Juvenile Justice Girls: Pathways to Adjustment and System Use in Young Adulthood

描述(由申请人提供)：18岁以下的女性是青少年司法人口中增长最快的部分，她们面临着共同出现的负面后果的风险，包括药物滥用、艾滋病毒/性传播感染风险、犯罪行为和教育失败。随着他们进入青壮年，这一系列行为使他们早早成为父母以及随后参与儿童福利制度(针对他们的育儿行为)和成人惩戒系统(针对犯罪行为)的风险增加。这种系统的参与代价高昂，其预防将对公共卫生具有重要意义；然而，人们对导致女性在成年后成败的因素以及可能阻止女性参与这两个公共系统的因素知之甚少。这项拟议的研究将通过跟踪166名参与两项旨在减少青春期犯罪的随机干预试验的妇女，进一步加深我们对艾滋病毒/性传播感染风险、药物使用以及儿童福利和成人矫正参与的途径的理解。在最初的研究中，因长期犯罪而被转介到家外安置的少年司法女孩被随机分配到照常服务或多层面治疗寄养中心(MTFC)。在12个月和24个月的刑事转介率、在封闭环境中度过的天数、越轨同伴交往和教育投入方面，MTFC干预的有效性已经在12个月和24个月的跟踪中显示出来。我们建议使用创新的数据收集和数据分析技术研究这些少年司法女孩进入青壮年(21-28岁)的发展途径，重点放在MTFC的长期影响、青少年适应和儿童福利/惩教参与的中介，以及MTFC对这些结果的成本效益和成本避免。首要目标是确定后续干预的潜在目标。建议对每个女性和她目前的恋人(如果她有的话)进行一次面对面评估；此外，在研究期间将每6个月进行一次电话采访，并收集儿童福利和成人矫正的系统数据。公共卫生相关性：研究表明，少年司法女孩有很高的共同危险行为发生率。在青壮年，这些行为增加了参与公共社会服务系统的可能性。我们将研究青少年司法女性适应青少年的途径，重点是减少儿童福利和成人矫正参与的可能性，并最终减少社会成本的过程。

DESCRIPTION (provided by applicant): Females under age 18 are the fastest-growing segment of the juvenile justice population and are at risk for negative co-occurring outcomes including drug abuse, HIV/STI risk, criminal behavior, and educational failure. As they enter young adulthood, this constellation of behaviors puts them at heightened risk for early parenthood and subsequent involvement in the child welfare system (for their parenting behaviors) and the adult corrections system (for criminal behaviors). Such system involvement is costly, and its prevention would be of great significance to public health; however, very little is known about factors leading to females' success/failure in young adulthood and factors that might prevent involvement in these two public systems. The proposed study would further our understanding of the pathways to and the prevention of HIV/STI risk, drug use, and child welfare and adult corrections involvement by following-up 166 women who participated in two randomized intervention trials aimed at reducing delinquency during adolescence. In the original studies, juvenile justice girls who had been referred for out-of-home placement due to chronic delinquency were randomly assigned to services as usual or to Multidimensional Treatment Foster Care (MTFC). Efficacy of the MTFC intervention with this sample has been shown at 12- and 24-month follow-ups on criminal referral rates, days spent in locked settings, deviant peer associations, and educational engagement. We propose to examine the developmental pathways for these juvenile justice girls into young adulthood (ages 21-28) using innovative data collection and data analytic techniques, with foci on the long-term effects of MTFC, the mediators of young adult adjustment and child welfare/corrections involvement, and the cost effectiveness and cost avoidance of MTFC on these outcomes. The overarching aim is to identify potential targets for subsequent intervention. One in-person assessment is proposed with each female and her current romantic partner (if she has one); in addition, telephone interviews will be conducted every 6 months for the duration of the study, and system data from child welfare and adult corrections will be collected. PUBLIC HEALTH RELEVANCE: Studies have shown that juvenile justice girls have high rates of co-occurring risk behaviors. In young adulthood, these behaviors increase the likelihood of involvement in public social service systems. We will examine the pathways to young adult adjustment among juvenile justice females, focusing on processes that reduce the likelihood of child welfare and adult corrections involvement and, ultimately, costs to society.