Juvenile Decertification: Developing a Model for Classification and Prediction

• NCJ Number: 209942
• Journal: Criminal Justice and Behavior Volume: 32 Issue: 3 Dated: June 2005 Pages: 278-301
• Author(s): Geoffrey R. Marczyk; Kirk Heilbrun; Tammy Lander; David DeMatteo
• Date Published: June 2005
• Length: 24 pages
• Publication Format: Article
• Publication Type: Report (Study/Research)
• Language: English
• Country: United States of America

Annotation

This study investigated the relationship between risk factors as operationalized by the Psychopathy Checklist: Youth Version, the Youth Level of Service/Case Management Inventory, and the Massachusetts Youth Screening Instrument and the prediction of juvenile certification status.

Abstract

In the literature, a core set of risk factors are often described as associated with juvenile delinquency and recidivism, such as first adjudication, number of arrests, academic achievement, and family stability. In addition, with the increased concern over juvenile crime, legislatures have revised procedures in prosecuting adolescents. There has been an expansion in the prosecution with three distinct categories: the judicial, prosecutorial waiver, and legislative exclusion model. Under the legislative exclusion model, a State’s legislature defines certain offenses that automatically result in initial charges for a juvenile being filed in the adult system. In this study, utilizing the legislative exclusion model, the relationship between risk factors, as operationalized by the Psychopathy Checklist: Youth Version (PCL:YV), the Youth Level of Service/Case Management Inventory (YLS/CMI), and the Massachusetts Youth Screening Instrument (MAYSI) and certification status were investigated. One important goal was to investigate certification outcome as a function of the risk factors identified in the literature on juvenile recidivism. The study also integrated the use of these three instruments to assess the strongest predictors of certification status. Some support was provided for the use of these instruments having utility in prediction certification status. There are significant positive relationships between certification status and age; number of violent charges; total charges; PCL:YV, YLS/CMI, and MAYSI total scores; and select subscales of the MAYSI and the YLS/CMI. References