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A field study of juvenile recidivism in Los Angeles

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A field study of juvenile recidivism in Los Angeles

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Criminal Recidivism among Juveniles:
A Field Study of Juvenile Recidivism in Los Angeles
by
Sarah Elizabeth Bird

Rossier School of Education
University of Southern California
A dissertation submitted to the faculty
in partial fulfillment of the requirements for the degree of
Doctor of Education

May 2022

© Copyright by Sarah Elizabeth Bird 2022
All Rights Reserved

The Committee for Sarah Elizabeth Bird certifies the approval of this Dissertation

Helena Seli, Committee Member
Jennifer Phillips, Committee Member
Kimberly Ferrario, Committee Chair

Rossier School of Education
University of Southern California
2022

iv
Abstract
The high levels of juvenile recidivism in Los Angeles County are a problem for communities and
taxpayers alike. The juvenile justice system has used incarceration as a means of addressing and
reducing the high level of recidivism rates among juvenile offenders. This mixed-methods study
sought to gain an in-depth understanding from adults of the level of influence their bonds with
society, family, recreational activities, and school had on their decisions to engage in juvenile
crimes and additional crimes following their release from a juvenile detention center. Social
control theory was used as the theoretical foundation for this research. The study participants of
focus were individuals aged 18 or older who reported having established records as juvenile
offenders. Data were collected via interviews and document analysis. The results and findings
demonstrated that the most significant barriers to reducing juvenile recidivism were the effects of
the bonds juveniles formed with their friends, family, society, and the school system. This study
provides recommendations developed using Kotter’s 8-step change model (Kotter, 1995). The
recommendations identified are designed to support developing and implementing a coalition of
school providers, mental health professionals, and juvenile probation officers that reduces
recidivism among juveniles.

v
Epigraph
“Our children are our only hope for the future, but we are their only hope for their present and
their future.” –Zig Ziglar

vi
Dedication
To the memory of my beloved Eeyore. Although he could frequently be found sitting in my lap
while I was writing, he was not able to see my dissertation completed. Eeyore was a source of
comfort when I was frustrated with the writing process and often a sounding board for ideas. I
completed this dissertation in his memory and in the hopes that he would be proud that I was
able to see our work completed.

vii
Acknowledgements
The completion of this dissertation could not have been possible without the participation
and assistance of so many people. Writing this dissertation was a task I feared for years. To my
mother, thank you for your love and support while I completed this arduous task. To my partner,
thank you for providing support and moments of levity when I hit a rough patch in writing. To
my sister-in-law, thank you for providing the inspiration for this topic and reminding me how
important it is to act when you see a problem in the system.
To my dissertation committee, Dr. Ferrario, Dr. Phillips, and Dr. Seli, thank you so much
for your guidance. I learned so much from each of you during this process. Finally, thank you to
the Big Brother Big Sister organization of Los Angeles for allowing me to volunteer in your
organization. The friendships and bonds I have made there will stay with me forever. Thank you
for showing me the inner workings of your organization and allowing me to participate in
shaping our children’s future.

viii
Table of Contents
Abstract .......................................................................................................................................... iv
Epigraph .......................................................................................................................................... v
Dedication ...................................................................................................................................... vi
Acknowledgements ....................................................................................................................... vii
List of Tables ................................................................................................................................ xii
List of Figures .............................................................................................................................. xiii
Chapter One: Introduction to the Study .......................................................................................... 1
Context and Background of the Problem .................................................................................. 1
Purpose of the Project and Research Questions ........................................................................ 4
Importance of the Study ............................................................................................................ 4
Overview of Theoretical Framework and Methodology .......................................................... 5
Definitions................................................................................................................................. 7
Organization of the Dissertation ............................................................................................... 7
Chapter Two: Literature Review .................................................................................................... 9
History of Juvenile Delinquency in the United States .............................................................. 9
Probation ........................................................................................................................... 10
Types of Crimes ................................................................................................................ 11
Punishment and Treatment Options .................................................................................. 11
Juvenile Recidivism ................................................................................................................ 14
Risk Factors ...................................................................................................................... 16
Juvenile Recidivism and Gender ...................................................................................... 18
Juvenile Recidivism and Adulthood ................................................................................. 19
Conceptual Framework ........................................................................................................... 20
Summary ................................................................................................................................. 23

ix
Chapter Three: Methodology ........................................................................................................ 24
Research Questions ................................................................................................................. 25
Overview of Design ................................................................................................................ 25
Research Setting...................................................................................................................... 25
The Researcher........................................................................................................................ 26
Data Sources ........................................................................................................................... 27
Method: Survey ................................................................................................................. 28
Participants .................................................................................................................. 28
Instrumentation ........................................................................................................... 29
Data Collection Procedures ......................................................................................... 29
Data Analysis .............................................................................................................. 30
Validity and Reliability ............................................................................................... 30
Method: Interviews ........................................................................................................... 31
Interview Sampling Criteria and Recruitment ............................................................ 31
Interview Protocol ....................................................................................................... 32
Data Collection Procedures ......................................................................................... 32
Data Analysis .............................................................................................................. 33
Credibility and Trustworthiness .................................................................................. 34
Ethics....................................................................................................................................... 34
Chapter Four: Results ................................................................................................................... 36
Participants .............................................................................................................................. 37
Survey Participants ........................................................................................................... 37
Interview Participants ....................................................................................................... 40
Participant Profiles ............................................................................................................ 42
Participant 1786 .......................................................................................................... 42

x
Participant 1099 .......................................................................................................... 43
Participant 1553 .......................................................................................................... 43
Participant 1922 .......................................................................................................... 43
Participant 1786 .......................................................................................................... 44
Participant 1356 .......................................................................................................... 44
Participant 1245 .......................................................................................................... 44
Participant 1150 .......................................................................................................... 45
Participant 1153 .......................................................................................................... 45
Defining Influences ................................................................................................................. 46
Friends............................................................................................................................... 46
Family ............................................................................................................................... 47
School ............................................................................................................................... 47
Recreational Activities ...................................................................................................... 48
Findings for Research Question One ...................................................................................... 52
Theme One: The Perceived Positive Impact of a Supportive and Stable Family
Environment ...................................................................................................................... 53
Survey Results ............................................................................................................ 53
Interview Findings ...................................................................................................... 54
Theme Two: Participants Reported Maintaining a Relationship with Delinquent Friends
Increased Their Propensity to Offend ............................................................................... 57
Survey Results ............................................................................................................ 57
Findings for Research Question Two ..................................................................................... 62
Theme Three: The Perceived Positive Impact of Engagement in Social and Structured
Activities ........................................................................................................................... 63
Survey Results ............................................................................................................ 63
Interview Findings ...................................................................................................... 65

