NCJ Number
187359
Journal
Journal of Offender Rehabilitation Volume: 32 Issue: 3 Dated: 2001 Pages: 79-108
Editor(s)
Nathaniel J. Pallone Ph.D,
Date Published
2001
Length
30 pages
Annotation
This study examines the relative predictive power of widely used psychological scales in comparison to commonly recorded information on sociodemographic, familial, peer, and drug factors in their determination of recidivism in adulthood of adolescents in the Arkansas Division of Youth Services’ Serious Offender Program.
Abstract
This study of 248 adolescents who had been in a Serious Offender Program in the Arkansas Division of Youth Services (DYS) was designed to examine the relative predictability of: (a) a common risk assessment tool; (b) a battery of psychological tests; and (c) a combination of demographic and theoretical factors. The measure of recidivism was entry into the Arkansas correctional system for adults within a two-year follow up period. Logistic regression procedures indicate that the following are significant predictors, in order of predictability: prior commitments to DYS, male, gang members, carry weapons, peers present during committing offense(s), age of first offense, age first used illicit drugs, persons of color, those who had been neglected or abused, youth from larger families, higher scores on the chemical abuse scale, higher scores on alienation, mother used illicit drugs, those who scored high on social maladjustment, more siblings, youth from families where one biological parent was not in the home most of the time, father used illicit drugs, high score on aggression scale, and high MMPI pd subscale scores. The risk assessment instrument used by the Arkansas DYS did not predict recidivism, rather it identifies factors that lead to high odds of recidivism in adulthood of adolescents. References