This review aims to synthesize the evaluation evidence for parent-engagement programs that focus on reducing juvenile truancy as the primary outcome. Delinquent behavior will be assessed as a secondary outcome when included. This objective is guided by the following research questions: (1) what is the effectiveness of parent-engagement programs…

Scholars agree that aggression among children can lead to a host of delinquency issues that can last into adulthood. Research has found that exposure to violence is one of the strongest predictors of aggressive behaviour and the use of violence. Utilizing a mix of qualitative and quantitative methodologies, the article seeks to determine the…

Documents the development of an adult sex offender risk assessment tool. A risk scale was developed based upon criminal and therapeutic outcomes of 494 sex offenders. The final risk scale included prior juvenile felony convictions, prior adult felony convictions, victim being intoxicated, denial in therapy, sexual deviance in therapy, and…

Compared with juveniles who start offending in adolescence, child delinquents (age 12 and younger) are two to three times more likely to become tomorrow's serious and violent offenders. This propensity, however, can be minimized. These children are potentially identifiable either before they begin committing crimes or at the very early stages of…

The number of child delinquents entering the juvenile justice system is increasing, as evidenced by rising arrest rates and court caseloads. Compared with adolescents who become involved in delinquency in their teens, child delinquents between the ages of 7 and 12 have a two- to threefold greater risk of becoming serious, violent, and chronic…

This partially-annotated bibliography surveys numerous studies relating to the prediction of delinquency and of parole success. This literature search was undertaken to review those studies whose results would assist the military in the selection of pre-release indicators of successful adjustment. The chosen indicators would then be used to…

Research from a variety of disciplines indicates that maternal cigarette smoking (MCS) during pregnancy is associated with an array of problematic outcomes, including various measures of criminal offending. Although some researchers have applied Moffitt's developmental taxonomy as a framework for understanding this relationship, this line of…

On June 2, 2000, the Los Angeles County Probation Department entered into a settlement agreement with the Black Probation Officers Association in response to a civil suit. As part of the settlement, the Department was required to allocate resources internally based on the administration of a risk and needs instrument to its juvenile probationers.…

Base expectancy rates were used to evaluate the guidelines of a program intended to "shock" youthful first offenders into law-abiding behavior through brief incarceration followed by probation. Data analysis revealed that prior record was the best predictor of reincarceration. (Author/CS)

Concurrent and predictive relationships between peer harassment and problem behavior were examined for middle and high school students as well as gender differences in these relationships. Students recruited in fifth through seventh grades (n = 223) and their parents provided quarterly questionnaire data and were followed up into high school. As…

Statistically based risk assessment devices are widely used in criminal justice settings. Their promise remains largely unfulfilled, however, because assumptions and premises requisite to their development and application are routinely ignored and/or violated. This article provides a brief review of the most salient of these assumptions and…