xi
Theme Four: Juveniles Engaging in School Truancy are at High Risk of Juvenile
Delinquency ...................................................................................................................... 67
Survey Results ............................................................................................................ 67
Interview Findings ...................................................................................................... 69
Summary ........................................................................................................................... 71
Chapter Five: Recommendations .................................................................................................. 72
Discussion of Findings ............................................................................................................ 72
Theme One: The Perceived Positive Impact of a Supportive and Stable Family
Environment ...................................................................................................................... 72
Theme Two: Participants Reported Maintaining a Relationship with Delinquent Friends
Increased Their Propensity to Offend ............................................................................... 74
Theme Three: The Perceived Positive Impact of Engagement in Social and Structured
Activities ........................................................................................................................... 75
Theme Four: Juveniles Engaging in School Truancy are at High Risk of Juvenile
Delinquency ...................................................................................................................... 75
Recommendations for Practice ............................................................................................... 76
Recommendation One: Encourage Multisystemic Therapy ............................................. 77
Recommendation Two: Invest in Cognitive Behavioral Therapy and Multimodal
Programs ........................................................................................................................... 78
Recommendation Three: School Engagement Programs ................................................. 79
Limitations and Delimitations ................................................................................................. 89
Limitations ........................................................................................................................ 89
Delimitations ..................................................................................................................... 90
Recommendations for Future Research .................................................................................. 91
Conclusion .............................................................................................................................. 91
References ..................................................................................................................................... 92
Appendix A: Survey Protocol ..................................................................................................... 102
Appendix B: Interview Protocol ................................................................................................. 107

xii
List of Tables
Table 1: Demographics of Interview Participants ........................................................................ 41
Table 2: Social and Familial Influences Themes .......................................................................... 49
Table 3: Effect of Bonds Between Family Members and Juveniles ............................................. 55
Table 4: The Effect of Negative Friendships ................................................................................ 61
Table 5: Effect of Social and Structured Activities ...................................................................... 66
Table 6: Total Effect of Social Control Theory Bonds on Participants ........................................ 70

xiii
List of Figures
Figure 1: Conceptual Framework ................................................................................................. 21
Figure 2: Gender Distribution of Survey Participants .................................................................. 38
Figure 3: Ethnic Distribution of Survey Participants .................................................................... 39
Figure 4: Time Spent with Friends per Week Among Survey Participants .................................. 58
Figure 5: Hours Spent with Friends per Week Among Interview Participants ............................ 59
Figure 6: Hours of Weekly School Activities ............................................................................... 64
Figure 7: School Experience Ratings Among Survey Participants .............................................. 68
Figure 8: Kotter’s 8-Step Change Model ...................................................................................... 84

1

Chapter One: Introduction to the Study
Each year in the United States, police arrest more than 2 million individuals aged 17 or
younger (Ramchand et al., 2009). These juveniles are placed in rehabilitation facilities such as
group homes, shelters, boot camps, or long-term facilities (Ramchand et al., 2009). In the United
States, the first juvenile justice rehabilitation system was established in 1899 with the intent of
rehabilitating juvenile offenders into law-abiding citizens (E. P. Ryan, 2016). However, as of
2014, 48% of first-time juvenile offenders, once released, went on to commit additional crimes
(E. P. Ryan, 2016). The purpose of this project was to gain an in-depth understanding from
adults of the level of influence of their bonds with society, family, recreational activities, and
school on their decisions to engage in juvenile crimes and additional crimes following their
release from a juvenile detention center. In addition, the study focused on the reason juveniles
chose to further engage with crime following their release to juvenile probation officers, so that
officers may better identify what types of programs a newly released juvenile may need.
Addressing the high level of recidivism in the juvenile population of Los Angeles County is
important, because if these tax-funded prevention and support programs are not helping to lower
the recidivism rate among juveniles, then there are other external influences on juveniles that
have not yet been accounted for, and to lower the recidivism rate among juveniles, all external
influences must be identified and addressed.
Context and Background of the Problem
The problem addressed in this study is first-time juvenile offenders turning into repeat
offenders and the reasons that allow this to happen. Juvenile justice has a long history in the
United States; since the early 19th century, courts have punished and confined youth in jails and
penitentiaries. In the early 19th century, few options existed for youth offenders, and they were
2

often sent to serve their sentences with both hardened criminals and people with mental illnesses
(Center on Juvenile and Criminal Justice, 2020). In response to the growing number of youth in
adult jails, institutional homes were created to help house poor youth deemed by authorities to be
delinquent. Today, reform schools are typically known as youth correctional institutions (Center
on Juvenile and Criminal Justice, 2020).
The professional field of focus for this study was the Los Angeles County juvenile
detention system. With a population of 9,818,605 people (U.S. Census Bureau, 2011), Los
Angeles County is one of the most populated counties in the United States and is in the state of
California. Los Angeles County currently has 88 incorporated cities and consists of 4.083 square
miles (Center on Juvenile and Criminal Justice, 2020). Demographically, Los Angeles County is
one of the most ethnically diverse counties in the United States, with a racial and ethnic makeup
of 50% White, 47% Hispanic or Latino, 13% Asian, and 8% African American (Center on
Juvenile and Criminal Justice, 2020).
Juvenile delinquency, also referred to as juvenile offending, is the participation of a
minor, usually between the ages of 10 and 17, in illegal activities (Loughran et al., 2009). The
peak age for offending falls between 15 and 19 years, with 57% of juvenile offenders continuing
to commit offenses into their mid-20s (Cottle et al., 2001). There are two different types of
juvenile offenders: repeat offenders and age-specific offenders. Each state has a separate legal
system created to deal with juveniles who break the law, but all juvenile justice systems are
similar in that they offer different programs and systems than adult court to deal with offenders.
Until the late 18th century, criminal courts tried both youth and adults. After the
educational reform movement in England, the United States agreed that youth should be treated
differently than adults in the criminal justice system, because of their less-developed moral and
3

