References

This includes all the references used throughout the blog "Myths of Delinquency."

References

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Ferrer, C. (2014, April 30). How a special needs kid gets handcuffed and thrown in

jail “for her own good.” Retrieved from https://www.aclu.org/print/blog/racial-justice/how-special-needs-kid-gets-handcuffed-and-thrown-jail-her-own-good

Ferrer, C. (2014, May 1). Where zero tolerance makes zero sense. Retrieved from

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credit is a solid investment in crime prevention for the Carolinas. Retrieved from http://www.fightcrime.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/default/files/reports/NC-SC%20CTC%20Brief%20with%20endnotes.pdf

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and drug use: A test of the selection, facilitation, and enhancement hypotheses. Journal of Child Psychology and Psychiatry, 46(11), 1178-1190.

Gonzalez, S. (2013, February 25). How school zero tolerance rules turn bad behavior

into a crime. Retrieved from http://stateimpact.npr.org/florida/maps/map-florida-students-arrested-for-bad-behavior-not-criminal-behavior/

Gottesman, D., & Schwarz, S. W. (2011). Juvenile justice in the U.S.: Facts for

policymakers. New York, NY: National Center for Children in Poverty.

Harris, P.W., Lockwood, B., & Mengers, L. (2009). A CJCA white paper: Defining and

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T. W., & Cothern, L. (2000, April). Predictors of youth violence. Juvenile Justice Bulletin, 1–12.

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Hughes, T. (2001). Juvenile delinquent rehabilitation: Placement of juveniles beyond

their communities as a detriment to inner city youths. New England Law Review, 36(1), 153-179.

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Keilitz, I., Zaremba, B., & Broder, P. K. (1979). The link between learning disabilities

and juvenile delinquency: Some issues and answers. Williamsburg, VA: National Center for State Courts.

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from http://www.ojjdp.gov/pubs/236479.pdf

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youth with disabilities in juvenile corrections. Correctional Education Association, 53(2), 46-50.

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juvenile justice system: Results from a multi-state prevalence study. National Center for Mental Health and Juvenile Justice Research and Program Brief. Retrieved from http://www.unicef.org/tdad/usmentalhealthprevalence06(3).pdf

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the states. Retrieved from http://www.law.georgetown.edu/academics/centers-institutes/poverty-inequality/upload/jds_v1r4_web_singles.pdf

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Clarifying Beliefs About Juvenile Delinquency

Frequently, disturbing headlines appear about teenagers. From the first half of 2014 alone, some such headlines included: “NM officer fatally shoots armed teen,” “12-year-old Wisconsin girls charged in stabbing,” “Slaying of 14-year-old by another youth exposes entrenched Chicago violence,” “Two teens dead in Phoenix murder-suicide” (PoliceOne, 2014). It is important to note: Crimes are committed every day and some are committed by youth who are beyond the scope of this discussion. The concern of this piece is the teenagers viewed, labeled, or treated in the same fashion as their more violent peers.

“Less than one-fifth of 1%” of teen offenders are arrested for violent crimes against persons (murder, non-negligent manslaughter, forcible rape, robbery, and aggravated assault) (OJJDP, 2011, para. 3). This leaves over 99% who are simply troubled kids who made bad choices. The intention of this discussion is to focus on young offenders who are most often disruptive or otherwise difficult in the classroom, and who also are most often misunderstood.

There are myriad ideas about “bad” kids held by even the most highly educated and compassionate people. When participants in this discussion were asked for their beliefs about students who get in trouble frequently or, especially, those who end up in juvenile detention placements, common responses included, “They are violent,” “They are all on drugs,” and “They don’t care, “ or as one respondent for this study so bluntly put it, “Why waste our time?” This mindset may be an indicator as to why so little progress has been made in the treatment of, or intervention with, individuals who demonstrate undesirable behaviors, many of whom end up in the juvenile justice system.

It is important to recognize this is both an all students issue and, perhaps especially, a special education issue. A dramatic overrepresentation of youth with disabilities persists in the juvenile justice system. Studies show as high as 70% of adjudicated youth in some states have disabilities (Leone, Meisel, & Drakeford, 2002). This rate is compared with 11% of the general population for youth receiving special education services. Only 7% of youth in the general population have the disabling conditions most prominent in juvenile justice facilities, which are learning disabilities, emotional disturbances, and intellectual disabilities (Leone, Zaremba, Chapin, & Iseli, 1995).

Offenders with disabilities also frequently receive more punitive treatment as compared to their non-disabled peers (Murray, 1976). As recently as April 2014, a 13-year-old girl with autism was arrested, spending 24 hours in custody, for reacting to a school resource officer in a manner clearly explained in her Individualized Educational Program (IEP). The officer explained she was arrested and detained “for her own good” (Ferrer, 2014, para. 6).

