NCJ Number
218014
Journal
Aggression and Violent Behavior: A Review Journal Volume: 12 Issue: 3 Dated: May-June 2007 Pages: 376-392
Date Published
May 2007
Length
17 pages
Annotation
This paper examines the relationship between reading disability (RD) and juvenile delinquency (JD).
Abstract
Just as there is diversity in the types of offenses that can precipitate a youth’s involvement in the juvenile justice system and subtypes of violent offenders have been identified, there are also a variety of risk factors that have been shown to relate to adjudication in adolescence. At the individual level, poor reading has been associated with delinquency, independent of ethnicity and socio-economic status. Holes have been identified in what is empirically known about children and adolescents with disabilities who are involved in the juvenile justice system. Specifically, reading disabilities (RD) have been found as the most common form of learning disability in the general population, as well as more prevalent in delinquent youth. Even though reading disabilities are more prevalent in delinquent youth and the presence of reading disabilities is correlated with increased recidivism rates, the causal nature of this relationship is unknown. Also, in many instances, incarcerated juveniles with RD are not receiving appropriate instruction that targets the effective use of their strengths and the elimination of their deficits. Considering the size of the problem, few published studies have attempted to deliver evidence-based remediation for RD to youth in the juvenile justice system. Recommendations are presented on the key issues for the design of effective RD research in juvenile delinquency leading to the effective design of remediation strategies in RD for juveniles adjudicated in the juvenile justice system. Figures, references