cognitive abilities (Loughran et al., 2009). In 1899, Illinois created the first juvenile court, which
later led to the creation of the juvenile justice system in the United States. The 1950s and 1960s
marked the beginning of concern from the public about the effectiveness of the juvenile justice
system, because of disparities in treatment from juvenile cases and judges. In response to the
public’s concerns during the 1960s, the U.S. Supreme Court made several decisions to formalize
the juvenile court process and introduced protections such as the right to counsel (Loughran et
al., 2009). Moving into the late 1980s, the public believed juvenile crime to be on the rise and
that the system was too easy on offenders.
In response to the decisions made by the U.S. Supreme Court and public pressure, many
states passed laws that enforced mandatory sentences and automatic transfers to adult court for
egregious crimes. In the 1990s, states continued to pass laws making it easier to transfer youth
offenders to adult court and increased the use of institutional confinement for criminal offenses
(Center on Juvenile and Criminal Justice, 2020). After reports surfaced of overcrowding and
deplorable conditions in youth jails, the drive to decrease the rates of youth incarceration
increased dramatically. Beginning in 2000, criminal reform for youth offenders began sweeping
the nation and alternative options for juvenile incarceration were created. Specifically, in
California, Gov. Arnold Schwarzenegger signed a juvenile justice realignment bill in 2007,
which limited the types of offenders who could be committed to youth prisons and began
funding county probation programs to increase the number of youthful offenders on parole
(Center on Juvenile and Criminal Justice, 2020).
The organization used for this study of juvenile recidivism was the Los Angeles County
juvenile detention system. Los Angeles County encompasses 4,753 square miles and 88 cities
including nearly 10 million residents, accounting for approximately 27% of California’s
4

population (Center on Juvenile and Criminal Justice, 2020). In 2017, 53,830 juveniles were
arrested in Los Angeles County; youth were processed on delinquency charges three of five
times. Of the 53,830 youth arrested, approximately 20,000 youth convicted of crimes as
juveniles were sent to Jarvis County detention halls and camps (Center on Juvenile and Criminal
Justice, 2020).
Purpose of the Project and Research Questions
The purpose of this project was to gain an in-depth understanding from adults of the level
of influence of their bonds with society, family, recreational activities, and school on their
decisions to engage in juvenile crimes and additional crimes following their release from a
juvenile detention center. In addition, the study explored why juveniles who had previously been
convicted of criminal activities chose to further engage with crime following their release to
juvenile probation officers. By identifying the most relevant influences on juveniles who have
previously been convicted of crimes as juveniles and their behavior, recommendations can be
made to inform the design of outreach programs that may be developed to keep juveniles from
engaging in additional crimes following their release from a detention center. The following
research questions guided this study:
Research Question 1: How are adults who were once juvenile offenders influenced, if at
all, by friends and family bonds to not become repeat offenders?
Research Question 2: How does school and recreational involvement influence, if at all,
adults who were once juvenile offenders?
Importance of the Study
When youth younger than 18 are convicted of committing a criminal act or found to be
delinquent, they are processed through the juvenile justice system (Cottle et al., 2001). The
5

juvenile justice system is like the adult criminal justice system in many ways, including the
process of arrest, detainment, petitions, hearings, placement, probation, and reentry. The main
difference between the adult and juvenile justice processes is that the juvenile justice system
operates under the premise that youth offenders have a high potential for rehabilitation (Cottle et
al., 2001). These juveniles are typically processed and then placed in facilities such as group
homes, shelters, boot camps, and long-term facilities (Ramchand et al., 2009). Unfortunately,
recidivism data from counties such as Los Angeles County are not abnormal and show that the
rehabilitation of more than 2 million individuals juveniles arrested in the United States is not
happening (Ramchand et al., 2009). Instead, these juveniles commit additional crimes. As of
2014, 48% of first-time juvenile offenders went on to commit another crime (E. P. Ryan, 2016).
This study on juvenile recidivism explored an important problem in communities that must be
addressed, because if the tax-funded prevention programs in place are not placing juveniles on
the right track, then updated programs need to be created to reduce juvenile crime.
Overview of Theoretical Framework and Methodology
The theoretical framework used in this study was social control theory. Under social
control theory, an individual’s cumulative relationships, commitment, values, norms, and beliefs
encourage them not to break the law (Vries & Liem, 2011). According to social control theory,
an individual will be less likely to commit a crime if they have developed an internalized moral
code and feel a sense of belonging in their community (Vries & Liem, 2011). Social control
theory is an appropriate theory to review the problem of juvenile recidivism because the markers
identifying a child’s susceptibility to juvenile delinquency—poor school attendance, peer
pressure, home violence, and substance abuse—are factors considered under this theory. When
viewing the problem based on social control theory, juveniles’ cumulative relationships,
6

commitment, values, norms, and beliefs encourage them not to break the law (Vries & Liem,
2011). According to social control theory, a juvenile will be less likely to commit a crime if they
have developed an internalized moral code and feel a sense of belonging to their community
(Vries & Liem, 2011). When the issue of juvenile recidivism is viewed from the lens of
differential association, a juvenile’s behavior is learned through interaction with others
(Vanderpyl, 2019).
The methodology of this study was mixed-methods case study of adults aged 18 or older
who had been convicted of a crime as a juvenile. This research design aligned with the purpose
of the study because it allowed for a study of the phenomenon of juvenile recidivism and factors
leading to increased recidivism rates. A case study strategy aligned with the framing of this study
because it provided clarification of the programs currently in use in Los Angeles County to
prevent juvenile recidivism and allowed for isolation of the methods used in one juvenile
detention system to reduce recidivism.
The sampling approach for this study was purposeful sampling, with prequalifying
questions taking place before each interview to determine a candidate’s relevance to the study.
Purposeful sampling is a form of nonprobability sampling in which the researcher relies on their
judgment to select members of the population to participate in their study (Benoot, 2016).
Prequalifying questions were important to the validity of this research because the group being
studied was adults who had been convicted of a crime as a juvenile. There would be no benefit to
this study of including information from individuals who had never been convicted of a crime.
7

