MS, University of Cincinnati, 2006, Education : Criminal Justice

Youth violence can be prevented. Despite the “get tough” rhetoric and the political and popular media depictions that juvenile “super-predators” are hardened criminals without possibilities of rehabilitation who should be caged and punished accordingly, we do know how to prevent and reduce crime and delinquency. Moreover, the “get-tough,” punishment-oriented crime policies of the last twenty-five years do not reduce crime—and in some cases are counterproductive. However, the knowledge base for life-course criminology and early intervention has drastically expanded in the last two decades. There is a substantial body of evidence that exists in support of early intervention programs to appreciably prevent and reduce criminality in our society. Early intervention is the preferred strategy for addressing the causes of crime explicated by life-course criminology. Life-course criminology postulates that, in order to prevent crime, we must first understand how antisocial behavior develops so as to enable us to construct effective intervention strategies that interrupt the adverse life trajectory. Specifically, life-course criminology has found that early childhood factors are significant precursors of future behavior—that is, youths exposed to certain risk factors predictive of criminality in their families, in school, among peers, and in their environments are at high-risk for becoming serious, violent, and chronic offenders. Early intervention endeavors to address these correlates of crime as early in the life-course as possible in order to intercede prior to the accumulation of multiple problems and offenses. This project reviews the empirical data pertaining to early intervention. Risk-factors and protective factors in the individual, family, peer group, school, and environment that are predictive of, or insulate from, the development of antisocial behavior are described. Reviews of the relevant early intervention strategies—within the family, in schools, in multiple s (open full item for complete abstract)

Committee: Dr. Francis Cullen (Advisor) Subjects:

Doctor of Philosophy, University of Toledo, 2011, College of Health Sciences

The purpose of this study was to assess the substance use services provided to juvenile offenders in juvenile justice affiliated facilities. The current status of substance use services was evaluated by using the Precaution Adoption Process Model. Perceived barriers and benefits to providing substance use services to juvenile offenders were evaluated by using the Health Belief Model. This study also examined the non-substance use services provided to juvenile offenders. A sample of 540 facility directors of juvenile justice affiliated facilities was randomly selected from a population of 897 facility directors. These 540 directors were broken into the three groups by the gender of clients they served: 218 coed facilities, 217 male-only facilities, and 105 female-only facilities. A 31-item survey was sent to the directors using a three-wave mailing process and by email. The directors returned 287 completed surveys for a response rate of 53.1% (287/540). The majority of juvenile justice affiliated facilities (79.4%) were in the maintenance stage of the Precaution Adoption Model in regards to providing substance use services to juvenile justice affiliated facilities. More male-only facilities (88.8%) reported providing substance use services than either female-only (79.7%) or coed facilities (66.7%). More than one-half (52.3%) of juvenile justice affiliated facilities were not accredited. A small number (3.6%) of facilities offered pharmacological services to their juvenile offenders. Only 37.7% of facilities that had substance use services offered family counseling as a program component. Cognitive behavior therapy (86.4%) and motivational enhancement (54.8%) were the treatment approaches reportedly used most often. A significant number of facilities invested no time in covering violence prevention (29.6%) and the impact of recovery from violence and trauma (29.1 %) in their substance use curricula. The most cited perceived benefit to providing services was overall s (open full item for complete abstract)

Committee: Timothy Jordan PhD (Committee Chair); James Price PhD (Committee Member); Joseph Dake PhD (Committee Member); Morris Jenkins PhD (Committee Member) Subjects: Criminology; Health Education

PhD, University of Cincinnati, 2020, Education, Criminal Justice, and Human Services: Criminal Justice

Three relationships have drawn varying degrees of interest in the criminal justice literature. The relationship between age and crime is central to criminology. The relationship between age and psychosocial maturity has become increasingly important for discussions of juvenile justice punishment policy. Little work has been done examining how these three variables interact together. Specifically, the dual systems model and theories of psychosocial maturity suggest that increases in age should attenuate the strength of the relationship between psychosocial maturity and age, but this has not been tested. Using the Pathways to Desistance data, likely moderating relationships between age, psychosocial maturity and criminal behavior are assessed, and implications for punishment policy are discussed.

