NCJ Number
228737
Journal
Journal of Correctional Education Volume: 60 Issue: 3 Dated: September 2009 Pages: 201-224
Date Published
September 2009
Length
24 pages
Annotation
This study identified the risk and protective factors for criminal behaviors perceived by 51 adjudicated adolescents in the course of their developmental pathway to adulthood.
Abstract
The adolescents identified their own positive or negative decisionmaking skills as a determinant of the likelihood of their continuing or stopping their criminal activity. Although the adolescents took responsibility for their choices, they often mentioned the influences of nonsupportive parents and negative peer associations. The development of positive, prosocial friendships was viewed as a protective factor that encouraged positive decisionmaking and prevention of drug use and delinquent behavior. Seventy-two percent of respondents mentioned strong emotional support from family members as a protective factor for the development of positive adult behaviors. Fifty-one percent of the youth identified access to drugs in their community as a barrier to successful community adjustment. Respondents also mentioned the lack of access to positive leisure activities in their communities as a barrier to their positive development. As an alternative to gang membership and drug and alcohol use, respondents mentioned access to sports, hunting and fishing, skateboarding parks, and libraries as protective influences. Less than 25 percent of the respondents mentioned the ability to live independently as a protective factor. This related to their perceptions of weak or negative support from family and peers. The ability to live independently was related to factors of education, affordable housing, and the skills needed to find and perform well in jobs. Based on these findings, this study recommends that treatment planning and intervention for youth by tailored to individual characteristics and the development of skills for positive associations and decisions relative to peers, employers, family, and community environments. Study data were obtained from 1-on-1 interviews with 51 juvenile offenders conducted from 1999 through 2002 as part of assessments for the implementation of a re-entry intervention for adjudicated youth. The interviews focused on the youths' perceptions of potential supports and barriers to their successful transition from adolescence to adulthood. 1 table, 1 figure, and 47 references