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Assessing violent offending in serious juvenile offenders
S W Henggeler1, G B Melton, L A Smith
1Department of Psychiatry and Behavioral Sciences, Medical University of South Carolina, Charleston 29425-0742.
Journal of Abnormal Child Psychology
|June 1, 1993
Summary
This study found that neither juvenile self-reports nor arrest records accurately measure violent offending. These common methods for assessing juvenile crime lack convergent validity, questioning their reliability in research and practice.
Area of Science:
- Criminology
- Developmental Psychology
- Forensic Psychology
Background:
- Accurate assessment of juvenile violent offending is crucial for intervention and policy.
- Self-reports and arrest data are commonly used but their validity is debated.
- Understanding the limitations of these measures is essential for reliable research.
Purpose of the Study:
- To evaluate the convergent validity of self-reported violent offenses and arrest records in serious juvenile offenders.
- To determine if these two common methods accurately index violent criminal behavior.
- To explore the implications of findings for juvenile justice and research.
Main Methods:
- The study involved 87 serious juvenile offenders and their maternal figures.
- Data collection included self-report measures of violent offenses and official arrest records.
- Validation measures assessed behavioral, family, and peer correlates of delinquency.
Main Results:
- Neither self-reported violent offenses nor arrests for violent crimes accurately indexed violent behavior in juveniles.
- The findings were robust, supported by methodological features of the study.
- Convergent validity between the two measures was not established.
Conclusions:
- Current methods of assessing juvenile violent offending (self-reports and arrests) lack sufficient validity.
- Methodological rigor suggests these findings are reliable and not spurious.
- Implications for procedural and conceptual approaches to juvenile delinquency assessment are significant.
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