This article argues that 1961 to 1967 was a critical period when federal, state, and academic institutions looked with hope toward emerging methods in behavioral and social psychology to train juvenile justice officials and to treat delinquent children. Reflecting liberal optimism regarding the possibility of reforming individual behavior without structural change, the Juvenile Delinquency and Youth Offenses Control Act of 1961 provided project funding to cities, nonprofits, and universities. Using the University of North Carolina’s Training Center on Delinquency and Youth Crime as a case study, this article examines how federal funding was used for “experiments” with group therapy, youth incarceration, and cocreation of juvenile justice. Though largely inconclusive, these experiments demonstrated the existence of alternatives to the hyperinstitutionalization of juvenile offenders that accelerated after the Supreme Court’s 1967 decision of In re Gault.

Previous studies have identified diverse risk and protective factors of youth involvement in delinquency. However, less is known about the causes of this phenomenon in the context of political conflict. Drawing from theoretical frameworks emphasizing the notion of social resistance, in the current study we examine the risk and protective factors of juvenile delinquency in the context of majority–minority political conflict. Applying multilevel analysis to survey data provided by a representative sample of 814 Arab youth from East Jerusalem, we find that, although this behaviour shares similar lines with juvenile delinquency in regular contexts, in the context of political conflict it bears a unique core of resistance to the social order. Specifically, we find that a strong predictor of juvenile delinquency is attitudes towards political violence, whereas, surprisingly, attitudes towards general violence do not have a significant effect. Our findings suggest that juvenile delinquency in the context of social conflict stems, at least partially, from a unique mechanism of resistance towards political order.

This Article focuses on unifying the protocol for state competency evaluations, but with special concerns about undiagnosed FASD and developmental immaturity in adolescents. States do not mandate any process whereby psychometric tests are first performed prior to psychiatric mental status evaluations, often causing disparities in evaluations which might easily be avoided in court proceedings. Adding to the complications in current competency evaluations are recent studies from Canada and Australia identifying exceptionally high rates of FASD in incarcerated adolescents following multi-disciplinary teams’ studies directed at identifying FASD. If these studies’ rates of FASD turn out to be similar for children in the U.S. juvenile justice system, then systemic reform is called for as we are failing to identify this congenital condition when adolescents enter the system and then continue on into the adult criminal system without recognition of their prenatal exposure to alcohol.

Justice-involved youth (JIY) have high rates of behavioral health disorders, but few can access, much less complete, treatment in the community. Behavioral health treatment completion among JIY is poorly understood, even within treatment studies. Measurement, reporting, and rates of treatment completion vary across studies. This systematic review and meta-analysis synthesizes the literature on rates of treatment completion among JIY enrolled in research studies and identifies potential moderators. After systematically searching 6 electronic databases, data from 13 studies of 20 individual treatment groups were abstracted and coded. A meta-analysis examined individual prevalence estimates of treatment completion in research studies as well as moderator analyses. Prevalence effect sizes revealed high rates of treatment completion (pr = 82.6). However, analysis suggests a high likelihood that publication bias affected the results. Treatment groups that utilized family- or group-based treatment (pr = 87.8) were associated with higher rates of treatment completion compared to treatment groups utilizing individual treatment (pr = 61.1). Findings suggest that it is possible to achieve high rates of treatment completion for JIY, particularly within the context of family- and group-based interventions. However, these findings are limited by concerns about reporting of treatment completion and publication bias.

American child psychiatrists have long been interested in the problems of delinquent behaviour by juveniles. With the rise of specific psychiatric diagnoses in the 1960s and 1970s, delinquent behaviour was defined within the diagnosis of conduct disorder. Like all psychiatric diagnoses, this concept was shaped by particular historical actors in context and has been highly contingent on assumptions related to race, class and gender. The history of conduct disorder illustrates the tensions in child psychiatry between the expansive goals of the field and the often limited uses of its professional authority, as well as individual children as the target of intervention and their interactions in groups.

This article studies the juvenile justice system in juxtaposition to policing in India. To start with, it conducts a comprehensive data analysis of juvenile crimes in India in the last two decades. The author conducted a study involving 400 juveniles in conflict with the law through “Disha,” a project in juvenile re-entry systems. It further marshals the incidences based on social parameters like education, age, and family. Here, the paper impresses upon the “heinousness factor” of the crimes to evaluate the law and institutional response. The article examines the growth of the legal framework on juvenile justice in India and the causal determinants which may have driven its increase. It also scrutinizes the policing systems as far as the legal framework on juvenile justice makes them responsible. It delves deeply into the interactions between juvenile justice and police systems at the institutional and procedural levels. It conducts a detailed inquiry into the international legal framework of juvenile justice systems. Here, it studies such systems in the Americas, Europe, and Asia to suggest the way forward for a transparent, robust and sensitive juvenile justice system in India.

The present study verified the existence of psychological profiles among Brazilian adolescent offenders, using data from a sample (n=858) collected with the Brazilian version of the Revised Jesness Inventory (JI-R-Br). This instrument is a comprehensive, self-report measure of personal dispositions (traits) that are associated with vulnerability to antisocial behavior (Impulsivity, Aggression/Hostility, Sensation Seeking) and adaptive patterns (Antisocial Values/Beliefs and Antisocial Attitudes). Cluster analyses showed three significantly distinct groups: group 1 (n=276), called Asocial, was comprised of impulsive/aggressive adolescents with high antisocial motivation, low self-control and very focused on their own needs. Group 2 (n=346), called Neurotic Antisocial, was comprised of adolescents with high rates of depression and anxiety, as well as low self-control, but with less antisocial motivation when compared with group 1. Group 3 (n=236) was similar to group 4 (normative group; n=572). Our results corroborate those described by other studies in the literature. They show the importance of different practices and/or interventions when working with offenders, given that there are different profiles based on different psychological characteristics/needs for this population.

