NCJ Number
215576
Date Published
May 2006
Length
37 pages
Annotation
This study examined the profile of the female juvenile offender in Hawaii, provides information on the trends in juvenile arrests and adjudications with attention paid to gender and racial/ethnic differences, and also examines gender differences in the social backgrounds of youth on probation versus those committed to the Hawaii Youth Correctional Facility (HYCF).
Abstract
Findings reported in this study support findings from existing research, in that girls have become a more sizable part of the juvenile offender population and in terms of delinquency, female juvenile offenders differ from their male counterparts in certain characteristics and experiences. Those experiences include: prior victimization and crystal methamphetamine abuse, as well as suicide ideation, depression, and self-injury behaviors. The study also demonstrated that some gender similarities between male and female juvenile offenders were also apparent, mainly in the school and family domains. Male and female juvenile offenders are equally likely to have failed academically and/or be chronic truants, to have experienced the death of at least one parent, to have parents who use drugs or alcohol, and to have parents who have been through the criminal justice system. The key differences between Hawaii Youth Correctional Facility (HYCF) girls and non-HYCF girls included: HYCF girls have significantly more histories of neglect, sexual abuse, and foster care placement than non-HYCF girls and the pathway to chronic offending for HYCF girls includes parents involved in the criminal justice system, relationships with older men, more offending, negative peer groups, more drug use, and more self-injurious behaviors. Several recommendations are presented in order to understand and address the differences between male and female juvenile offenders. With the event of female involvement in the juvenile justice system emerging as a significant trend over the past 3 decades, this report provides a statistical profile of female juvenile offenders in the State of Hawaii. The report examines the trends in juvenile arrests and adjudications, focusing on gender and racial/ethnic differences and analyzes gender differences in the social, psychological, family, drug use, and academic backgrounds in the case file sample. Lastly, it examines gender differences between HYCF girls and non-HYCF girls. Tables, references, and appendixes A-B