Tom D. Kennedy

The Clinical and Adaptive Features of Young Offenders with Histories of Child-Parent Violence

This study compared the clinical and adaptive features of juvenile offenders (N = 223) who were violent towards their parents (CPV) with those who had no history of violence against their parents (NCPV). These two groups were also examined on demographic data, arrest findings, mental health issues, relationship findings, intellectual abilities, and school performance. Youths in the CPV group were more likely to (a) associate with peers who own guns, (b) affiliate with gang members, (c) belong to a gang, (d) have been psychiatrically hospitalized and medicated, (e) have attempted suicide, (f) come from a non-intact home, and (g) have trouble relating to their parents and other household members. The CPV group also committed a greater number of nondomestic violent offenses, while those in the NCPV group committed a greater number of property offenses. Analyses revealed no significant group differences on the Emotional Symptom Index and Personal Adjustment Composite of the Behavior Assessment System for Children; however, interaction effects were detected by gender and race.

Intellectual, behavioral, and personality correlates of violent vs. non-violent juvenile offenders

The overall aim of this study was to examine the relationship between offender status (violent vs. nonviolent) and selected predictor variables from personality, behavioral, and intellectual domains. The two main sub goals were (a) to determine which variables from these domains were most closely associated with offender status, and (b) to construct a stepwise logistic regression model that could help identify which juveniles were more likely to be incarcerated for violent vs. nonviolent offenses. The participants for this investigation were juvenile offenders referred to the Juvenile Court Assessment Center by the Juvenile Justice Division of the Eleventh Judicial Circuit. The court-ordered assessment included the following measures: (a) The Millon Adolescent Clinical Inventory (MACI), (b) the Behavior Assessment System for Children (BASC), (c) the Peabody Picture Vocabulary Test-Third Edition (PPVT-III), (d) the Wide Range Achievement Test-Third Edition (WRAT-III), (e) the Kaufman Brief Intelligence Test (K-BIT), and (f) records of school achievement. The ten variables that had the strongest association with offender status were entered into the stepwise logistic regression analysis; five of these strategically chosen predictor variables accurately differentiated violent from nonviolent offenders 86.3% of the time. Reading Percentile (β=-.051), PPVT-III (β=-.059), MACI-Inhibition (β=-.033), MACI-Eating Dysfunction (β=.051), and BASC-Sense of Inadequacy (β=-.072). Gender differences were explored.

A Single-Participants Investigation of the Effects of Various Biofeedback-Assisted Breathing Patterns on Heart Rate Variability: A Practitioner's Approach

Abstract The objective of this study was to define specific breathing patterns and examine the effects these patterns have on indicators of heart rate variability. Perceived accounts of ease and comfort in relation to the patterned breathing applications also were assessed. A breathing pattern is the within-cycle respiratory timing or the ratio between the inspiration and expiration of breath, including the pause time at the top of the inspiration and at the bottom of the expiration. The within-participants analysis (N  =  14), including the subjective components, revealed significant differences and illuminated the strength of the effects the varied breathing patterns had on each participant.

Chronic Juvenile Offenders: Exploring Risk Factor Models of Recidivism

This study examined the relationship between known risk factors for youthful offenders and rates of recidivism using Poisson regression models. The sample consisted of 564 male and female juvenile offenders referred to the Juvenile Court Assessment Center (JCAC) by the Juvenile Justice Division of the Eleventh Judicial Circuit of Miami-Dade County. First, data from a clinical interview and the administration of the Wide Range Achievement Test were factor analyzed. Six factors were found to be statistically significant based on a parallel analyses. Neighborhood factors explained the largest amount of variance followed by peer influence, family functioning, gang involvement, substance use, and academic achievement. These six domains were analyzed in separate Poisson regression models. Family-wise error rate was controlled with Bonferroni adjustments. Each model predicting number of arrests from academic performance, substance use, peer influence, gang involvement, and neighborhood factors were statistically significant. The final model including all variables across the six domains indicated good fit, χ2(14) = 201.260, p < .001. Implications stemming from these findings are discussed.