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，她们面临着滥用药物、艾滋病毒/性传播感染风险、犯罪行为和教育失败等负面后果的风险。当他们进入青年期时，这些行为的组合使他们更有可能过早为人父母，并随后被卷入儿童福利系统（因为他们的养育行为）和成人矫正系统（因为他们的犯罪行为）。这种系统介入代价高昂，预防对公共卫生具有重要意义；然而，对于导致女性在青年期成功/失败的因素以及可能阻止她们参与这两个公共系统的因素，人们知之甚少。本研究通过对166名参加了两项旨在减少青少年犯罪的随机干预试验的妇女进行随访，进一步了解HIV/STI风险、药物使用、儿童福利和成人矫正的途径和预防。在最初的研究中，由于长期犯罪而被转介到家庭外安置的少年司法女孩被随机分配到像往常一样的服务或多维治疗寄养（MTFC）。在12个月和24个月的随访中，该样本显示了MTFC干预的有效性，包括刑事转诊率、在锁定环境中度过的时间、异常同伴协会和教育参与。我们建议使用创新的数据收集和数据分析技术来研究这些少年司法女孩进入青年成年期（21-28岁）的发展途径，重点关注MTFC的长期影响、青年成人适应和儿童福利/矫正参与的中介因素，以及MTFC对这些结果的成本效益和成本规避。总体目标是确定后续干预的潜在目标。建议对每位女性和她目前的恋人（如果她有的话）进行一次面对面的评估；此外，在研究期间，将每6个月进行一次电话访谈，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，未成年司法女童同时发生危险行为的比例很高。在青年时期，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中青少年成人调整的途径，重点是减少儿童福利和成人矫正参与的可能性以及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.