|
Much recent debate in the juvenile justice system has focused on what to do about serious adolescent offenders. Within the last decade, almost every state has changed its statutes to allow for easier transfer of these adolescents to adult court. Some commentators have questioned whether a separate juvenile justice system is even warranted, given its dismal record at controlling or deterring juvenile crime. This debate is occurring, however, with limited data on either patterns of desistance or escalation among serious adolescent offenders or the effects of interventions and sanctions on trajectories of offending during and after adolescence. Although some studies suggest that most offenders curtail or stop antisocial behavior in late adolescence, this research has relied on very small samples of serious offenders or on very limited measurement of antisocial behavior patterns and developmental change. In addition, little is known about the impact of various types of sanctions and interventions on outcomes other than antisocial behavior; we know very little, for example, about how different sanctions affect juveniles' mental health, psychological development, or transition into adult roles.
The Pathways to Desistance study is a multi-site, collaborative research project supported by the Network, the National Institute of Justice, the Office of Juvenile Justice and Delinquency Prevention, the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, and the William T. Grant Foundation. The study follows approximately 1,200 serious juvenile offenders from adolescence to young adulthood in two locales: Philadelphia and Phoenix. Repeated assessments are made of the adolescents' psychological development, behavior, social relationships, mental health, and experiences in the juvenile or criminal justice system. Interviews are done regularly with adolescents as well as their family members and friends over a several year period after their involvement in court for a felony level offense. The aims of the investigation are to:
identify initial patterns of how serious adolescent offenders stop antisocial activity;
describe the role of social context and developmental changes in promoting these positive changes; and
compare the effects of sanctions and interventions in promoting these changes.
The larger goals of the Pathways study are to improve decision-making by court and social service personnel and to clarify policy debates about alternatives for serious adolescent offenders. We hope to provide juvenile justice professionals and policy-makers with reliable empirical information that can be applied to improve practice, particularly regarding juveniles' competence and culpability, risk for future offending, and amenability to rehabilitation.
Progress to Date
The Pathways to Desistance study is currently in the field. Because this is a longitudinal study, we do not expect to report final results from this research for several years.
|
|
