Examined whether determining a delinquent's preferred cognitive mode and instructing to it would facilitate academic achievement, in a study of 36 incarcerated adolescents. Results showed delinquents with relative strength in visual/spatial learning, which included the vast majority of delinquents, scored significantly higher under…

Describes issues related to resistance to community based care facilities. Information was gathered through interviews with representatives of residential treatment facilities and local and state officials. Critical variables significant in understanding community resistance and overcoming it include: (1) overconcentration; (2) client…

Reexamined variables--parental status, age at first court contact, amount of pretreatment delinquency, age at admission, diagnosis, and intelligence estimates--that have been associated with recidivism of delinquent adolescents. The results provided additional support for the association of age and cognitive variables with premature treatment…

Life studies of incarcerated children are presented, along with a discussion of possibilities for reform. The children discuss medical treatment, the lack of educational facilities, the changing nature of their relationships with their parents, the shame and fright of imprisonment, and the physical and psychological effects of being in jail.…

Utilizes a modified therapeutic community model to investigate the social climate of a juvenile training school. Results indicate few significant differences among staff members' perceptions, although significant differences are present between staff and residents. Findings show that researchers must distinguish between juvenile and adult…

Reports on the effect of pair counseling on incarcerated, juvenile, male offenders (N=28) with emotional problems. Using case studies, focused on the influence of pair counseling moral reasoning, recidivism, and interpersonal relationships. Results indicate no clear gains in principled reasoning or in reducing recidivism. However, improvement was…

We report the impact of case management services on drug use and self-reported delinquency for youths involved in a clinical trial of the Juvenile Arbitration program. The project evaluated an innovative intervention service providing 16 weeks of intensive case management services to youths and their families. The present study examines interview…

Recent information on the incidence and types of language and communication problems experienced by female delinquents and the relation they have to emotional and behavioral disorders (EBD) indicate a contribution to the problems these girls have encountered in social and academic situations. Pragmatics (i.e., use of language in interpersonal…

The report examines uses, advantages, and criteria for selection of behavior rating scales (BRSs) and their use with juvenile offenders, focusing in particular on the Behavior Dimensions Rating Scale (BDRS). Previously normed using a representative sample of behavior disordered and nonhandicapped males and females in grades K-11 (N=1,942), the…

This report contains findings of a nationwide study of youthful offenders tried in adult courts. Data were gathered from more than 3,000 counties for the year 1978. The report is organized into six chapters. Chapter 1 introduces the study and explains its methodology and the background of the problem (covered in more detail in Appendix A). Chapter…

Adjudged offenders and predelinquent youths 12 to 18 years of age, from the United States, were selected for anticipated amenability to correctional change in this open-residential therapeutic environment. Each of four homes houses 26 youths. Each youth has a thorough assessment, explicit treatment plan, and primary counselor. All elements of the…

A controlled study of the impact of a juvenile education program on the recidivism rates of juveniles was performed. The program involved introducing the juveniles to prison life. Findings showed that youths categorized as more delinquent were affected differently by program attendance compared to youths categorized as less delinquent. (Author/LMO)

Reports a followup interview with a former street gang leader first interviewed eight years before. Restates his earlier endorsement of the economic or differential opportunity model of crime causation. Maintains that the advantages of work are not evident to most urban youths and improved employment opportunities are needed. (Author/JAC)

Offers a positive perspective on the devolution of delinquency. Examines life experiences involved in delinquency devolution of one former juvenile offender and argues for a less pathological perspective of human behavior. Presents an alternative approach, "Positive Outcomes Research." (Author/JAC)

Subjects in an experimental evaluation of Project CREST were followed during a two-year period. Youths who had received counseling services in addition to probation were charged with fewer acts of misconduct than youths who had received probation but no counseling. (Author)