Definitions
A delinquent act describes an act committed by a juvenile for which an adult could be
prosecuted in a criminal court, but instead the act is prosecuted under the jurisdiction of a
juvenile court because it was committed by a juvenile (Roush, 2019).
A juvenile delinquent is a youth aged 17 years or younger who is not controllable by their
parental authority. The youth commits antisocial or criminal acts such as vandalism or violence
(Roush, 2019).
A juvenile detention center is a location or prison that holds youth younger than 18 once
they have been found guilty of a crime. These detention centers hold youth offenders for various
periods of time depending on the severity of their conviction (J. P. Ryan et al., 2014).
A juvenile offender is a person younger than 18 who has committed a crime. The term is
used throughout the study to describe survey participants who had been found guilty of a crime
as a juvenile (Seave, 2011).
Recidivism refers to an individual’s relapse into criminal behavior after receiving
sanctions or intervention for a previous crime (Seave, 2011).
Organization of the Dissertation
The organization of this dissertation is as follows. Chapter 1 introduces the problem of
juvenile recidivism in Los Angeles County. The importance of the study, and its theoretical
framework and methodology, are also discussed. Chapter 2 provides an in-depth literature review
regarding the history of juvenile recidivism and social control theory. Chapter 3 introduces the
methodology used to study the problem of juvenile recidivism. The design of the research
setting, the research questions, and the participants are discussed. In Chapter 4, findings from
interviews with adults who have a criminal record as a juvenile are discussed. In Chapter 5, after
8

analyzing the results of the interviews, recommendations are made regarding how to lower the
recidivism rate among youthful offenders.

9

Chapter Two: Literature Review
History of Juvenile Delinquency in the United States
In the United States, an individual is a juvenile if they are younger than 18. In 1889, the
first children’s court in the United States was established to protect and reform policies regarding
the country’s youth offenders (Roush, 2019). Throughout the 19th century, juveniles accused of
committing criminal acts were tried in the same court as adults and once convicted, they faced
the same punishment as adults. During the 19th century, approximately 12 youths were executed
after being convicted of committing adult crimes (Roush, 2019). By the 20th century,
progressive era reformers came together to influence the development of the juvenile justice
system. The progressive reformers stressed redemption and prevention as early deterrence
methods for lowering juvenile delinquency (Barton & Butts, 2008). The outcome of the
progressive era reformist movement was the child-saving movement (Barton & Butts, 2008).
The child-saving movement stressed the value of redemption and prevention by
identifying delinquent behavior early and intervening with education and training (Barton &
Butts, 2008). The establishment of the child-saving movement led to the development of the first
juvenile court in Cook County, Illinois, in 1899. The court was founded on two child-saving
principles: Juveniles are not ready to be held accountable for their actions, and juveniles are not
yet fully developed and can be rehabilitated easier than adults. The intent of this new juvenile
justice system was to find a successful way to rehabilitate wayward youth and set them on the
right path to be law-abiding adults (Center on Juvenile and Criminal Justice, 2017). Since 1899,
several reforms have been added to today’s juvenile justice system to protect the due process of
legal rights for youth and continue to create an aversion toward jailing juveniles (Center on
Juvenile and Criminal Justice, 2017).
10

Youth younger than 18 years old comprise approximately 19% of the population (U.S.
Census Bureau, 2018). However, recent crime statistics show that juvenile offenders were
responsible for approximately 29% of criminal arrests committed in the United States in 2018
(Federal Bureau of Investigation [FBI], 2018). The percentage of offenses committed by children
and adolescents increased by 24% from 2008 to 2018, whereas the percentage of offenses
committed by adults during the same period increased by only 3.8% (FBI, 2018).
Probation
Probation made its first appearance in court as a tool for redemptive punishment in 1841
when a Boston bookmaker posted bail for a man charged with public drunkenness (Petersilia,
1997). The bookmaker was convinced that the purpose of the laws in the United States was to
reform criminals and prevent further crimes (Petersilia, 1997). After 2 decades of probation’s use
in adult court, the reformers of the child-saving movement advocated for its use as a redemptive
treatment option for juveniles. With the establishment of the first juvenile court in Chicago in
1899, reformers saw probation implemented as an alternative to incarceration at the local jail
(Barton & Butts, 2008). With the inception of the juvenile court, the duty of probation officers
was to investigate the circumstances of each child brought to trial, represent the interests of the
child, and have control and custody of the child before and after the trial (Kurlychek, 1998).
Although juvenile court still exists today throughout the United States, the role of the juvenile
probation officer has evolved to including screenings to determine if informal or formal
processing is warranted, making detention decisions for the approximately 20% of juveniles
detained pending adjudication, preparing presentence investigations, supervising caseloads, and
providing aftercare services for juveniles released from secure institutions (Kurlychek, 1998).
11

Types of Crimes
The Uniform Crime Reporting System has served as the primary source of information
about crimes committed since 1929; unfortunately, that database contains no information or
reported crimes by age of victim unless the crime involves homicide (FBI, 2018). The National
Crime Victimization Survey is a victim self-report database but has only started collecting data
on crimes involving individuals aged 12 or older in the past 20 years (FBI, 2018). The FBI has
an additional information database known as the National Incident-Based Reporting System; this
database gathers statistical information about juvenile victims of crime, but not every jurisdiction
in the United States provides data (Finkelhor & Ormrod, 2000). According to an analysis of the
available data in this system, juveniles constitute 12% of all crime victims known to police,
including 71% of all sex crime victims (Finkelhor & Ormrod, 2000). Simple assault is the most
reported crime against juveniles, representing approximately 41% of all juvenile crimes reported
to police. In the juvenile justice system, girls are predominantly victims of sexual offenses,
whereas boys are predominantly victims of all other crimes (Finkelhor & Ormrod, 2000).
Children younger than 12 only represent one quarter of the juvenile victims presented in juvenile
court annually. Children in their teenage years account for 78% of all juvenile crime victims
(Finkelhor & Ormrod, 2000).
Punishment and Treatment Options
At its core, juvenile delinquency represents a child’s failure to accept responsibility and
consequences for their behavior (Ohara et al., 2020). In juvenile court, the individual is not tried
in front of a jury. Instead, a judge assigned to the juvenile court system looks over the case and
any mitigating factors before deciding a punishment or treatment option (Aalsma et al., 2015).
The juvenile court has two categories of sentencing options: incarceration and nonincarceration.
12

