The School Experiences of Male Adolescent Offenders: Implications for Academic Performance and Recidivism

Adam Fine, Cortney Simmons, Sarah Miltimore, Laurence Steinberg, Paul J. Frick, Elizabeth Cauffman

Research output: Contribution to journalArticlepeer-review

5 Scopus citations

Abstract

Adolescents with juvenile justice system experience may be enrolled into alternative schools to increase academic success or to reduce delinquency. This study used longitudinal data on a racially/ethnically diverse sample of 1,216 male, first-time adolescent offenders to examine how youthful offenders’ school experiences were associated with academic outcomes, school attitudes, and delinquency. Effects varied by domain in important ways. Youth who attended alternative schools generally fared better academically than youth who attended traditional schools. However, importantly, youth who attended alternative schools subsequently engaged in more delinquency and violent reoffending than youth in traditional schools. The findings indicate that disrupting normative schooling appears to be the most detrimental to youth outcomes across domains.

Original languageEnglish (US)
Pages (from-to)1326-1350
Number of pages25
JournalCrime and Delinquency
Volume64
Issue number10
DOIs
StatePublished - Sep 1 2018
Externally publishedYes

Keywords

  • adolescent offenders
  • adolescent recidivism
  • alternative school
  • school instability
  • school-to-prison pipeline

ASJC Scopus subject areas

  • Pathology and Forensic Medicine
  • Law

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