NCJ Number
92939
Date Published
1984
Length
317 pages
Annotation
This study of a sample of juvenile wards of the New Jersey Division of Youth and Family Services assessed the impact of the residential treatment experience on residents' outcome in the community 4 years after release.
Abstract
The juveniles, many of whom had been determined to be emotionally disturbed and/or delinquent, were interviewed while in a residential facility, a year later when two-thirds were no longer in residential placement, and 4 years later when virtually all were in the community. In all, 373 residents were interviewed in 26 different facilities, including group homes, treatment centers, and one large institution. The study focused on three aspects of the treatment environment hypothesized to affect outcome: (1) the relative consistency with which staff respond to resident deviant behavior, (2) the extent to which staff are perceived by residents as caring for their welfare, and (3) the strength of the resident deviant subculture. The study found that the more consistent the staff's responses to deviant behavior, the less prevalent the delinquent subculture within the facility. Residents in facilities with relatively high consistency were more likely than other residents to have high self-esteem, to adjust better in the work and educational communities upon release, and slightly less likely than residents in less consistent environments to become involved in subsequent criminality. The study found that the caring function was less important than the disciplinary function represented by the staff consistency variable; however, there was some evidence that residents progressed in the solving of particular problems as a result of an environment in which the staff was perceived as caring. The appendixes contain the research instruments, major variables used in the analysis, and credits for measures used. Tabular data and 35 references are provided.