At-Risk, Justice-Involved, and Traumatized Youths: Outcomes of Engagement in the Arts

Session Type: Paper Symposium

Abstract

The United States Department of Justice’s Office of Juvenile Justice and Delinquency Prevention (OJJDP) has made significant investments in promising programs and interventions that have positive impacts for youth development and that reduce or prevent juvenile delinquency and/or recidivism. In recent years these investments have included a focus on supporting opportunities for youth to engage in the visual and performing arts, which have been shown to provide youth with an outlet for self-expression and creativity, as well as provide opportunities to build new skills and cope with and heal from trauma (see literature review by OJJDP, 2016, updated 2021).

This paper symposium includes a collection of four new research papers that examine the unique potential for arts engagement to reduce risk factors that may lead to justice system involvement and increase preventative factors for youth should they enter into the justice system. Paper 1 includes analysis of two longitudinal, general population studies examining how arts engagement during adolescence in general is related to fewer antisocial or criminalized behaviors. Paper 2 explores academic and disciplinary outcomes for middle schoolers who take arts elective courses. And Paper 3 and 4 focus on outcomes related to arts engagement in institutionalized settings, such as juvenile detention centers and a permanent supportive housing, respectively. Each paper shares new and important findings regarding the impacts of arts engagement for at-risk youth, and results from these studies may lead to evidence-based decision making by policymakers as they weigh the cost-benefit of supporting arts-based initiatives and programs.

Sub Unit

• Race, Ethnicity, Culture, Context

Chair

• Melissa Menzer, National Endowment for the Arts

Individual Presentations

• Arts and Cultural Engagement, Reportedly Antisocial or Criminalized Behaviors in Two Longitudinal Adolescent Cohort Studies - Presenting Author: Jill Sonke, University of Florida

• Does Taking Arts Electives Predict Later Academic Outcomes and Suspensions for Previously Suspended Middle Schoolers? - Presenting Author: Adam Winsler, George Mason University; Alenamie Alegrado, George Mason University; Tevis Lee Tucker, George Mason University; Joshua Stein, George Mason University

• Podcasts, Prisons and Pedagogies: How Media Arts Spark New Possibilities for Incarcerated Youth - Presenting Author: Mindy Faber, Convergence Design Lab; Adam Sherlock, Spy Hop Productions; Danielle Littman

• Using Arts-Based and Embodied Methods to Explore Supportive Settings for Young People - Presenting Author: Danielle Littman