The Impact of Justice System Involvement on Adolescent Well-Being

• In Event: 1-094 - Focus on the Positives: Examining Positive Developmental Outcomes Within At-Risk Populations

Integrative Statement

The juvenile justice system strives to deter continued delinquency by holding youth accountable for their crimes and fostering psychosocial development through rehabilitation. Yet, prior research suggests that justice system involvement may exacerbate illegal behaviors (Huizinga & Henry, 2008) and place youth at heightened risk for continued justice system contact (Liberman, Kirk & Kim, 2014). Although prior research highlights the developmental nature of crime and risk-taking among justice system youth (Mulvey et al., 2010), our knowledge regarding the development of strengths remains limited. Few researchers have considered whether continued justice system contact impacts positive developmental outcomes (Dmitrieva, Monahan, Cauffman, & Steinberg, 2012). The current investigation questions whether justice system contact impacts positive youth development. The goals of the present study are 1) to examine the developmental patterns of well-being among justice-involved youth during the three years following their first arrest, and 2) to determine whether continued justice system involvement and monitoring influences well-being.

Data were drawn from a multi-site longitudinal study of 1,216 male adolescents, ages 13-17 years old (Mage= 15.31) at the time of their first arrest. The sample consisted of Latino (46%), Black (37%), White (15%), and self-identified Other (2%) youth. Participants completed an interview 6-weeks after their first arrest, and were re-interviewed every 6-months for three years. During each interview, participants completed the EPOCH scale (Kern, Benson, Steinberg, & Steinberg, 2016), a measure evaluating psychological well-being in five domains: engagement, perseverance, optimism, connectedness and happiness. Justice-system contact was measured through reports of initial processing status (formal vs. informal), official re-arrests, probation status (on or off probation), and experiences of being picked up by police. Age, race, IQ, and self-reported delinquency were included as covariates.

A series of unconditional growth models were used to evaluate the development of each domain of well-being following an adolescents first arrest (Table 1). Each domain of well-being demonstrated a significant but small linear increase, suggesting on average, youth experience improved well-being in the years following their first arrest. Next, we evaluated the association between justice system contact and well-being (Table 2). Results indicated that youth on probation reported lower perseverance, optimism, connectedness and happiness compared to youth not on probation. Adolescents engaging in more crime reported lower levels of engagement, perseverance, optimism, and connectedness. Interestingly, experiencing a police pick-up was associated with higher perseverance. Neither initial processing nor re-arrest were related to well-being.

A first arrest can act as a turning point by which some youth persist in crime, whereas other deflect towards a path of positive development. Ideally, interactions with law enforcement would provide adolescents with the tools and resources needed to successfully reintegrate back into their communities. However, the current findings suggest justice system monitoring via probation is related to lower well-being over time. Future research should identify the circumstances under which justice system involvement helps youth. By employing methods that facilitate rather than hinder positive youth development, justice system officials may be more effective in preventing continued delinquency.

Authors

• Cortney Simmons, University of California, Irvine
  Presenting Author

• Alissa Knowles, University of California, Irvine
  Non-Presenting Author

• Natasha Duell, UNC Chapel Hill
  Non-Presenting Author

• Adam Fine, Arizona State University
  Non-Presenting Author

• Laurence D. Steinberg, Temple University
  Non-Presenting Author

• Paul J. Frick, Louisiana State University and Australian Catholic University
  Non-Presenting Author

• Elizabeth Cauffman, University of California, Irvine
  Non-Presenting Author