Incarceration options available to the juvenile court for sentencing include home confinement or
house arrest, placement with someone other than a parent or guardian, juvenile detention facility,
probation after juvenile hall, secured juvenile facility, adult jail, or a mixture of juvenile and
adult jail. Nonincarceration options available to the juvenile court for sentencing include verbal
warning, fine, counseling, community service, electronic monitoring, probation, or a treatment
program. A juvenile’s sentence depends on the severity of the offense they have been convicted
of and their criminal history (Aalsma et al., 2015).
The different levels of incarceration-related punishment include home confinement,
placement with someone other than the parent or guardian, secured juvenile facilities, adult jail,
or a blended sentence (Kendall, 2017). When a juvenile receives a sentence of house
confinement or house arrest, the judge has ordered the minor to remain at home with only certain
exceptions for leaving, such as school or counseling visits (Jones et al., 2010). When a juvenile is
placed with someone other than a parent or guardian as part of their sentence, the judge has
ordered the juvenile to live with a relative or in a group home (Jones et al., 2010). When a
juvenile is placed in a secured juvenile facility as part of their sentence, they have been ordered
to stay in the juvenile detention center for a term defined by the presiding judge (Kendall, 2017).
Depending on the crime and only in very serious cases, a judge will order a juvenile to serve
time in an adult county jail or state prison. In jurisdictions that offer the option of a blended
sentence, a judge may sentence a youth to serve the remainder of their juvenile years in a
juvenile facility, and upon turning 18 years old, transfer to an adult jail (Hammergren, 2009).
In the juvenile justice system, the different levels of nonincarceration options include a
verbal warning, fine, counseling, community service, drug treatment programs, electronic
monitoring, and probation (Jones et al., 2010). When a juvenile is given a verbal warning from
13

the judge, they are simply reprimanded and sent on their way (Kendall, 2017). When a juvenile
is assessed a fine by the judge because of their crime, then the juvenile must pay the amount set
by the judge to the court or other predetermined party. When a juvenile is required to attend a
counseling or drug treatment program as part of their sentencing agreement, the juvenile must
contact a mental health professional or drug treatment program for a predetermined number of
visits. When the court requires community service as punishment, the court orders the juvenile to
complete a certain number of hours in service to their community. In some instances, a juvenile
receives probation as either their entire sentence or as credit towards the completion of their time
in a juvenile detention facility (Kendall, 2017).
Probation is a popular sentence to use in the juvenile detention system because it is
limitless, in that most probation departments cannot limit their intake, and it is inexpensive
(Snyder, 1988). When used as a tool to keep juveniles out of detention centers, probation is a
cheaper method of punishment than sending juveniles to detention centers for lengthy stays
(Shoemaker, 1998). Probation can also provide more opportunities for rehabilitation and reduce
the risk of juveniles associating with other juvenile offenders (Petersilia, 1997). In situations
where probation is assigned, the juvenile agrees to conditions such as attending counseling,
following a curfew, avoiding high-risk individuals, or participating in anger management classes.
An electronic monitor bracelet can be used in combination with probation or as a standalone
nonincarceration option, with the juvenile required to wear the bracelet on their wrist or ankle to
verify or monitor their location for a predetermined amount of time (Kendall, 2017).
In the field of juvenile rehabilitation, games or gameplay have become a new
nonincarceration method to treat juvenile delinquents and can be used in treatment or
rehabilitation programs to teach problem solving, give juveniles a vehicle to control and channel
14

their aggression, and teach youth to accept responsibility and consequences for their behavior
(Baglivio et al., 2017). Three types of games are used in the treatment of juveniles: games of
physical skill, strategy, and chance (Baglivio et al., 2017). In games of physical skill, the
outcome is determined by the juvenile’s motor activities or abilities. In games of strategy, the
outcome is determined by the juvenile choosing the most rational choice in each situation among
other less rational courses of action. For an individual to be successful in a game of strategy, the
juvenile is required to make decisions based on the process of problem solving, awareness of
alternative courses of action, and acceptance of personal responsibility for the success or failure
of their choice (Baglivio et al., 2017). In games of chance, the outcome is determined by the
juvenile’s random guesses or a mechanism for guessing such as a die or wheel. When games are
used to aid a juvenile’s socialization skills, they are viewed as a simplified social structure with
clearly defined social rules and expectations (Baglivio et al., 2017). However, to be a beneficial
rehabilitation tool for juveniles, games should be categorized based on the behavioral pattern
they help to rehabilitate.
Juvenile Recidivism
In the United States, at any given time, more than 48,000 juveniles are involved in the
juvenile justice system (Yan, 2017). Of these, 3,500 juveniles are being held in adult jails, and
nearly 1,000 are being held in adult prisons (Roush, 2019). Recidivism rates for juveniles are not
tabulated nationally, but rather at the state level. The average rearrest rate for youth within 1 year
of release from an institution is 55% (Roush, 2019). Nationwide, the conviction and
reincarceration rate for juveniles during their first year of release is an average of 24% (Yan,
2017). This high national average recidivism rate for juveniles highlights the need for programs
15

designed to reduce recidivism and reincarceration rates by providing services that facilitate a
juvenile’s reintegration into society.
In 2017, a study was conducted by the American Psychological Association on violent
offending among juveniles. The longitudinal study analyzed developmental patterns of offending
among court-referred youth in Connecticut between 2006 and 2012. The study had three goals:
(a) to investigate the frequency of violent crimes among court-involved juveniles for 7 years; (b)
to determine if gender, race, ethnicity, age, or mental health factors contributed to recidivism
rates; and (c) to study the development of the juvenile offenders over time (American
Psychological Association, 2017). The study gathered a longitudinal dataset of 57,847 juvenile
case records between 2006 and 2012 in Connecticut. The relevant data were gathered from
juvenile courts, adult court, and the probation system in Connecticut. Boys made up 61% of the
criminal records gathered, whereas only 38% of the data gathered represented the female
population. Nearly half (48%) of those involved in the juvenile detention system identified as
non-Hispanic White, 28% identified as African American, and 21% identified as Hispanic
(American Psychological Association, 2017). Of the crimes surveyed, assault was the most
frequently committed violent offense, with 22% of individuals having committed one or more
assaults. Other common offense types included crimes against public order and drug violations.
The results of this study by the American Psychological Association on violent offending
among juveniles found that violent crimes peaked across racial barriers between the ages of 14
and 15. The study identified race and ethnicity as a contributing factor to an individual’s choice
to continue to commit crimes. The odds of non-Hispanic Black juveniles committing additional
crimes were 2.14 times higher when compared to non-Hispanic White youth (American
Psychological Association, 2017). Regarding the types of crimes frequently repeated, the study
16

