Sunday, September 30, 2007

More NCJRS Abstracts, Juvenile Articles

AMONG THE LATEST RESEARCH POSTED AT http://www.ncjrs.gov/. CHECK FOR OTHER ARTICLES OF INTEREST THERE AS WELL.

NCJ 219600
David B. Henry; Kimberly Kobus
Early Adolescent Social Networks and Substance Use
Journal of Early Adolescence
Volume:27 Issue:3 Dated:August 2007 Pages:346 to 362

This study explored the relationships between social network position and the use of tobacco, alcohol, marijuana, and inhalants among a sample of sixth grade youth. Results indicated that youth nominated by follow students as liaisons between social network groups were more likely to use tobacco than social network members or social isolates. Social liaisons were also more likely to use alcohol than were social isolates. Youth in the three social positions did not differ with regards to their use of inhalants or marijuana. Four potential explanations are offered for the higher use of tobacco and alcohol use among social liaisons: (1) greater opportunity for association with substance abusing peers; (2) social liaisons experience increased stress as a result of their boundary spanning and are thus more likely to self-medicate with alcohol and tobacco; (3) social liaisons offer a snapshot of a dynamic process whereby substance use promotes group acceptance or rejection; and (4) liaisons may have been in the process of being marginalized by peer groups, thus becoming more susceptible to peer pressure to use substances. Future research should use longitudinal data to investigate changes in substance use and social network position as youth progress through adolescence. Participants were 1,119 sixth-grade students from 144 classes in 14 public schools who were participating in the Metropolitan Area Child Study in and around Chicago, IL. Social networks were assessed using the peer nomination inventory in which students rate their peers according to a series of questions, such as “Who would you like to be your best friend?” Involvement in substance abuse was measured using an abbreviated version of the Self-Report of Delinquency questionnaire. Data were analyzed using logistic regression models. Tables, references

NCJ 219645
Benjamin Steiner; Andrew L. Giacomazzi
Juvenile Waiver, Boot Camp, and Recidivism in a Northwestern State
The Prison Journal
Volume:87 Issue:2 Dated:June 2007 Pages:227 to 240

This study examined the effectiveness of a boot camp program in terms of recidivism for juveniles waived to criminal court in a Northwestern State. Findings from this study suggest that when controlling for age, race, offense type, and criminal history, waived juveniles sentenced to a boot camp facility, known as the rider program were less likely to reoffend than those offenders sentenced to probation. Prior research suggests that juveniles waived to criminal court are typically sentenced to prison or probation. Boot camps represent an intermediate sanction that is typically reserved for young, first-time offenders, making waived youth probable candidates for a boot camp sentence. Boot camps, whether juvenile or adult specific, have been shown to be effective in reducing recidivism in some areas but ineffective in others. The waiver of juveniles to adult criminal court, an increasing phenomenon in recent years, transfers young offenders out of the juvenile system and into the adult criminal justice system, where the range of sanctions is presumably greater. This study was designed to evaluate the effects of the rider program, in terms of recidivism, for juveniles waived to criminal court in a rural northwestern State. The target population for the study included all juveniles waived to criminal court between 1995 and 1999 who were sentenced to the rider program or probation. Tables, references

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