NCJ Number
242656
Journal
Journal of Criminal Justice Volume: 41 Issue: 1 Dated: January/February 2013 Pages: 12-17
Date Published
February 2013
Length
6 pages
Annotation
Using data obtained from a non-probability sample of 252 boys and girls adjudicated and placed in private long-term residential facilities in Pennsylvania, this study examined the effects on their delinquent careers of antisocial behavioral onset, police contact/arrest onset, and juvenile court referral onset.
Abstract
The study yielded three key findings. First, the youth in the correctional sample reported delinquent offenses and/or becoming involved in the juvenile justice system at the young ages of 5-10 years old. At these young ages, their problem behaviors were sufficiently serious to warrant contact with police and juvenile court. Second, arrest onset was the most consistent factor in the anti-social outcomes and was the only significant effect for both total arrest models and both self-reported delinquency models. Third, youths with Attention Deficit-Hyperactivity Disorder (ADHD) had antisocial onset that was usually 1 year earlier than their peers without ADHD, and youth with a diagnosis of Conduct Disorder (CD) had the earliest onset across all three measures. Future research should examine how family and school contexts moderate the connections between antisocial behavioral onset and its link to police and judicial contacts. Descriptive, negative binomial regression models and t-tests were used to examine the effects of antisocial behavioral onset, police contact/arrest onset, and juvenile court referral onset on various aspects of the delinquent career. 5 tables, 44 references, and appended zero-order correlation matrix