Minnesota Student Survey, 1995: Juvenile Correctional Facilities

• NCJ Number: 167176
• Author(s): P A Harrison; J A Fulkerson; T J Beebe
• Date Published: 1996
• Length: 27 pages
• Contract Number(s): 270-94-0029
• Sponsoring Agency: Substance Abuse and Mental Health Services Admin (SAMHSA)
• Corporate Author: Minnesota Dept of Human Services
• Sale Source: NCJRS Photocopy Services; Minnesota Dept of Human Services
• Publication Type: Survey
• Language: English
• Country: United States of America

Annotation

This report highlights some of the findings from the 1995 Minnesota Student Survey, which was administered to 893 voluntary participants in juvenile correctional facilities.

Abstract

To obtain an accurate comparison with other youth, these adolescents were matched with adolescents of the same gender and age randomly selected from the public school student population who had completed the same survey approximately 6 months earlier. Findings show that adolescents in corrections were twice as likely as other youth to come from single-parent households and also more likely to have parents who never married or divorced, or to have a parent who is deceased. Despite differences in family composition, adolescents in corrections were similar to public school students regarding their generally positive impressions of interpersonal relationships with family members; however, adolescents in corrections were more likely than public school students to say that their parents did not have many rules for them to follow. Rates of family substance abuse were three times higher for adolescents in corrections than for juveniles in public schools. Other key differences were rates of physical and sexual abuse, as juveniles in corrections were three times more likely than public school students to have been physically abused at home and two-and-one-half times more likely to have witnessed the physical abuse of other family members. Rates of sexual activity were also very high among the juvenile corrections population, with seven out of eight reporting that they had sexual intercourse. Antisocial behaviors were more common among the corrections sample, and substance use was common among the juvenile corrections population. Based on the survey findings, recommendations are offered for earlier detection and effective interventions for children and families traumatized by physical and sexual abuse as well as improved assessments and therapeutic services for juveniles. Extensive tables and figures and 34 references