Committee: Christopher Sullivan Ph.D. (Committee Chair); J.C. Barnes Ph.D. (Committee Member); James Frank Ph.D. (Committee Member); Kevin Wolff Ph.D. (Committee Member) Subjects: Criminology

PhD, University of Cincinnati, 2016, Education, Criminal Justice, and Human Services: Criminal Justice

The juvenile justice system has had a place in America since the late 19th century. While the goal has always been to reform wayward youth, the system has implemented various strategies over the years. During a growing movement in the 80s to “get tough” on crime, the country relied heavily on state run institutions and experienced a steady rise in the number of incarcerated youth. Ohio was no exception to this “get tough” movement, with thousands of youth in the custody of the Ohio Department of Youth Services (DYS) by the mid-90s. Ohio's response to the mass incarceration of youth ultimately led to a unique large-scale reform movement. This movement included initiatives that ranged from providing incentives to local courts to serve youth locally, creating and implementing a standardized risk assessment tool, and providing evidence-based services for youth. Among these reform initiatives, was Targeted RECLAIM; the focus of this study. The goal of Targeted RECLAIM was to further reduce admissions to DYS by providing juveniles with evidence-based services in their local community as alternatives to incarceration. Targeted RECLAIM initially targeted the six largest counties in Ohio, but since expanded to now include 15 counties across the state of Ohio. This study examined whether Targeted RECLAIM has been successful in reducing commitments to DYS and ultimately diverting youth from state institutions. The data revealed that Targeted RECLAIM appeared to have an effect on the number of youth committed to DYS and moreover, that youth could be effectively diverted without compromising public safety. The study also determined that the diverted youth were not simply being placed in a CCF or waived to the adult system as a way to undermine the goal of Targeted RECLAIM. Finally, conclusions were drawn so that the results might inform juvenile justice systems on how to work towards ending the problem of mass incarceration.

Committee: Edward Latessa Ph.D. (Committee Chair); Melissa M. Moon Ph.D. (Committee Member); Francis Cullen Ph.D. (Committee Member); Paula Smith Ph.D. (Committee Member) Subjects: Criminology

Doctor of Philosophy (Ph.D.), Bowling Green State University, 2023, Sociology

Juvenile arrest is recognized as a major turning point in an adolescent's life. Research has examined the influence of juvenile arrest on future offending, punishment, and incarceration. Yet, only a handful of studies have examined the consequences of juvenile arrest on adult prosocial outcomes such as employment and civic engagement. Drawing on 19 waves of data from the 1997 National Longitudinal Survey of Youth, this dissertation examines the effects of juvenile arrest on educational attainment, gainful employment, and civic engagement. Broadly, there are four goals of this study. First, from a life-course perspective, I explore the role of timing of first arrest on adult prosocial behaviors and attainments. Second, drawing from labeling theory and the concept of cumulative disadvantage, I examine the effects of repeated arrest on adult outcomes. Next, I seek to examine if there is an interaction effect between timing of first arrest and repeated arrest. Finally, I examine whether race/ethnicity conditions the relationship between arrest and adult prosocial behaviors and attainments. To address these goals, I present three analytical chapters that examine the effects of juvenile arrest on different adult prosocial outcomes. The first analytical chapter examines the effects of juvenile arrest and repeated arrest on educational attainment. The second analytical chapter examines the effects of arrest on later adult gainful employment. The final analytical chapter investigates the relationship between arrest and civic engagement. Each chapter uses a two-stage statistical analysis. First, using propensity score models, I test whether there is a treatment effect of age at first arrest on each outcome. I found that for my measures of adult prosocial attainments (educational attainment and gainful employment), there is a treatment effect for experiencing first arrest as a juvenile compared to as an adult. There were no treatment effects for timing of arrest for civic enga (open full item for complete abstract)

