Background: Justice-involved youth report experiencing elevated levels of peer victimization. However, the links between the various forms of peer victimization and specific types of charges are unclear. Objective: The current study advances our understanding of peer victimization among justice-involved youth by examining how experiencing overt…

The onset of behavioral problems in early childhood is associated with an increased frequency of delinquent behavior. A significant amount of youth in the juvenile justice system have histories of mental illness and psychological distress. However, little is known about what factors mediate the relationship between early onset behavioral problems…

Background: The study of risk factors for antisocial and delinquent behavior has flourished in the past 20 years, as great strides have been made in understanding the developmental pathways that give rise to the onset, course, and desistance of the behavior. However, as a body of literature, risk factor research (RFR) is characterized by…

We sought to explore the differential associations of callous-unemotional (CU) traits, narcissistic traits, and Machiavellian traits with overt aggression, relational aggression, delinquency, behavioral dysregulation, and emotional dysregulation in a community sample of boys and girls (ages 11-17). Results indicated that the three personality…

How and why do many serious adolescent offenders stop offending while others continue to commit crimes? The Pathways to Desistance study, a multidisciplinary investigation that attempts to answer this question, followed more than 1,300 serious juvenile offenders for 7 years after their conviction. In this bulletin, the authors investigate the link…

A prospective multisite study examined organizational climate and structure effects on the behavior and functioning of delinquent youths with and without co-occurring substance use treated with an evidence-based treatment (EBT) for serious antisocial behavior (i.e., Multisystemic Therapy). Participants were 1,979 youths treated by 429 therapists…

Communities across the country have a vested interest in making sure that young people develop into healthy productive citizens and avoid behaviors that can jeopardize their own health and well-being and threaten the well-being of their families and neighborhoods as well. Substance abuse and delinquency are prime examples of behaviors that get in…

The potential influence of violent video games on youth violence remains an issue of concern for psychologists, policymakers and the general public. Although several prospective studies of video game violence effects have been conducted, none have employed well validated measures of youth violence, nor considered video game violence effects in…

Problem. The number of delinquent female youth across the country is on the rise (U.S. Department of Justice, 2007). These young women present unique challenges for their schools, communities, and homes. A Midwest suburb created a diversion program, a Youth Justice Initiative, to address the entire family system of the youth who were committing…

Background: Mentoring has drawn substantial interest from policymakers, intervention theorists, and those interested in identifying promising and useful evidence-based approaches to interventions for criminal justice and child welfare outcomes (Grossman & Tierney, 1998; Jekliek et al., 2002). Mentoring is one of the most commonly-used…

Since the development of bias crime legislation over the past few decades, scholars have debated the merits of the legislation and questioned its enforcement. In light of such concerns, this study presents characteristics of all cases prosecuted as bias crimes in a New Jersey county between 2001 and 2004 and applies the hate crime typology…

The aim of this research was to investigate the approaches being taken by local authorities (LAs) and partner organisations to improve how young people are perceived, especially in relation to crime and antisocial behaviour. The study also looked at the challenges for and benefits of activities aiming to improve public perceptions of young people,…

Aims: The aim of this article was to investigate the factors associated with ecstasy use in school-aged teenagers. Methods: This was a longitudinal study of adolescent drug use, which was undertaken in three towns in Northern Ireland. A questionnaire was administered annually to participants. In this article ecstasy use patterns amongst a cohort…

The purpose of this secondary data analysis was to explore the mediating influence of internalizing behavior on the link between child maltreatment and externalizing behavior (for example, rule-breaking behavior and aggressive behavior) among children. Using a longitudinal comparison group design and a sample of 300 youths (56 percent maltreated),…

This nonexperimental study used mixed-effects regression models to examine relations among supervisor adherence to a clinical supervision protocol, therapist adherence, and changes in the behavior and functioning of youths with serious antisocial behavior treated with an empirically supported treatment (i.e., multisystemic therapy [MST]) 1 year…