NCJ Number
89125
Date Published
1983
Length
97 pages
Annotation
Interviews with 193 male first commitments paroled from the California Youth Authority (YA) during summer 1979 showed that factors especially predicting parole success at 12 months included having shorter prior records, not reporting problems with drugs or alcohol, being paroled to northern California, staying employed, and reporting positive things about one's parole agent.
Abstract
Many respondents were highly delinquent, both before and after YA incarceration. However, approximately 23 percent avoided all types of arrest for the 2-year followup period and an additional 34.1 percent were arrested but subsequently continued on parole status. Respondents reported considerable father-absence in both their past and present lives. School performance and attendance on the outside were generally poor, although both performance and attitude improved during incarceration. Most respondents perceived their YA institutions or camps as safe places with beneficial programs and felt the institutional and parole staff were helpful. Additional analysis revealed that three theories of delinquency helped explain parole outcome as measured by good parole street-time (the success with which each parolee stayed out of all types of confinement). These theories were differential association, social ecology, and social competence. The report discusses the study's implications for parole practices, recommending that staff listen more carefully to their wards and more fully exploit their good role model positions. Tables, 18 references, and interview forms are provided. (Author summary modified)