Jennifer Wareham

Construct Validity of the Youth Psychopathic Traits Inventory (YPI) and the Antisocial Process Screening Device (APSD) With Justice-Involved Adolescents:

Two measures of psychopathic features in youths, the self-report version of the Antisocial Process Screening Device (APSD) and the Youth Psychopathic traits Inventory (YPI) were administered to 165 youths in a juvenile diversion program. For both measures, internal consistency was poor for the scales that assess the affective domain of psychopathic features; otherwise, internal consistency was excellent for the YPI and generally superior to that of the APSD. However, the published three-factor models for both measures did not replicate when examined using confirmatory factor analysis. Both measures obtained the expected correlations with measures of a variety of criminal justice (e.g., age of delinquency onset, past year delinquent behavior) and psychological constructs (e.g., internalizing and externalizing behavior), providing evidence of construct validity for both measures. The YPI appears to be the better measure for exploring the construct of psychopathy in adolescents. Recommendations are made concerning revisions to the APSD.

Drug Use and Delinquent Behavior: A Growth Model of Parallel Processes Among High-Risk Youths

The continuity of self-reported heavy alcohol and marijuana use and self-reported delinquency among adolescents is examined using latent growth model analyses in a sample of 278 justice-involved juveniles completing at least one of three follow-up interviews as part of a National Institute on Drug Abuse—funded study. Latent growth models are analyzed examining (a) changes in heavy alcohol and marijuana use over time, (b) changes in delinquency over time, and (c) the contemporaneous, parallel processes of changes in substance use and delinquency over time. Results indicate that substance use increased over time, whereas delinquency decreased over time. However, the growth model examining the simultaneous influence of delinquency on substance use suggests that delinquency exacerbated substance use over time. Implications for policy and intervention service needs are discussed.

A latent class factor approach to identifying subtypes of juvenile diversion youths based on psychopathic features

Latent class factor analysis allows for the estimation of a dimensional construct such as psychopathy through factor analysis while also examining the heterogeneity of the sample. We report the results of a latent class factor analysis examining the psychometric structure of a widely used measure of psychopathy, as well as internalizing (i.e. anxiety) and externalizing indices, among diversion program youths involved in an intervention study. The results indicated that four subgroups of adolescents existed in the data: one with high psychopathic features and externalizing problems, but low anxiety; one with moderately high affective and behavioral psychopathic features and externalizing problems, but low anxiety; one with moderately high interpersonal and behavioral psychopathic features, externalizing problems, and anxiety; and one with very low psychopathy scores, anxiety, and externalizing problems. The validity of these subgroups was assessed comparing prior family problems, substance use, and offending measures, and one-year follow-up measures of recidivism, detention days, substance use, and program completion. This study offers partial support for the existence of psychopathy subgroups and has implications for future studies of psychopathy typologies. In addition, this study employed a methodology for classification that permits consideration of the dimensional nature of a construct, and as such has implications for a variety of research areas.

A Longitudinal Study of Psychological Functioning Among Juvenile Offenders A Latent Growth Model Analysis

This study examines a sample of 278 justice-involved juveniles completing at least one of three follow-up interviews as part of a National Institute on Drug Abuse-funded study. Latent growth models are analyzed examining (a) changes in psychological functioning throughout time; (b) the effects of family problems, physical abuse, and sexual victimization on psychological functioning throughout time; and (c) differences across gender. Results indicate that the psychological problems of these youths remain relatively stable throughout time. Furthermore, consistent with findings from existing literature, psychological problems are related to the youths’ family problems and maltreatment experiences, affecting the psychological functioning of female and male youths differently. The findings suggest that focusing intervention and prevention early in a juvenile’s life is the most promising approach for preventing prolonged sociopsychological problems.

Drug use and sexually transmitted diseases among female and male arrested youths.

Knowledge of the rates and correlates of juvenile offenders’ sexually transmitted diseases (STD) has been limited to samples of incarcerated youths comprised mostly of males. Data collected on 442 female and 506 male youths processed at a centralized intake facility enabled us to study this important public health problem among a sample of juvenile offenders at the front end of the justice system. Female–male, multi-group latent class analyses identified two subgroups, High Risk and Lower Risk, of youths described by a latent construct of risk based on drug test results, STD test results, and a classification for the seriousness of arrest charge. The results found: (1) a similar classification distinguished High Risk and Lower Risk male and female youths, and (2) important gender group differences in sexual risk related factors (e.g., substance use during sexual encounters). Among the youths in this sample who tested positive for an STD, 66% of the girls and 57% of the boys were released back into the community after arrest. Overall, our findings raise serious public health and social welfare concerns, for both the youths and the community. Prevention and intervention implications of these findings are also discussed.

