NCJ Number
143326
Date Published
1993
Length
25 pages
Annotation
The use of multiple gating approach to screening males at risk for juvenile delinquency is explained; this approach was tested on 206 boys and their families who took part in the Oregon Youth Study, a longitudinal study of boys in high-risk neighborhoods.
Abstract
Earlier research indicated that many adolescents involved in serious juvenile delinquency showed similar patterns in the middle childhood years. The multiple gating approach used a sequential series of screening measures, starting with the use of the least expensive measure with the entire population. The two cohorts of 102 and 104 boys and their families were recruited in 1983-84 and 1984-85 in a community with a population of 150,000. The boys were ages 9 and 10 at the beginning of the research. Every other year, they and their families were assessed on a full range of independent variables. The analyses supported the validity of a two-stage screening procedure that uses a combination of parent and teacher ratings. This approach appears to be both cost-effective and predictively efficient. Results suggest that it is feasible for schools and parents to take a more active, voluntary approach to reducing the level of antisocial conduct in the schools. Screening interventions could be part of a primary prevention program, with individuals not responding to primary prevention and deemed at risk identified for a selected intervention analogous to secondary prevention. Figures, tables, appended hypothetical example of a screening procedure, and 75 references