Which Substance and What Community? Differences in Juvenile Disposition Severity

• NCJ Number: 211563
• Journal: Crime & Delinquency Volume: 51 Issue: 4 Dated: October 2005 Pages: 548-572
• Author(s): Yvonne M. Terry-McElrath; Duane C. McBride; Erin Ruel; Eileen M. Harwood; Curtis J. Vanderwaal; Frank J. Chaloupka
• Date Published: October 2005
• Length: 25 pages
• Sponsoring Agency: Robert Wood Johnson Foundation
• Corporate Author: University of Illinois at Chicago
• Publication Format: Article
• Publication Type: Report (Study/Research)
• Language: English
• Country: United States of America

Annotation

Using a national sample of prosecutors from communities surrounding schools that participated in the nationally representative 2000 Monitoring the Future survey, this study examined the severity of prosecutor-reported juvenile dispositions by specific drug charge and community characteristics.

Abstract

The study included prosecutors of juvenile cases in 173 communities. Interviews were completed with at least 1 prosecutor in 135 of the 173 communities (78 percent response rate). Independent variables were substance offense charges that included three possession offenses (alcohol possession, marijuana possession, and powder cocaine possession) as well as DUI (driving under the influence) offenses. Other independent variables were related to community context, including average juvenile caseload, racial composition, median household income, population density, and region. Dependent measures pertained to the severity of dispositions. Prosecutors were presented with a series of vignettes that explored formal processing and disposition outcomes for juvenile substance offense cases, with one vignette each for alcohol possession, marijuana possession, powder cocaine possession, and DUI. The likely disposition in each jurisdiction was requested for each vignette. All analyses used Stata version 8 and included weights to account for the sampling procedures of the Monitoring the Future survey. Modeling the variation in substance charge and controlling for community context found that substance charge was not significantly linked to the crossing of the disposition-severity threshold between Level 2 (minimal reaction) and Level 3 (community-based corrections); however, it did have a substantive role in the chances of crossing the second threshold into Level 4 (placement), with a cocaine charge eliciting greater likelihood of out-of-home placement. Regarding community characteristics, economically prosperous predominately White communities dispensed somewhat stricter penalties for first-time offenders, but were not apparently willing to send such youth to formal placement. Regional culture and the demands of prosecutor caseloads were other factors related to disposition severity. 4 tables and 56 references