Committee: Thomas Mowen Ph.D. (Committee Chair); Wendy Watson Ph.D. (Other); John Boman Ph.D. (Committee Member); Stephen Demuth Ph.D. (Committee Member); Danielle Kuhl Ph.D. (Committee Member) Subjects: Criminology; Sociology

PhD, University of Cincinnati, 2022, Education, Criminal Justice, and Human Services: Criminal Justice

Upwards of 80% of youth involved in the juvenile legal system have been exposed to some type of traumatic event in their lifetime (Abram et al., 2004; Dierkhising et al., 2015; Simkins & Katz 2002). Girls, in particular, experience high rates of traumatic experiences including physical and sexual violence (Acoca, 1998; Joshi & Billick, 2017; Morash, 2016). Youth who have been traumatized may act out as a response to these experiences (Bloom, 2002; Saar et al., 2015). Aside from transfer to adult court, short-term detention and residential or correctional placements are at the most serious end of the juvenile legal system spectrum, aside from transfer to adult court, youth may be detained at a short-term holding facility or placed at a residential facility (Annie E. Casey Foundation, 2021; Gilman et al., 2021). While youth are in detention or placement, they may be exposed to even more trauma, despite efforts by the system to mitigate these issues by engaging in trauma-informed practices (Garcia & Lane, 2013; Reed et al., 2021). Unfortunately, there is little research examining the practices juvenile detention facilities use that may reduce or exacerbate trauma despite the high rates of exposure to violence and experiences of abuse, especially among system-involved girls. Drawing on feminist pathways theory, ecological systems theory, and trauma theory, the current mixed-methods study examines how detention facilities respond to youth by contextualizing trauma-informed practices through the sociohistorical goals of rehabilitation and punishment in the juvenile legal system The current study used a convergent parallel mixed methods design, utilizing survey responses from a national survey of juvenile detention facilities in the United States (N=37) and interviews of girls detained in a Midwestern juvenile detention facility (N=24). Staff and administrators at detention facilities across the United States have attempted to engage in trauma-informed practices and pro (open full item for complete abstract)

Committee: Valerie Anderson Ph.D. (Committee Member); Joseph Nedelec Ph.D. (Committee Member); Christopher Sullivan Ph.D. (Committee Member); Sukhmani Singh Ph.D. (Committee Member); Ebony Ruhland Ph.D. (Committee Member) Subjects: Criminology

PhD, University of Cincinnati, 2022, 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 fa (open full item for complete abstract)

Committee: 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) Subjects: Criminology

Master of Arts (MA), Bowling Green State University, 2022, Psychology/Clinical

Family factors, such as parental monitoring and support, are some of the most well-established predictors of juvenile delinquency (Loeber, 1990). Family support is especially important during adolescence as greater support can help youth desist from delinquent behavior, develop a more positive future orientation, and develop stronger goal-setting skills (e.g., Massey et al., 2008; Vassallo et al., 2016). Not only does goal-setting impact aspects of adolescent development that help youth transition successfully to adulthood, but setting specific goals also impacts concrete behavioral outcomes, and recent research has started investigating this relationship in the criminal justice context (Lee & Vondracek, 2014; Locke & Latham, 1990; Nurmi, 1993). Many arrested youth experience deficits in skills such as goal-setting, and they often have trouble setting more specific goals (Carroll et al., 2013); therefore, it seems reasonable to hypothesize that stronger goal-setting skills may be associated with less antisocial behavior. Because research suggests that youth with more family support tend to engage in less delinquent behavior (e.g., Vassallo et al., 2016), and because greater family support is also associated with stronger goal-setting (e.g., Zhu et al., 2014), one way supportive families can protect against adolescent delinquency may be by helping their children set prosocial goals. Bandura's Social Cognitive Theory (SCT; Bandura, 1986) demonstrates how families can impact both goal-setting and delinquent behavior through processes such as modeling, but there is little to no existing research that examines these variables concurrently with arrested youth. The present study attempted to address this gap by exploring the relationships between family support, goal-setting, and delinquency. Specifically, the current study hypothesized a mediational model in which goal-setting skills would partially mediate the relationship between family support and delinquency. This was (open full item for complete abstract)