found a correlation between the types of crime committed and the risk of recidivism. Crimes
against public order carried the highest risk of recidivism at 13.8%, and property offense crimes
were the second highest at 11.2% (American Psychological Association, 2017). Finally, a review
of the juveniles’ records into adulthood found that 74.2% of this group continued committing
crimes after their juvenile years concluded (American Psychological Association, 2017).
Ultimately, the study concluded that when a juvenile takes part in a violent offense, it
foreshadows future delinquent and deviant behavior. The study also concluded that if these
violent offenders can be identified as early as 14 years old, it is prudent to develop programs that
divert youth away from deviant behavior. This study on violent offending among juveniles is
relevant to this dissertation because it used a large sample to show the recidivism rates of
individuals across gender, age, racial, and ethnic lines.
Risk Factors
Several risk factors have been associated with juveniles taking part in delinquent acts and
then committing additional crimes, including family structure, educational difficulties, mental
health or conduct disorders, and choice of peers (Gottfredson & Hirschi, 2019). The relationship
between a juvenile and their parents, or their family structure, is a major factor in influencing a
juvenile toward delinquent behavior and eventually engaging in juvenile recidivism (Cottle et al.,
2001). Like the previous decades of documented patterns in juvenile delinquent behavior, the
typical family structure or family makeup in the United States has changed. Today, the family
structure in the United States is very diverse, and juveniles grow up in various types of homes
including single, married, and cohabitating. The family that a juvenile grows up with can have a
major effect on their well-being and choices in life (Cottle et al., 2001). Juveniles who live in
nontraditional households have been found to have a greater risk of delinquency and recidivism,
17

compared to juveniles from two-parent households (Cottle et al., 2001). Children in nonstable
family structures also experience different levels of monitoring, supervision, parental
involvement, and attachment, which can influence why juveniles become delinquent and later
reoffend (Gottfredson & Hirschi, 2019).
Every year in the United States, 1.2 million students drop out of high school (Ford &
Schroeder, 2010). Educational attainment is one of the most established predictors of juvenile
delinquency and recidivism (Ohara et al., 2020). Nationally, approximately 25% of high school
freshmen fail to graduate high school on time (Ohara et al., 2020). The burden of this high school
dropout rate is directly transferred to the juvenile justice system because students who drop out
of high school before graduation have an 80% increased risk of engaging in delinquent behavior
(Ford & Schroeder, 2010). Juveniles who maintain a strong bond with their education throughout
high school have a reduced risk of juvenile delinquency and recidivism. Although the attainment
of education is an important factor in determining a juvenile’s risk of becoming delinquent, the
socialization that occurs while receiving that education is also a salient point in both the
development of and impact on a juvenile’s life (Aalsma et al., 2015). Schools are a major source
of socialization for juveniles, and many juveniles form their social circles during these grade
school years.
According to research, there is a strong correlation between mental disorders, conduct
disorders, and recidivism. In a 2016 study, more than 40% of incarcerated juveniles met the
criteria for a disruptive behavior disorder (Yampolskaya & Chuang, 2012). Of these, 80%
reoffended within 2 years of being released from a detention center (Yampolskaya & Chuang,
2012). Finally, a juvenile’s choice in peers has a direct effect on their choice to take part in
delinquent acts, as seen in a 1999 National Bureau of Economic Research survey of juveniles in
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low-income neighborhoods of Boston. This study found that the behavior of neighborhood
juveniles appeared to have a substantial effect on the criminal activities or choices of new to the
juvenile’s neighborhood. The findings of this study indicated that the direct effect of moving to a
neighborhood with a 10% higher juvenile-involved crime rate than their previous neighborhood
raised the probability that the youth would become involved in crime by 2.3% (Ludwig et al.,
2001).
Juvenile Recidivism and Gender
In the juvenile justice system, girls are beginning to make up a growing percentage of the
system’s population. From 1985 to 2009, delinquent crimes among girls increased by 86%;
however, for boys during the same period, the rate of delinquency only increased by 17% (Office
of Juvenile Justice and Delinquency Prevention, 2015). The rapid increase of juvenile girls
relative to juvenile boys in the justice system has resulted in an increased need for girls-only
rehabilitation centers and detention centers (Whitney et al., 2011). The increase in girls in the
juvenile justice system has also resulted in a shift in the types of rehabilitation needed from the
juvenile court system. Typically, when girls enter the juvenile detention system, they are
nonviolent offenders and present with numerous psychosocial challenges including elevated rates
of child abuse, violence exposure, mental health problems, family conflict, pregnancy, and
school failure (Zahn et al., 2008). Studies focused on recidivism among adult women have
shown that sexual abuse in childhood, interpersonal relationships, and substance use are
associated with increased recidivism risk for women (Zahn et al., 2008).
However, when boys become involved in the juvenile justice system, it is typically
through association with deviant peers, physical aggression, or oppositional attitudes and
behaviors (Whitney et al., 2011). This difference in juvenile delinquency triggers between
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genders means that although both genders may commit the same delinquent act, their trigger for
getting to that delinquent point might be different (Courtney et al., 2013). For instance, whereas
boys frequently become involved in violent delinquency after being exposed to crime by their
peers or in their neighborhood, the same violence among girls can be a response to a threatening
relationship or a male partner’s influence. Specifically, running away from home is a link
between the girl’s family problems and later offending behavior (Courtney et al., 2013).
Juvenile Recidivism and Adulthood
Typically, delinquent behavior that takes place during juvenile years involves nonviolent
crimes and is based on very period-specific environmental conditions (Altschuler & Brash,
2001). In 2018, of the 728,280 juveniles arrested in the United States, only 323,150 were for
violent offenses (Altschuler & Brash, 2001). Statistics show that even if a juvenile is convicted
of a nonviolent crime, simply serving time in a juvenile detention facility increases the chance of
recidivism in adulthood by 28% (Carter, 2018). Upon reaching adulthood, individuals with a
juvenile record can face long-lasting repercussions from their time spent in a juvenile detention
facility (Yan, 2017). Their educational pathway as a juvenile might have been altered to the point
that they did not receive the same educational opportunities as their nondelinquent peers (Ohara
et al., 2020). For instance, when a delinquent juvenile is convicted of a serious or violent crime,
they might be sent to a continuation school or alternative school that offers fewer academic and
extracurricular opportunities (Ford & Schroeder, 2010). Juveniles facing incarceration during
adolescence also see their ability to reach other adolescent milestones hindered, such as summer
job experience and managing their finances, which can put them at a cumulative disadvantage
and in a position to be dependent on state programs (Ford & Schroeder, 2010).
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There is a misconception in society that once a juvenile becomes an adult, their criminal
record as a juvenile is deleted and they start life as an adult with a clean slate. When a juvenile
encounters law enforcement, a criminal record is opened, and grows to hold every document
relevant to the juvenile’s criminal activity (Center on Juvenile and Criminal Justice, 2017). This
juvenile record can prevent an adolescent entering adulthood from receiving financial aid to
assist with their college tuition, impede their ability to join the military, or even disqualify them
from receiving a commercial class drivers’ license (Roush, 2019). The development of a juvenile
record restricts adults from engaging in normal pathways to education and employment, resulting
in a cumulative disadvantage because of the lost opportunities and delinquency expressed in their
adolescent years (Ford & Schroeder, 2010).
Conceptual Framework
The conceptual framework used in this dissertation to address the problem of juvenile
recidivism is social control theory (Costello, 2001). Travis Hirschi developed social control
theory, originally known as social bond theory, in 1969. The central question that social control
theory seeks to answer is why people follow the law. Figure 1 below illustrates the premise of
social control theory is that people engage in criminal activity when their bonds to society,
relationships, commitments, values, norms, and beliefs have been broken (Vries & Liem, 2011).
According to social control theory, an individual will be less likely to commit a crime if they
have developed internalized moral codes and feel a sense of belonging in their community (Vries
& Liem, 2011).