Gendered Perspectives On Depression and Antisocial Behaviors An Extension of the Failure Model in Adolescents

Although the association between antisocial behavior and depression has been widely supported, the direction and temporal order of this relationship are not fully understood in childhood and adolescence. Patterson and Capaldi formulated a failure model to explain how antisocial behaviors may cause and reinforce depression. Although co-occurring internalizing problems are commonly diagnosed in girls, few studies have examined the onset and progression of antisocial behavior and depression in female adolescents using prospective data that allow for a thorough investigation of the dynamics of this relationship. The present study extends previous research by examining the relationship between gender, crime, and depressive symptoms in youths participating in the Project on Human Development in Chicago Neighborhoods. Overall, there was mixed support for failure theory.

The Effects of Different Aspects of Supervision Among Female and Male Correctional Staff: A Preliminary Study:

This study examined a gendered model of the effects of supervisory factors on job outcomes for both men and women. Two competing hypotheses, the importation-differential experiences model and the work role prisonization model, guided the analyses of the effects of supervisor support, supervisor structure, and supervisor trust on job stress, job satisfaction, and affective organizational commitment. Data came from surveys of 160 correctional staff employed at a Midwestern prison. The results provide substantial support for the work model and less support for the importation model. Few differences were found in how men and women respond to supervisory factors. The implications of these results are discussed.

The Impact of Arbitration Intervention Services on Youth Recidivism: One-Year Follow-Up.

Abstract We report the impact of case management services and youth psychopathic features on twelve-month recidivism rates for youths involved in a Center for Substance Abuse Treatment funded clinical trial conducted in a juvenile diversion program. The project is evaluating an innovative intervention service providing 16 weeks of intensive case management services to youths and their families. The present study examines baseline interview data and official arrest/charge records for a twelve-month period following program or intervention completion, whichever came later, for 164 youths who entered a diversion program (Juvenile Arbitration) between June 2002 and July 2003 and agreed to participate in the project. The results indicate that youths receiving case management services did not have lower rates of recidivism during the 12-month follow-up period, than youths receiving the usual Arbitration services. Regardless of service group assignment, psychopathy measures for these youths were significantly and positively associated with recidivism rates during the 12-month follow-up period. Implications for policy and intervention service needs are discussed.

An Exploration of DSM-Oriented Scales in the Prediction of Criminal Offending Among Urban American Youths

Research has long suggested comorbidity between mental health and poor life course outcomes such as delinquency. The early identification of mental illness in youths is an important goal for researchers examining the relationship between mental disorder and offending. The present study examined the comorbidity of various mental health problems such as anxiety, affective, attention deficit/hyperactivity, somatic, and oppositional defiant problems and their effect on offending in youths participating in the Project on Human Development in Chicago Neighborhoods (PHDCN). Innovative Diagnostic and Statistical Manual (DSM)—oriented scales that allow for distinctions between normal, borderline, and clinical levels of mental health problems were used in logistic regressions to predict the odds of offending across four stages of development. Findings showed a consistent pattern across the life course of oppositional defiant problems increasing the likelihood of future property and violent offending. Furthermore, the value of using DSM-oriented scales was demonstrated. Implications for future studies and policy are discussed.

Evaluation of the Impact of a Policy Change on a Diversion Program.

Abstract As part of a larger study examining the impact of the “get tough” policy on juvenile crime, we studied the effects of efforts to “get tough” on juvenile participation in diversion programs in Hillsborough County, Florida. Florida legislature budget cuts in 2000 eliminated a primary community service program (JASP), replacing it with programs permitting penetration into the juvenile justice system (the Walker Plan and Intensive Delinquency Diversion Services [IDDS]). This event provided an opportunity for a natural experiment evaluating the impact of these service changes on youth participant outcomes. Differences were found among the diversion programs in regard to involvement. Discriminant analysis indicated the distinctions among the youths reflected primarily a difference between youths completing the program and those failing to complete the program. Stepwise logistic regression analyses predicting diversion program completion found that youths placed in the Walker Plan and in an arbitration program had higher completion rates than those placed in JASP, IDDS and another community-based program. While not providing any clear-cut indication of better program completion rates for JASP, when compared to the other diversion programs, the results suggest that a court- based diversion program, involving case supervision by juvenile probation officers, improves program compliance.