Criminal Justice and Behavior

All incarcerated juveniles have to receive correctional education, but little is known about how these school experiences influence reentry. With longitudinal data of 569 incarcerated juveniles (91% male) from the Pathways to Desistance Project, this study tested how motivational (teacher bonding, school orientation, time spent on homework) and performance (grades) aspects of schooling were related to desistance for youth returning from juvenile versus adult facilities. Results revealed that across facility type, increased attachment to facility schools, but not grades, predicted increased gainful activity (attending school and/or working), less self-reported delinquency, and lower recidivism in the community. Path models showed that gainful activity during Months 1 through 6 was related to stay in community, but not to self-reported behavior in Months 7 through 12. Results indicate that incarceration is an environment that shapes future behavior, but also highlight differences between behavioral and system responses. Facility school experiences might be an important locus of intervention.

This study described the development of the Protective Factors for Reducing Juvenile Reoffending (PFRJR), a strengths-based measure to assess responsivity, guide case management, and potentially predict desistance. The study employed two diverse independent samples: a construction sample (N = 278) and a validation sample (N = 265) of juveniles under court supervision in a Midwestern juvenile court. Factor analyses revealed two factors—the Individual/Community domain includes items that measure prosocial attitudes and perceived access to resources in the community; the Family domain includes items that measure prosocial involvement with family and peers. The PFRJR had good model fit, strong internal consistency, and is related to risk in the theoretically appropriate direction. This research highlights the practicability of incorporating a strengths-based measure into traditional risk assessment procedures within an applied setting and contributes to the paucity of risk assessment research that examines strengths-based theoretical models and assessment protocols.

Juvenile court practitioners and researchers have recently gained interest in evaluating internal and external strengths, or protective factors. Some scholars assert that incorporating measures of strengths into the risk assessment process can increase the accuracy of identifying odds of recidivating. Relatively few juvenile risk assessment validation studies have evaluated the predictive validity of strengths. This study employed a diverse sample (N = 278) of juveniles under supervision in a Midwestern court. The Protective Factors for Reducing Juvenile Reoffending (PFRJR) significantly predicted recidivism for the total sample, males, and White youth. There was no evidence of differential predictive validity across gender; however, strengths predicted differently across race/ethnicity. Strengths did not increase the amount of variance explained in recidivism after accounting for the variance explained by risk factor scores. Findings contribute to the paucity of validation studies that investigated the differential and incremental predictive validity of strengths.

There is bourgeoning empirical support for the usage of the Structured Assessment of Protective Factors (SAPROF) across many jurisdictions, but there is a dearth of research on the Structured Assessment of Protective Factors for Violence Risk—Youth Version (SAPROF-YV). This study examined (a) the predictive validity of the SAPROF-YV ratings for general recidivism and (b) the incremental predictive validity of the SAPROF-YV ratings when used in conjunction with the Youth Level of Service/Case Management Inventory (YLS/CMI) 2.0 ratings. Using a sample of 822 male youths who were involved with the justice system and under community supervision in Singapore, the results showed that the SAPROF-YV total score and final protection judgment rating were significantly predictive of general recidivism. Moreover, the SAPROF-YV total score and final judgment rating showed incremental predictive validity over the YLS/CMI 2.0 total score and risk rating. Overall, the results suggest that SAPROF-YV ratings are suited for assessing justice-involved youth within the Singaporean context and can be used in conjunction with YLS/CMI 2.0 ratings for predicting recidivism.

This study examined the predictive validity of criminogenic needs and strengths as measured by the Youth Assessment and Screening Instrument (YASI) and the Service Planning Instrument (SPIn) within five different samples from Canada and the United States spanning 6,445 justice-involved youths and 46,127 adults (combined N = 52,572). Dynamic strengths consistently increased predictive accuracy beyond dynamic criminogenic needs. Furthermore, in a Canadian community adult sample (N = 20,537), strengths attenuated recidivism rates in lower- and moderate-need-level groups but had no impact among higher-need-level groups. Relatedly, in an American, federal re-entry adult residential sample (N = 23,615), strengths attenuated program completion success rates across all need levels, albeit the effect was slightly more pronounced in the lower- and moderate-need groups. Thus, dynamic strengths are more than merely the absence of dynamic criminogenic needs and should be actively considered during case management.