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Figure 1:
Conceptual Framework

In his argument of social control theory, Hirschi (1969) posits that delinquent behavior is
a result of a weakening or absence of one or more elements of the social bond. The consideration
of the costs of a particular act, whether they are short or long term, is important to the idea of
self-control (Hirschi, 1969). Hirschi related social control theory to the problem of juvenile
delinquency and recidivism by stating that juveniles who are attached to others, committed to
conventional goals, involved in conventional activities, and believe in general conventional
values will be constrained from committing delinquent behavior.
Conforming Behavior
Relationships

Friends
Family
Community
Beliefs

Morality
Fairness
Honesty
Responsibility
Recreational
Involvement

School Activities
Sports Teams
Social Clubs
School
Involvement

School
Participation
Grades

Criminal Behavior

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Hirschi (1969) based the theory of social control on four core principles of an
individual’s bond to society: attachment, commitment, involvement, and belief. Under social
control theory, an individual’s attachments to others represent an internalization of norms,
conscience, and ego (Costello, 2011). Friendships formed during adolescent years are important
for the development of a juvenile’s conscience and ego. Social bonds are thought to be a source
of redefined self-control. This implies that having strong bonds should cause an individual to
refrain from engaging in criminal behavior precisely because these bonds lead a person to
consider the possible long-term social and nonsocial cost of the act (Bouffard & Rice, 2011).
Under social control theory, an individual’s commitment represents a choice to obey rules
because there is a fear of the consequences. Individuals with low commitment levels fail to carry
inhibitions, meaning they do not consider the short- and long-term consequences of an act
(Hirschi, 1969). Social control theory explains that an individual’s involvement represents a
personal involvement in an activity and because of that involvement, they do not have the time to
engage in delinquent behavior (Gottfredson & Hirschi, 2019). In the case of juvenile delinquents
and social control theory, there is a lack of a strong value system that leaves them open to
delinquent behavior by allowing them to rationalize their behavior to themselves (Gottfredson &
Hirschi, 2019).
Regarding juvenile recidivism, the core principles of social control theory become a
predictor of not only if a juvenile is likely to engage in delinquent behavior, but also if the
juvenile is at increased risk of recidivism (Hirschi, 1969). The core concepts of this study into
juvenile recidivism are the effects of achievement, attachment, commitment, involvement in
school and recreational activities on a juvenile’s chance of reoffending. Hirschi stated that the
strengths or weaknesses of these four key principles of social control theory have a direct effect
23

on preventing offending behavior (Costello, 2001). Under social control theory, a juvenile
offender at low risk of recidivism will have a high level of academic achievement, a high level of
commitment to family or friends, and high-quality attachments. A juvenile offender at high risk
of recidivism will perform poorly in school, lack hobbies, and have no attachments or socializing
(Ford & Schroeder, 2010).
Summary
The problem of juvenile delinquency and recidivism in the United States is not new. The
establishment of a court to deal solely with delinquent youth dates to 1889. Thanks to
progressive era reformers, the focus on juvenile crime involves prevention and rehabilitation.
Throughout the decades, researchers have found that not all juveniles offend for the same reason
or at the same rates and that the success of rehabilitation treatments and correction programs
differs based on gender. Typical rehabilitation options for delinquent youth include drug
treatment programs, counseling, community service, and probation. Alternative treatment
options have advanced; game therapy has been found to be particularly successful in helping
juvenile delinquents learn rational choice, problem-solving skills, and acceptance of personal
blame. However, even with developments in treatment programs designed to lower the juvenile
recidivism rate in the United States, the average reincarceration rate for youth is 55% within 1
year of release.