Committee: Carolyn Tompsett Ph.D. (Committee Chair); Eric Dubow Ph.D. (Committee Member); Meagan Docherty Ph.D. (Committee Member) Subjects: Clinical Psychology

Doctor of Philosophy, The Ohio State University, 2022, Women's, Gender and Sexuality Studies

The experts of the state and non-state institutions that constitute India's juvenile justice system frame the system as one that protects and cares for vulnerable girls and promotes their healing, empowerment, and rehabilitation. The bodies of knowledge created by the experts of the juvenile justice system erase how caste in the form of Brahmanical patriarchy undergirds India's juvenile justice system. This dissertation argues that India's juvenile justice system is a carceral system that upholds and maintains Brahmanical patriarchy by surveilling, confining, and regulating girls from working-class, oppressed caste, and religious minority communities. Drawing on critical analyses of policy documents and reports and ethnographic research at a juvenile institution in Delhi, I examine how the juvenile justice system conceptualizes and enacts the care and protection of girls. I argue that the juvenile justice system's policies of care and protection punish multiply-marginalized girls by regulating, confining, and fixing girls' sexualities, relationships, and mobilities within the limits of Brahmanical patriarchy. My dissertation employs Dalit feminist epistemologies and centers the voices and experiences of girls confined in juvenile institutions. By examining girls' responses to the juvenile justice system and underlining the complexities of their lives, experiences, and desires, I articulate alternate conceptualizations of care. My dissertation argues that methods and practices rooted in Dalit feminist epistemologies and abolitionist frameworks are critical to the liberation of the multiply-marginalized girls who are confined in India's juvenile institutions. The dissertation draws on and contributes to research in the fields of feminist critiques of Brahmanical patriarchy, feminist perspectives on justice, feminist critiques of the state, childhood and girlhood studies, feminist geography, and feminist critiques of development.

Committee: Mary Thomas Dr. (Advisor); Treva Lindsey Dr. (Committee Member); Mytheli Sreenivas Dr. (Committee Member); Jennifer Suchland Dr. (Committee Member) Subjects: Gender Studies; Geography; South Asian Studies; Womens Studies

Master of Arts (MA), Bowling Green State University, 2022, Psychology/Clinical

From 1999 to 2016, firearm violence was the leading cause of death in adolescents in the U.S. (Curtin, et al., 2018). Given the impact that youth gun violence has in terms of increased mortality, social and economic costs, and reduced public safety, identifying risk factors for gun carrying and gun violence in adolescence and young adulthood remains a high research priority (National Research Council, 2013). In addition, Black youth living in impoverished communities are disproportionately more likely to be both victims and perpetrators of gun violence (Blumstein, Rivara, & Rosenfeld, 2000; Lizotte et al., 2000); thus, addressing youth gun violence may be an important way to reduce health inequities. Previous research has indicated that youth are more likely to carry and/or use a gun if they have been exposed to violence (Reid et al., 2017), if they have a poor future orientation (Rowan et al., 2019), or if they have negative perceptions of procedural justice (Papachristos et al., 2012). However, studies have generally not examined these risk factors in tandem, and thus it is unknown how each uniquely contributes to the prediction of gun use and gun carrying. This study's aim is to analyze the unique relationships among violence exposure, future orientation, perceptions of procedural justice, and gun carrying and gun use among Black adolescent and young adult males. This study chose to focus on Black males in adolescence and young adulthood, given their disproportionate exposure to and involvement in gun violence, and the disparate experiences between Black and White youth in the U.S. that may culminate in differential susceptibility to these risk factors. The present study used data from Pathways to Desistance study, a comprehensive longitudinal study of treatment and processing of juvenile offenders (Pathways to Desistence, n.d.). Logistic regression analyses were used to determine whether levels of future orientation, violence exposure, and procedural justice pr (open full item for complete abstract)

Committee: Meagan Docherty PhD (Advisor); Eric Dubow PhD (Committee Member); Carolyn Tompsett PhD (Committee Chair) Subjects: Psychology; Public Policy

