The aim of this study was to analyse predictors of behaviour change among children at risk in juvenile rehabilitation centres within Nairobi County, Kenya. The target population was all the children and managers of Juvenile rehabilitation Centres in Nairobi County. This consisted of 380 boys, 160 girls, 8 managers in Kabete and Getathuru, and 4…

Schools today are more frequently using punitive discipline practices to control student behavior, despite the greater effectiveness of community-building techniques on compliance that are based on restorative justice principles found in the criminal justice system. Prior research testing the racial threat hypothesis has found that the racial…

A discriminant function analysis identified eight statistically significant variables which differentiated adolescents placed in mental health or juvenile justice systems. In order of decreasing importance they are: ethnicity, gender, depression, previous mental health history, productivity, drug use, parental marital history, and parental…

Interdisciplinary and social-developmental approaches for prevention of juvenile violence are explored. Twenty-one recent works are reviewed and their approaches compared. At issue are early identification of juvenile delinquents who go on to careers of serious violence, and interdisciplinary application of modern scientific knowledge to the…

Comparative research in juvenile delinquency provides criminal justice professionals with a mechanism for better decision-making. This study analyzed juvenile probationer arraignments and the offender risk/need classification assessment to better understand juvenile court careers and probation recidivism. Analyses were based on data generated by…

Study (a) investigated differences in demographic variables, previous delinquent/criminal behavior variables, family system variables, juvenile court system variables, and subsequent delinquent behavior variables between court-involved juvenile delinquent youth who did and did not receive services; and (b) created a predictive model that would…

Investigated factors influencing truancy from a juvenile court treatment facility. Youth placed in the facility were compared for number of truancies, background, and personality variables. Males with prior adjudication for truancy had a 65% probability of eloping from the court facility. Females showed a 62% probability of truancy. Personality…

Subjects diagnosed "extremely dangerous" and given psychological treatment during placement in an institution for adjudicated juvenile delinquents (N=44) were followed after release. Findings regarding recidivism, crime, and violence are reported. Prediction of future violence is discussed; the effectiveness of psychological intervention…

Data from two juvenile correctional facilities indicate that the deprivation model is a better predictor of adaptation to confinement for males than is the importation model. For females, variables from both deprivation and importation models have a significant impact. (Author)

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)

The development of community-based alternatives to institutional care for juvenile offenders should be based on (1) a clear conceptualization of what "community-based" means, (2) intervention efforts that consider the context of the clients' social relationship networks; and (3) resolution of professional and territorial conflicts.…

Aims: To explore (1) the influence of pretreatment and treatment factors on treatment retention among a multi-ethnic sample of adolescents and (2) the potential differential influence of pretreatment and treatment factors on treatment retention within each ethnic subgroup. Participants: A multi-ethnic sample of 420 adolescent juvenile offenders in…

With the recent trend towards diversionary projects for juvenile law offenders, various threapeutic residential and outreach models have been introduced. It was hypothesized that there are family characteristics which are related to high incidences of continued delinquent behavior, and that males from single parent, low-income families will be the…

This report explores the validity of measures for eventual use in assessing attitudinal and cognitive skills of delinquent adolescents. Ten measures of a battery along with a reading test were administered to adolescent males, 14 to 18 years of age, held in pretrial detention. The 11 tests were validated against 37 criterion variables encompassing…

Assesses the effectiveness of the juvenile justice system in preventing delinquency and rehabilitating delinquents. The six articles in this special issue also discuss status offenders and gender issues, examine the Chicago Area Project, and discuss the future of juvenile justice policy and research. (JAC)