NCJ Number
166155
Date Published
1995
Length
18 pages
Annotation
This study examined whether age, gender, and race would predict successful completion of the Teen Court program administered by the Southside Youth Council in Indianapolis, Ind.
Abstract
The Teen Court program is an alternative sentencing program that involves the participation of teen peers in the adjudication of teen defendants. Data for this study were collected from the Southside Youth Council for Teen Court participants for the years 1992, 1993, and 1994. A data set of 583 records of male and female subjects of various races was collected, but only 516 records could be analyzed. Data were coded and the categorical sums were entered into chi-square equations for correlative analysis of age, gender, and race with regard to the criterion variable of compliance with the Teen Court sentence. The analysis found that age and race were significantly related to sentence completion. Approximately 87 percent of the 14- to 18-year-olds were successful compared to only about 77 percent of the 10- to 13 year- olds. The test for gender did not reach statistical significance. The test for race, however, found a significant difference. Approximately 88 percent of whites were successful compared to approximately 77 percent of blacks. Results show that approximately 95 percent of the white females ages 14-18 completed the program compared to approximately 76 percent of black females ages 14-18. These findings may benefit future research projects and provide a foundation for further study of the causal factors relevant to these discovered variances and the successful completion rate of Teen Court subjects. 3 tables, 2 figures, and a 3-item bibliography