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Race and Juvenile Secure Confinement: Why Preadjudication Detention Matters

Mueller, Derek
http://rave.ohiolink.edu/etdc/view?acc_num=ucin1668618222404581

Abstract Details

2022, PhD, University of Cincinnati, Education, Criminal Justice, and Human Services: Criminal Justice.
Research has consistently shown that Non-White youth come into contact with the juvenile justice system at greater rates than White youth and are overrepresented at most stages of the juvenile justice process. Research has also demonstrated that there is a cumulative effect across the juvenile justice process, which has negatively impacted Non-White youth. Scholars have attributed these RED to two main perspectives. The differential offending perspective posits that RED are the result of Non-White youth engaging in more serious forms of delinquency and doing so with greater frequency than White youth. The differential treatment perspective posits that RED are due to discriminatory policies or actions by system actors. This dissertation examines the unique relationship between race, preadjudication detention, and secure confinement. Specifically, preadjudication detention is a particularly important stage of the process because it inflicts loss of freedom on youth and is associated with harsher dispositions (e.g., secure confinement). This study uses a mixed-methods framework to present findings from an analysis of over 38,000 juvenile court cases and data from interviews with 121 juvenile justice personnel. Using a case-control design, I examine the effects of race on preadjudication detention and secure confinement among similarly-situated youth, whether preadjudication detention mediates the relationship between race and secure confinement, and whether there are joint effects between race and key predictors (i.e., gender, preadjudication detention, and offense type) on secure confinement. I use thematic analysis to analyze the interview data focusing on juvenile justice personnel’s perceptions of RED and possible explanations as well as the factors related to the preadjudication detention decision point. The findings revealed that race is significantly related to both preadjudication detention and secure confinement when controlling for legally-relevant factors. Nearest-neighbor matching was used to examine the relationship of race with secure confinement among similarly-situated youth, which found that the odds of secure confinement were significantly higher for Non-White youth (particularly Black youth) compared White youth. The analyses also indicated that the relationship of race with secure confinement is mediated by the preadjudication detention decision. The results from the causal mediation analysis indicated that race has both a direct and indirect relationship with secure confinement. This dissertation also found significant joint effects between race and other covariates on secure confinement. Given the limited number of covariates in this study, the qualitative data served to contextualize the findings from the quantitative data. The results revealed that interviewees perceived that a variety of factors affect the detention decision as well as racial/ethnic disparities in juvenile justice processing. These factors included: legal factors, extralegal-individual factors, extralegal-contextual factors, and juvenile justice system-level factors. Taken together, the findings suggest that race and preadjudication detention are related to the secure confinement decision. The qualitative data also indicated that race may contribute to disparate justice outcomes through its association with other factors (e.g., living conditions, family, education system). These findings are discussed in terms of their contributions to the research on racial/ethnic disparities in juvenile justice. Recommendations for juvenile justice policy and practice are also discussed.
Christopher Sullivan, Ph.D. (Committee Member)
John Wooldredge, Ph.D. (Committee Member)
Alex Piquero, Ph.D. (Committee Member)
Joshua Cochran, Ph.D. (Committee Member)
Valerie Anderson, Ph.D. (Committee Member)
300 p.
Criminology
Juvenile Justice; Racial/Ethnic Disparities; Secure Confinement; Decision Making; Preadjudication Detention

Recommended Citations

Citations

  • Mueller, D. (2022). Race and Juvenile Secure Confinement: Why Preadjudication Detention Matters [Doctoral dissertation, University of Cincinnati]. OhioLINK Electronic Theses and Dissertations Center. http://rave.ohiolink.edu/etdc/view?acc_num=ucin1668618222404581

    APA Style (7th edition)

  • Mueller, Derek. Race and Juvenile Secure Confinement: Why Preadjudication Detention Matters. 2022. University of Cincinnati, Doctoral dissertation. OhioLINK Electronic Theses and Dissertations Center, http://rave.ohiolink.edu/etdc/view?acc_num=ucin1668618222404581.

    MLA Style (8th edition)

  • Mueller, Derek. "Race and Juvenile Secure Confinement: Why Preadjudication Detention Matters." Doctoral dissertation, University of Cincinnati, 2022. http://rave.ohiolink.edu/etdc/view?acc_num=ucin1668618222404581

    Chicago Manual of Style (17th edition)

ucin1668618222404581
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This open access ETD is published by University of Cincinnati and OhioLINK.