PhD, University of Cincinnati, 2021, Education, Criminal Justice, and Human Services: Criminal Justice

Previous research has examined the overrepresentation of youth of color in the juvenile court; scholars have also found that lesbian, gay, transgender, and queer/questioning (LGBTQ+), along with gender non-conforming youth are overrepresented in the juvenile legal system. Literature suggests that youth with multiple marginalized identities, especially youth of color in the LGBTQ+ community, are exposed to more punitive treatment in the legal system. This study aims to examine the intersection of race/ethnicity and sexual orientation, gender identity, and gender expression (SOGIE) in the juvenile legal system and aims to gain a better understanding of how the juvenile court responds to youth. This study uses one year of data from one large Midwestern juvenile court's data management system from all youth entering the court that have provided SOGIE information (n = 1,208). This study examines the effect of race/ethnicity, gender identity, gender expression, and sexual orientation on court processing outcomes. Findings indicate that youth with multiple marginalized identities may receive harsher treatment than non-marginalized youth. LGBTQ+ and/or GNC youth, Black youth, and boys were more likely to be placed in the official system than straight, cisgender, and GC youth, white youth, and girls. LGBTQ+ and/or GNC youth, Black youth, and girls were more likely to be given a mental health referral; however, when MASYI-2 scales are added to the model, Angry Irritable (AI), Depressed-Anxious (DA), and Suicide Ideation (SI) scales were of the main predictors of mental health referral, with the strongest predictor being Suicide Ideation. Girls were more likely than boys to receive delinquent adjudication and results suggest that gender identity may moderate the relationship between race/ethnicity and adjudication outcome. These results have implications for future research, practice, and policy within the juvenile legal system.

Committee: Valerie Anderson Ph.D. (Committee Chair); Christina Campbell Ph.D. (Committee Member); Joshua Cochran Ph.D. (Committee Member); Angela Irvine-Baker Ph.D. (Committee Member) Subjects: Criminology

Doctor of Philosophy, Case Western Reserve University, 2021, Social Welfare

Although the numbers of arrests involving youths and cases handled by juvenile courts have declined nationally over the last decade, juvenile delinquency remains a major legal and social problem in the United States with high economic and social costs, not only for the safety and well-being of youths, but also to family, community, and society at large (Kennedy et al., 2020; Puzzanchera, 2020). Almost one million youths under the age of 18 come into contact with the juvenile justice system each year in the United States and many of these cases are referred to juvenile or adult courts (Hockenberry & Puzzanchera, 2020). In order to effectively prevent future involvement in the criminal justice system and reduce recidivism rates among justice-involved youths, it is essential to further our understanding of the nature and patterns of criminal careers, especially in terms of specialization among youths. This study aimed to identify subgroups of youths based on their offense types within a sample of Ohio's Behavioral Health Juvenile Justice (BHJJ) initiative youths. Analysis of the data on 5,015 youths revealed three distinct latent classes: Violent Class, Property Class, and Status Class. The three-step latent variable multinomial logistic regression showed that onset age, race, and gender were predictive of class membership. In comparison with the Violent and Status Classes, nonwhite and male youths with late onset age had higher odds of being in the Property Class. Compared to the Status and Property Class, youths with early onset age had higher odds of being in the Violent Class. These findings were consistent with the previous studies and provided meaningful implications for future practice and research. First, the findings emphasized the importance of early prevention and intervention efforts. Second, information of the past offense types should be gathered and considered in risk management and case planning for justice-involved youths. Third, more longitudinal stud (open full item for complete abstract)

Committee: Daniel Flannery Ph.D. (Committee Chair); Fredrick Butcher Ph.D. (Committee Member); Jeff Kretschmar Ph.D. (Committee Member); Mark Singer Ph.D. (Committee Member); Mendel Singer Ph.D., M.P.H. (Committee Member) Subjects: Criminology; Social Work

Doctor of Philosophy (Ph.D.), Bowling Green State University, 2021, Psychology/Clinical