Most sexual recidivism risk assessment tools focus primarily on risk factors and deficits without consideration for strengths or protective factors which might mitigate reoffense risk. The current study is the first in a research program designed to develop and validate the Structured Assessment of PROtective Factors for violence risk—Sexual Offence version (SAPROF-SO), a measure of protective factors against sexual reoffending. The study aimed to test interrater reliability and construct validity of the SAPROF-SO with a high-risk (n = 40) and routine (n = 40) sample. Interrater reliability between three independent raters was generally good to excellent for the SAPROF-SO domain and Total scores across both samples and compared favorably with validated measures of dynamic risk. Moreover, the SAPROF-SO demonstrated construct validity and was moderately independent of existing measures of risk. Findings open the door for a more balanced, strengths-based, and accurate approach to recidivism risk assessment.

The quality of risk assessment instruments has improved greatly during the last 40 years. While assessing protective factors has become common practice, with some instruments now devoted entirely to such assessments, little is known about the effect of risk and protective factors on recidivism. The present study investigates the effects (promotive or buffering protective) of protective factors captured by the LS/CMI for a sample of 18,031 convicted adult males under the supervision of provincial services in Canada. Effects of protective factors and possible interactions between risk and protective factors were investigated using moderation analyses. Results indicate that protective factors can be both promotive and buffering protective for risk and that the benefits of protective factors are related to the risk to which people are exposed. Patterns of protective effects appear to differ for general and violent recidivism. Theoretical and clinical implications are discussed.

Using the Serious and Violent Offender Reentry Initiative (SVORI) data set, the current study examined the relationship between internal change factors, including agency, readiness for change, and legal cynicism, and four reentry outcomes (recidivism, reincarceration, drug use, and treatment participation). The study also assessed the impact of external change factors, such as family support and perceived neighborhood quality on reentry outcomes. Using a hybrid model approach, we found that within-individual changes in agency and family emotional support were significantly related to decreased self-reported recidivism and reincarceration over time. Within-individual changes in family emotional support were also significantly related to reductions in self-reported drug use and within-individual changes in readiness for change were positively associated with treatment participation across the postrelease waves of the SVORI data. Between-individual results further demonstrate the salience of change factors on reentry outcomes. Study findings inform desistance models and identify some promising targets for reentry programming.

Understanding gang disengagement is important for the development of effective interventions. This research sought to examine how former South African gang members understand their gang disengagement. Two rounds of life history interviews were conducted with 12 former gang members. Thematic narrative analysis was used to analyze the interview data. Findings revealed that personal agency was key to the participants’ disengagement, which included forming a purposive intention to change, committing to and maintaining this change, despite challenges faced, and taking personal responsibility for their pasts. It also involved actively drawing on protective resources—such as meaningful and practical support from loved ones—and prosocial identities available to them within their environments, thus illustrating how the disengagement process is an interaction between inner and outer resources. Therefore, it is imperative that gang-related interventions ensure that individuals have access to the kinds of resources that will support their disengagement.

According to the criminal career paradigm, the link between past and future criminal activities is important and the desistance process may vary for individuals whose criminal trajectories were punctuated by failure compared with those who achieved a certain level of success. This study, based on the life narratives of 27 individuals who maintained a state of nonoffending for more than a year, examines how criminal achievement modulates the desistance process. The aim is to understand whether criminal achievement acts as a barrier or a facilitator in the desistance process. A short questionnaire based on the life-history calendar method was used to classify individuals according to the parameters of their criminal careers. Narrative life stories were then used to look at the obstacles and frustrations encountered during desistance. The results show the relation between criminal achievement and desistance is complex: success in criminal activities is not always hindering desistance.

There is growing scholarly interest in older adults involved in crime and their lives in prison. However, the specific group of older adults who persistently offend (OAPO) and their desistance intentions has received little attention. The present study aims to explore the lived experiences of OAPO who intend to desist from crime. Seventeen OAPO were interviewed, and an interpretive phenomenological analysis approach was used to analyze the narratives they presented. Participants’ interviews revealed four superordinate themes: (1) insight and change in the lives of OAPO; (2) a series of losses lead to disillusionment with a life of crime; (3) desistance as the only alternative; and (4) fear of death in prison as a catalyst for desistance. The findings suggest that desistance intention among older adults in prison is an individualized process deeply affected by age-related motivations and dynamics.