Citation

Shapiro CJ, Smith BH, Malone PS, Collaro AL. J. Clin. Child Adolesc. Psychol. 2010; 39(2): 242-251.

Affiliation

Department of Psychology, University of South Carolina, Columbia, SC 29208, USA. drcherishapiro@gmail.com

Copyright

(Copyright © 2010, Informa - Taylor and Francis Group)

DOI

10.1080/15374410903532635

PMID

20390815

Abstract

Little empirical data exist addressing potential iatrogenic effects of placing youth in juvenile justice settings. We took advantage of a natural experiment in one state where juvenile offenders are evaluated in either residential settings characterized by high-density contact with delinquent youth or community settings with naturally varying contact with delinquent peers. Higher rates of subsequent recidivism were found among first-time offenders when evaluation occurred in residential (N = 1,255) as opposed to community settings (N = 752). This finding was replicated in a subset (N = 634 per group) matched using propensity scores for five predictors of recidivism. Findings are interpreted in light of a deviancy training process occurring in residential juvenile justice settings.

Language: en