Following incarceration, youth often experience significant challenges such as an inability to distance themselves from peers involved in criminal behavior, transitioning to a new school, or a change in caregiving (Pratt, 2019; Sullivan, 2004). To navigate these challenges, youth need to be able to set goals, create plans, and follow through on their plans—often with the assistance of others. Youth in the justice system are found to have difficulty setting realistic goals and planning for goal-focused behavior (Lemus et al., 2017; Carrol et al., 2013). They may have particular difficulty with such tasks due to low self-esteem, a lack of models for desired outcomes, and lower perceptions of self-regulatory abilities and academic achievement (Abrams & Aguilar, 2005; Carrol et al., 2013; Clinkinbeard & Zohra, 2012). Help-seeking or resourcefulness is beneficial when an individual is faced with a problem that they cannot solve on their own (Bekhet & Garnier-Villarreal, 2018; Zausniewski, 2016). Such problems are often encountered by court-involved youth. Social support and relationships with parents/caregivers influence behavior, determine social resources available for youth to solve problems, and their ability to seek help (Catalano & Hawkins, 1996; Heaney & Israel, 2008). Existing studies show resourcefulness to be associated with positive outcomes (e.g., academic success, social and adaptive functioning; Bekhet & Garnier-Villarreal, 2018; Li et al., 2018; Zauszniewski, 2006). Limited research is available regarding court-involved youth and their use of resourcefulness for reentry related goals. The present study examined goal-setting and planning abilities of court-involved youth and positioned these abilities as protective factors within the Social Development Model (Catalano & Hawkins, 1996). The study analyzed how goal-setting and planning abilities are related to resourcefulness, and how goal-setting and planning abilities related to social support, psychologi (open full item for complete abstract)

Committee: Carolyn Tompsett Ph.D. (Advisor); Ashley McCoy Ph.D. (Other); Eric Dubow Ph.D. (Committee Member); Dara Musher-Eizenman Ph.D. (Committee Member) Subjects: Clinical Psychology

Master of Science in Criminal Justice, Youngstown State University, 2021, Department of Criminal Justice and Consumer Sciences

Research suggests that several family dynamics effect juvenile delinquency. The objective of this thesis is to examine how certain family dynamics influence juvenile delinquency. The theory used to address this objective is Hirschi's Social Bond Theory, as it is considered a benchmark for research in the field of delinquency. There are four hypotheses tested in this study. They include- delinquency is more likely in one-parent households than in two-parent households, delinquency is more likely in lowly supervised families than in families that are not lowly supervised, delinquency is more likely in highly conflicted families than in families with low or no conflict, and delinquency is more likely in lower class families than in middle- and upper-class families. The data used to test these hypotheses was retrieved from the Add Health Wave II database. Of the four hypotheses tested in this thesis, one was supported in the analysis. The analysis showed that households with no conflict had significantly less delinquency compared to households with conflict. The hypotheses involving family structure, family supervision, and family socio economic status were not supported by the analysis. It may be necessary to consider other influential aspects such as peers, school, or community factors along with the family dynamics discussed in this thesis to gain full understanding of the influences on juvenile delinquency.

Committee: Christopher Bellas PhD (Advisor); Richard Rogers PhD (Committee Member); John Hazy PhD (Committee Member) Subjects: Criminology

