juvenile offending, and the mechanisms by which "bad neighborhoods" and "bad parenting" combine to produce serious delinquency. 13 notes