Assessing the Gender Specific Program and Service Needs for Adolescent Females in the Juvenile Justice System: Final Report

• NCJ Number: 182139
• Author(s): Kristi Holsinger Ph.D.; Joanne Belknap Ph.D.; Jennifer L. Sutherland
• Date Published: November 1999
• Length: 99 pages
• Sponsoring Agency: Office of Juvenile Justice and Delinquency Prevention (OJJDP); Ohio Office of Criminal Justice Services
• Sale Source: Ohio Office of Criminal Justice Services
• Publication Format: Document
• Publication Type: Report (Study/Research)
• Language: English
• Country: United States of America

Annotation

This report focuses on the design and findings of Phase II of research on gender-specific needs of adolescent females in Ohio's juvenile justice system.

Abstract

The authors first review some of the most valuable theoretical contributions on the causes of offending and the existing research on gender differences and similarities in offending rates. Next, they describe the current efforts to assess the gender-specific needs of delinquent girls. The body of the report pertains to the collection of data from delinquent girls and boys, juvenile judges, and juvenile institutional treatment authorities in Ohio. The research addressed gender differences in girls' and boys' pathways to offending; whether gender is related to delinquent youths' self-reported experiences with the juvenile justice system; how the context of offending differs based on gender; whether gender is related to the type of programming and treatment delinquent youth request; and whether gender is related to the type of programming and treatment delinquent youth receive. An important finding is that many of the issues that delinquent youth face are the same for girls as for boys. This suggests that many of the same programs need to be made available for both girls and boys. Throughout the findings, however, a significantly gendered theme was that girls were far more likely than boys to report problematic relationships with family members. Girls were more likely than boys to run away from home, drop out of school because they left home, be deserted by a parent, and have poor relationships with their mothers. There were a far greater variety and number of programs available for boys than girls. One of the obvious challenges in developing gender-specific programming is responding to the greater abuse histories of incarcerated girls. Also, delinquent girls were at a much greater risk for suicide and self-injurious behavior than boys. Recommendations are offered for improving the services for delinquent girls. 29 tables and 100 references