Master of Arts (MA), Bowling Green State University, 2020, Psychology/Clinical

Current research and data reflects that the ongoing trend in juvenile delinquency rates continues to decline each year. Previous studies involve understanding preventative factors that contribute to youth not becoming involved in delinquent activity. Preventative factors include youth having a positive family relationship, youth with a high level of psychosocial maturity, and youth who have a positive school bond. The purpose of this research is to focus on preventative factors surrounding recidivism. Using previously collected data from the Ohio Youth Assessment Survey-Disposition (OYAS-DIS), a tool used at the time of disposition for youth involved in the justice system, the study aimed to determine if positive school bond could moderate the effects of a negative family relationship. The OYAS-DIS provided a cumulative risk score for three different domains; Family, Education, and Prosocial that were used for analysis. These domains did not form a good representation of the areas of interest for study as they were risk indices instead of reflecting psychological constructs. The risk domains were used to form hypotheses that each domain would be positively associated with recidivism within a year. These hypotheses were not supported by the results. There were no significant findings that suggested any interactions between the Education and Family domains, nor either of these domains with the Prosocial domain. The findings did produce significant differences in risk scores for Black and White participants on the Education domain. Additionally, males had higher risk scores than females on the Family and Education domains. These findings suggest that further research into racial differences on the OYAS-DIS may prove beneficial to its administration and usage. Future studies may also include analysis of items that better construct a domain of interest (e.g., family relationship, school bond, and psychosocial maturity).

Committee: Carolyn Tompsett PhD (Advisor); Eric Dubow PhD (Committee Member); Dara Musher-Eizenman PhD (Committee Member) Subjects: Clinical Psychology; Criminology; Psychology

Master of Arts (MA), Bowling Green State University, 2020, Sociology

The Office of Juvenile Justice and Delinquency Prevention (OJDDP) recorded 809,700 arrests of youth in 2017. As a result of the significant number of adolescents in contact with the juvenile justice system, scholars have begun researching the collateral consequences of juvenile justice contact. This paper provides insight into the disruptive effects of juvenile justice contact on family relationships through the lenses of life-course and labeling theory. Using all 11 waves of data from the Pathways to Desistance (PTD) project, longitudinal modeling examined the link between a variety of criminal justice contact experiences and family support. Results showed that while age at first arrest was not a significant predictor of changes in family support over time, repeated arrest experiences were significantly associated with robust decreases in family support. Although other forms of criminal justice contact such as age at first arrest and court experiences did not influence family support, findings suggest that life-course scholars should examine how criminal justice system contact influences a wide-range of additional non-offending outcomes.

Committee: Thomas Mowen Dr. (Advisor); Stephen Demuth Dr. (Committee Member); Danielle Kuhl Dr. (Committee Member) Subjects: Sociology

Master of Arts, The Ohio State University, 2019, Arts Policy and Administration

This case study explores the role of partnerships in creating and implementing youth and family arts programming at Project Jericho, an arts organization located in Springfield, OH. Narrative interviews, document analysis, and participant observation are used to examine the relationships between Project Jericho and its partners—Clark State Community College, the Clark County Department of Job and Family Services, and the Clark County Juvenile Court. Included in the study is a discussion of the role partnerships play in increasing the scope and instrumentality of the arts to address larger community change and capacity building. The study also explores Project Jericho as a model of positive youth development, with an emphasis on relationship building and pro-social attitudes toward youth and family programming. Findings suggest that when arts organizations are central in a larger network of pro-social partnerships and community resources, they can be the impetus for great community change. A summary of Project Jericho's success factors is followed by implications for the field and suggestions for future research.

Committee: James H. Sanders III (Advisor); Dana Carlisle Kletchka (Committee Member) Subjects: Art Education; Arts Management

Master of Science in Criminal Justice, Youngstown State University, 2019, Department of Criminal Justice and Consumer Sciences

The purpose of this thesis is to provide current research regarding juvenile delinquency and poor parenting, and the demographic factors that contribute to such parenting. There are four hypotheses explored in this thesis: Hypothesis One: Juveniles that do not receive quality parental supervision are more likely to become delinquent. Hypothesis Two: Low income families have an increased risk of juvenile delinquency. Hypothesis Three: The size of the correlation between juvenile delinquency and parenting will not depend on the measure of parenting used (quality or supervision). Hypothesis Four: Race will have an effect on whether a juvenile becoming delinquent. The theoretical framework selected for this study revolved around Travis Hirschi's 1969 Social Bond Theory particularly for its component of the parent child relationship. The methodology behind this study was a fifty article systematic review inclusive of juvenile delinquency as the dependent variable and parenting as the independent variable, as well as other demographic factors such as race and socioeconomic status to see how those variables are related to juvenile delinquency. The results of this study showed a small connection poor parenting and juvenile delinquency. This thesis also revealed a strong positive relationship between low income families and juvenile delinquency. This thesis did not show a relationship between race and juvenile delinquency.