For these reasons, common beliefs about juvenile delinquents were investigated, clarifying which of these beliefs are supported by research and which are not. Responses were gathered from educated adults who work in the field of education and elsewhere. The objective was to debunk myths of delinquency, giving practitioners a new perspective of the “bad” kids with whom they work or encounter. Belief statements were then investigated and determined to be either truth (based on consistent research) or myth (based on conflicting or absent research and mixed messages). Shifting the beliefs so common among educated adults will impact the experiences of these students with the possibility of interrupting a trajectory toward delinquency for many at risk youth.

Why have this discussion in the first place?

            It began with telling family and friends about my own research interests (the intersection of disability and juvenile justice) and my goals for advocating for incarcerated youth. It was followed by my shock when people regularly responded in a negative way – the most common reaction being, “Why?” I saw that wonderful people had very mistaken ideas about kids in trouble and I sought to address some of these “myths.”

Of the belief statements gathered in this discussion, the third most frequently shared was that juvenile delinquents probably have disabilities. As discussed previously, research shows up to 70% of youth in the juvenile justice system have a disability and, therefore, this belief statement is well founded.

Theories behind this

Three theories attempt to elucidate why youth with disabilities demonstrate delinquent behavior: School Failure Theory (Murray, 1976); Susceptibility Theory (Murray, 1976); and Differential Treatment Theory (Keilitz, Zaremba, & Broder, 1979). The first two theories posit youth with disabilities commit more delinquent acts than their non-disabled peers. The School Failure Theory explains how a progressive effect of academic challenges and experiences of failure lead to negative labeling by adults and peers, thus leading to distancing from the academic experience of school and navigating toward peers who tend to be negative influences. The Susceptibility Theory explains the challenges of understanding social cues, impulsive decision-making, and dupability that lead to students with disabilities so often being the ones left to bear responsibility for unlawful actions committed in groups or encouraged by peers.

The third, Differential Treatment Theory, counters this over-existence of crime-committing by claiming youth with disabilities demonstrate characteristics as a result of their disability that are misunderstood as dangerous or risky and are, therefore, treated more punitively than their non-disabled peers who may have committed the same delinquent acts (Keilitz, Zaremba, & Broder, 1979). It is also possible no delinquent act was even committed, but simply the fear of a future act. For example, youth may be detained prior to adjudication for subjective judgment calls made by police or social services officers of “dangerousness” and/or “flight risk” behaviors that actually could be a manifestation of their disability instead (Leone et al., 1995). This is demonstrated in the previous example of the 13-year-old who was, in fact, detained for a known and documented behavior that was a result of her disability (Ferrer, 2014).

What I wanted to know

These theories show there is confusion and misunderstanding surrounding children who behave in undesirable ways. The Differential Treatment Theory focuses on beliefs people hold about juvenile delinquents, many of which can be incorrect. There are myths surrounding delinquency that, if dispelled, would change the way in which practitioners work with these students both before and after adjudication. Therefore, this discussion seeks to answer:

1.     What are common beliefs about juvenile delinquents?

2.     Which of these beliefs are supported by empirical research and which are not?

How did I go about this?

The data discussed in this blog come from multiple sources: interviews with and surveys of a convenience sample of educated adults employed both in the education field and elsewhere; Internet searches for media headlines about youth crime; and existing literature about juvenile delinquency. Using various modalities, 124 individuals were polled and 30 responded. Participants provided five to ten “things [they] believe about juvenile delinquents” as well as demographic information including name, age, level of education, and occupation. The open-ended request was intentionally vague for the sake of avoiding bias by suggesting reflection over whether their beliefs were true or false. Participants were told this survey was for research about the beliefs people have regarding delinquency. Confidentiality was assured so respondents could share views they otherwise may not voice publically.

Who participated?

Of the 30 respondents, fewer than half (fourteen) worked in education-related positions, while the others were not professionally connected to education. Nineteen were female and 11 were male. The average age of the respondents was 39.2 years. The level of education completed ranged from high school (four) to doctorate (three), with eight holding bachelors degrees and 15 holding masters degrees.

Myth or Truth?

The responses were carefully categorized by themes and the categories were then investigated to discover from research whether they had been determined to be true or false. The statements supported by research are called “truths” for the sake of this discussion and those not supported by research or surrounded by mixed messages are called “myths.” While research is available to support those categories labeled as truth, the focus of this discussion is on those labeled as myth and explaining why they are not necessarily true. In order to debunk these myths, various sources will be discussed throughout this blog to shine light on different perspectives for each topic. Direct quotes from some respondents are also included throughout.

What were the results?

            In the results, there were belief statements that were categorically true with no ambiguity. There were also belief statements that were undetermined, meaning they could not be justified as truth or myth because of a lack of evidence on the topic. Finally, there were nine belief statements that were either completely false or could not be found to be true based on conflicting or absent research. These belief statements are those discussed in subsequent posts, each labeled as a myth. As explained in the Differential Treatment Theory (Murray, 1976), these results bring awareness to the types of beliefs people have about juvenile delinquents that may be incorrect and may impact treatment.

            Please follow me on this journey of understanding the views that exist, where they come from, and whether or not they are true. The most important point in all of this is we all still have a lot to learn and things are seldom as clear-cut as we may believe.

P.S. All references can be found in the blog post called References.