The present study investigated the differences in patterns of social information processing (SIP) among adolescents with two trajectories of offending: group 1 (G1) composed of adolescents with a trajectory of major persistent offenses, which includes illegal acts considered violent; group 2 (G2) composed of individuals with a trajectory of minor persistent offenses, in which there is no escalation of the gravity of the offenses; and a comparison group (G3) with adolescents without involvement in offenses. SIP is one of the theoretical models most widely evoked to study and explain violent behavior in children/adolescents, in regarding the psychological processes that underlie behavior, specifically the cognitive nature. The participants answered a self-report delinquency interview and a SIP measure protocol. The results showed differences between the groups of offenders (G1 and G2) and the comparison group (G3) on the SIP pattern related to the competent responses. G1 and G2 revealed a SIP pattern poorly associated with socially competent behavior. However, G1 presented an SIP pattern more associated with the emission of aggressive behaviors. This pattern, although also present in G2, is more evident for those adolescents who reported committing crimes with the use of violence against people.

This work presents validation of the Jesness Inventory, particularly its revised version, to the Brazilian reality. It was developed by Carl Jesness, based on his clinical experience and research programs for juvenile offenders, to assess juvenile offenders, particularly to understand the functioning of their personality, offering clues to customize psychosocial intervention, and verification of results from this, in terms of changes in adolescents’ beliefs/values and attitudes. Regarding the psychometric properties, the revised version showed an adequate internal consistency and temporal stability. For the evidence of validity, the results of the concurrent criterion and simultaneous validity were in agreement with those found in other studies, emphasizing the specific capacities of this instrument to distinguish adolescent offenders from non-offenders and properly classify them, denoting its quality in helping the diagnostic process. Research to verify predictive and construct validity is being carried out.

Socialization in a neighborhood and community at risk, defined in terms of violence, social alienation, school failure, and disruptive behavior, is a risk factor for the acquisition of antisocial and delinquent behavior. In order to test this hypothesis and examine the underlying mechanisms involved, 346 participants, 155 high-risk and 191 low-risk, aged 11 to 13, that is, under the age of criminal responsibility as established by the Spanish Law 5/2000 were selected. The results reveal that high-risk youngsters had higher rates of antisocial behavior and lower levels of social skills (i.e., greater tendency to externalize attribution of responsibility, fewer conflict resolution strategies, lower self esteem, and a lower degrees of emotional intelligence) in comparison to the lower-risk group. Finally, the results and implications of the study are discussed in the light of designing prevention programs.

Readiness for change (or treatment readiness) is a core concept of many rehabilitation programs for adult and juvenile offenders. The present study examined the experiences of six young people aged 13 to 17 years who participated in Mindfields®, a 6-week self-regulatory intervention aimed at enhancing life skills and goal setting among youths who present with challenging and/or risky behaviour. This article investigates the extent to which: readiness for change influences individual responses to the Mindfields® program; external factors influence the achievement and maintenance of program success; and goal achievement leads to perceptions of self-efficacy and personal control over one's behaviour. Prior to, and on completion of the intervention, participants completed the Mindfields® Assessment Battery that measures goal commitment, social competence, self-regulation, life satisfaction, delinquent involvement, and readiness for change. Findings show the importance of participants’ motivation to make life-changing decisions, but this motivation and promising goals can be compromised by factors external to the individual. Our findings prompt future research into ways in which young people can maintain their motivation and readiness for change, and draw encouragement from less successful outcomes than might have been expected.

This research investigated the reliability and validity of the Mindfields Assessment Battery (MAB), measuring three components of self-regulation (forethought, performance control, self-reflection) of young offenders. Participants were 57 12- to 18-year-olds from youth justice service centres, alternative education schools, and a youth correctional facility (Nmales = 46; NIndigenous = 7). Psychometric properties of the battery were sound with adequate alpha levels for the scales. The factor structure and internal reliability of three measures were replicated and validated. Positive significant correlations found between these subscales indicated consistent relationships with young people's responses to challenging situations. Prodelinquency scores were significantly positively correlated with minor misdemeanours and negatively correlated with social competency. Significant positive correlations were found between social competence and goal commitment, and self-regulation and life satisfaction. The battery provides a reliable, valid way of assessing forethought, performance control, self-reflection, and treatment amenability within the conceptual framework of self-regulation.

Aim – Delinquency among adolescents and antecedent conduct disorder among children has been recognized as a growing public mental health problem in contemporary societies. The contribution of the neighbourhood environment to delinquent behaviour was examined in a cohort of Dutch adolescents (aged approximately 11 years at baseline; n=394). Methods – Multilevel regression analyses estimated associations between baseline neighbourhood socioeconomic status and social capital, and delinquent behaviour two years later controlling for individual-level variables. Results – A significant interaction effect was found between neighbourhood environment variables and gender in models of delinquency, indicating that associations between neighbourhood environment variables and delinquency were apparent, for the most part, in girls only. However, higher level of neighbourhood informal social control was associated with increased delinquency rates in boys. Conclusion – In girls there is a longitudinal association between neighbourhood characteristics and delinquency, suggesting complex gender differences in the way the wider social environment impacts on behavioural outcomes.

This paper presents the programme perceptions of male young offenders involved in 2 Dublin community training workshops. Most of the sample indicated that they perceived their training to have had an overall positive impact (ranging from a moderate to a very substantial extent) in various areas of skills and personal development. Those emerging with a higher level of self-confidence, predictably, had also perceived themselves to have benefited more in almost all areas. Ambivalent predictions of the sample in respect of their future employment and re-offending tended to be associated with fewer perceived programme benefits, than were optimistic predictions.