Committee: Christopher Bellas PhD (Committee Chair); Monica Merrill PhD (Committee Member); John Hazy PhD (Committee Member) Subjects: Criminology

Doctor of Philosophy, Case Western Reserve University, 2018, Social Welfare

Mental illness has long been identified as a significant issue among juvenile justice-involved adolescents. These issues are even more pronounced in adolescents who have experienced contacts with law enforcement, court personnel, and juvenile detention facilities. Some research reports that different subpopulations of mental health symptomatology exist among community samples of youth, and it is thought that this may also be true among juvenile justice-involved adolescents. Previous research has documented differences in mental health issues that have been related to individual characteristics such as age, race, and gender. Past studies have also found contextual factors such as poly-location exposure to violence (ETV) to contribute to the mental health problems of adolescents, specifically juvenile justice-involved adolescents. It is important that social welfare researchers and practitioners understand how individual factors and poly-location ETV may contribute to adverse behaviors, so that practical treatment programs can be developed to prevent or reduce further mental health volatility. This study explored whether specific subpopulations or profiles of mental health symptomatology exist among a juvenile justice sample. This study also examined whether individual characteristics and poly-location ETV contributed to profile membership over time. Additionally, the relationship between profile membership at Successful Treatment Completion and later delinquent or criminal behavior was examined. A secondary data analysis was conducted using data from the Behavioral Health and Juvenile Justice (BHJJ) diversion program. A total of 1,341 adolescents (ages 12-17) who were enrolled in BHJJ were included in this study. Data were collected at Intake, from three different data sources (youth, parent, and service worker), and at Successful Completion of Treatment. Mental health issues were measured using the worker report of the Ohio Scales Problem Severity Scale. (open full item for complete abstract)

Committee: Daniel Flannery (Committee Chair) Subjects: Criminology; Social Work; Statistics; Welfare

Master of Arts (MA), Bowling Green State University, 2018, Psychology/Clinical

Police-civilian relationships are crucial in fostering collaboration of the public necessary to keep communities safe. Negative attitudes toward the police impact personal outcomes, such as internalizing symptoms and recidivism, as well as community level outcomes, such as possible public alienation from the legal system (Gau & Brunson, 2010; Hartinger-Saunders et al., 2011; Hinds, 2009; Weitzer & Brunson, 2009). Public attitudes toward the police among specific subgroups is an especially pertinent topic, as African American men are frequently involved in police-civilian conflict and unarmed shootings, in addition to being overrepresented in the justice system (Burns Institute, 2011, 2013; Chaney & Robertson, 2013; Mapping Police Violence, 2016). Both socioeconomic status (SES) and race play a significant role in the formation and maintenance of attitudes toward the police, with African Americans and individuals in low SES communities consistently expressing less positive attitudes toward the police compared to Caucasians and higher SES groups (Chermak et al., 2006; Hurst, 2000; Lacks & Gordon, 2005; Romain & Hassell, 2014; Taylor et al., 2001; Web & Marshall, 1995; Weitzer & Tusch, 2002; Wu et al., 2015). The present study examined the attitudes toward the police and mental health symptoms of incarcerated adolescents, and how their attitudes compare to their parent/guardian. Additionally, the study analyzed differences between adolescents' attitudes on the basis of their race, SES, and criminal history. Overall, adults and youth were found to have different police attitudes, with adults having more positive attitudes. When youth were matched with their parent/guardian, youth had significantly more negative attitudes toward the police. Attitudes toward the police were not found to be related to youth mental health issues or criminal risk level. Greater youth mental health problems, specifically impacting social problems and interpersonal relationships, were associat (open full item for complete abstract)

Committee: Carolyn Tompsett Ph.D. (Advisor); Eric Dubow Ph.D. (Committee Member); Marie Tisak Ph.D. (Committee Member) Subjects: Clinical Psychology; Criminology; Psychology