NCJ Number
218292
Journal
Criminal Justice and Behavior: An International Journal Volume: 34 Issue: 4 Dated: April 2007 Pages: 476-492
Date Published
April 2007
Length
17 pages
Annotation
This study examined the congruence between results on the Massachusetts Youth Screening Instrument-Version 2 (MAYSI-2) and the institutional adjustment of severe male juvenile offenders at a residential treatment facility.
Abstract
Results indicated that the Angry-Irritable subscale of the MAYSI-2 significantly predicted severe rule violations and intensive supervision placement during the first 90 days of confinement. On the other hand, the hit rate analyses indicated a high level of false negatives for the subscale cut scores, revealing possible problems with the overall classification accuracy. Despite this difficulty, the findings suggest that a brief screening instrument can be a helpful tool in predicting institutional maladjustments for at-risk youth. Research involved the collection of institutional maladjustment data during the first 90 days of commitment for 104 male juvenile offenders. Data were gathered from participant’s files, which included comprehensive psychiatric evaluations. These juvenile offenders also completed the MAYSI-2 during their orientation to the facility, which specializes in the rehabilitation of severe juvenile offenders. The analysis involved the use of correlational analyses to measure the convergent validity of the MAYSI-2. Future research should compare the MAYSI-2 with other similar parent and staff rating scale measures. Researchers are also encouraged to investigate whether other brief screening measures can be combined with the MAYSI-2 to improve its effectiveness. Tables, note, references