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Chapter Three: Methodology
The purpose of this project was to gain an in-depth understanding from adults’
perspective on the influence of their bonds with society, family, recreational activities, and
school on their decisions to engage in additional crimes following their release from a juvenile
detention center. The study also explored why juveniles chose to further engage with crime
following their release to juvenile probation officers. By identifying the most relevant influences
on juveniles and their behavior, recommendations can be made to inform the design of outreach
programs to keep juveniles from reengaging in crime following their release from a detention
center. An examination of factors that contribute to juvenile recidivism could inform both current
and future programs and policies directed at negating identified contributing factors. Statistics
presented in the literature review show that juveniles reoffend at high rates even after receiving
alternative treatment or placement in a juvenile detention center (Public Safety Performance
Project, 2013).
In 2013, the budget for the Division of Juvenile Justice in California exceeded $300
million. As of 2020, it cost an estimated $77,000 per year to house one teenager in a Los Angeles
County juvenile detention center (Los Angeles County Probation Department, 2021). Despite the
high cost of incarcerating a juvenile, the recidivism rate remains high, with 35% reoffending
within a year (Public Safety Performance Project, 2013). These data raise several questions
regarding why juveniles reoffend, how can they be helped, and what programs are most
successful in stopping recidivism. Youth detention centers offer juveniles various programs to
help them find a law-abiding path; however, a deeper look into the experiences of those who
have been through the youth detention system and chosen to return would aid in understanding
factors that contribute to recidivism.
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Research Questions
Research Question 1: How are adults who were once juvenile offenders influenced, if at
all, by friends and family bonds to not become repeat offenders?
Research Question 2: How does school and recreational involvement influence, if at all,
adults who were once juvenile offenders?
Overview of Design
The types of questions asked during the interview and survey were designed to ascertain
the involvement of the participants in school, recreational activity, friend, and family domains as
juveniles. The survey included 10 questions based on a Likert scale and three open-ended
questions. The Likert-style survey questions addressed the key concepts of social control theory
by providing insight into the strength and durability of the bonds formed during the juvenile
years and how they affected the decisions of adolescents. The open-ended questions presented at
the end of the survey were designed to allow the participants to describe and provide their input
freely even if they were not interested in taking part in the interview portion of the study
(Rosenburg, 2017). The interview included 12 questions designed to allow the participants to
give further insight into the effect of the bonds formed during their juvenile years on their
decision-making processes. Using interviews to gather participant data is valuable because the
issue of juvenile recidivism is a sensitive area for many, and an interview could allow
participants the freedom to better explain their experiences as a juvenile (Rosenburg, 2017).
Research Setting
The stakeholders of focus in this study were individuals aged 18 or older who reported
having established records as juvenile offenders. The commonality among all stakeholders was
that they reported having been convicted of a crime as a juvenile. The setting for this study was
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the Los Angeles County juvenile detention system, which is in Southern California. As of 2020,
it was the largest juvenile detention system in California and the second largest in the United
States (Center on Juvenile and Criminal Justice, 2020). With a current incarcerated population of
6,500 juveniles, an increase of 8% compared with the 2018 incarcerated population, Los Angeles
County faces a need to reduce recidivism and incarceration rates (Center on Juvenile and
Criminal Justice, 2020). Current programs directed toward reducing recidivism include trade
school opportunities, high school diplomas, and career placement education.
The Researcher
My background, biases, and demographics all had the potential to influence both the
research and analysis process (Creswell & Creswell, 2018). My positionality is as a mentor
volunteer, middle-class, African American woman. I spent a great deal of time volunteering in a
mentorship organization, providing advice and support to individuals who recently turned 18
years old and were transitioning into adult life. My connection to the participants was as an
observer. My role in the youth shelter that helps at-risk young adults was as a “big sister”
mentor.
My role as the researcher in this study was to record the responses received from the
participants and analyze them for common themes. The interview questions were developed to
focus on the perceived impact of external forces on an individual’s life as a juvenile. No
responses to the interview questions were considered correct or incorrect because they were used
to evaluate factors that contribute to juvenile recidivism. It was important in my role as a
researcher that I did not use my personal experiences to influence the study or how it was
conducted (Creswell & Creswell, 2018).
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Many of the adult participants in both the survey and interview portions of study had an
established criminal past. As a middle-class, mixed-race woman, I could have had an issue with
assumptions or preconceived notions that the participants are lifelong criminals. The implication
of this assumption could have led the participants to neglect to be truthful about their juvenile
criminal history. It is the belief of the researcher that these issues of bias, assumptions, and
identity were mitigated by allowing interview participants to remain anonymous. Finally, there
was the potential for a perceived issue of power because the survey and interview participants
knew the researcher in a big sister role. The now-adult participants could have felt judged for the
decisions they made in their juvenile years. As the researcher, I mitigated these influences by
adding a paragraph at the beginning of the survey to advise the participants that their
involvement in the study was anonymous and individual responses would not be shared with the
mentorship organization (Bouffard & Rice, 2011). As the researcher, I also mitigated any
perceived assumption of influence over the participants among those reading this published study
by adding a notation in the results of the survey that there were no casual or personal
relationships between the researcher and the participants.
Data Sources
This study used two primary sources of data collection: surveys and interviews. The
collection of data for this study began by distributing an electronic survey intended to gain a
broad understanding of the now-adult participants’ histories as juveniles and the influences in
their lives. Based on survey results and initial insights, participants were asked to participate in
semistructured interviews in further support of a mixed-methods analysis of the level of
influence of a youth offender’s bonds with society, family, recreational activities, and school on
their decision to engage in additional crimes following their release from a juvenile detention
28

center. Both the survey and interview data source procedures are described here, and this
information is expanded on in Chapter 4 after the data analysis plan is introduced.
Method: Survey
Data collection for this field study into juvenile recidivism began with the distribution of
a survey. An email with an embedded link was sent to individuals who agreed to participate in
the study. The link in the email led participants to the survey distributed via Qualtrics. If
participants did not have an established email account, additional options for participating
included receiving the embedded link via social media or text message. The participants,
instrumentation, and data collection procedures for the survey are described here.
Participants
The group of interest, or participants, in this study were adults aged 18 or older and
participated in Big Brother or Big Sister Los Angeles as juveniles. Participants also had a history
of being convicted of a crime more than once as a juvenile. Potential participants from the Big
Brothers and Big Sisters program were recruited using a purposive sampling strategy throughout
this research. Potential adult participants’ contact information was gathered through past
participants or mentees of the researcher and other mentors in the mentorship organization. Once
the contact information of potential participants in the study was gathered, these individuals were
solicited through phone calls or emails. By soliciting past participants of the mentorship program
who were now adults, the researcher increased the chance of obtaining a large response rate and
large sample of potential adult participants (Merriam & Tisdell, 2016). All responders to the
survey flyer were invited to participate in the survey via a Qualtrics link received by email.
Posting flyers allowed for the casting of a large recruitment net and facilitated the goal of
obtaining a census sample that was representative of individuals with a juvenile record. Using
29

surveys as the first method for data collection allowed for the survey findings to be integrated
into the subsequent one-on-one interviews with a selected group of participants. All participants
in the survey completed the online survey questionnaire. After analysis of the survey data, 12
survey participants were selected for the one-on-one interview portion of the field study.
Instrumentation
The first instrument used for this research into juvenile recidivism was a survey. A
survey is an instrument used to gather data; it consists of questions and aims to gather data from
the surveyed population (Robinson & Leonard, 2019). Advantages to using a survey as a method
of gathering data include obtaining a large dataset, capturing necessary information when the
number of available resources is limited, and enabling comparisons across groups (Robinson &
Leonard, 2019). For this study, the survey consisted of ordinal and demographic questions. The
ordinal and demographic questions were included in the survey instrument for data analysis and
to identify participants’ race, ethnicity, and juvenile criminal history. Additional ordinal
questions in the survey were used to determine their involvement in society.
Data Collection Procedures
The survey was built in Qualtrics and administered to participants electronically. The
survey could be completed in approximately 20 minutes. The survey was first distributed via an
email link to past participants of the Big Brothers and Big Sisters programs who had previously
indicated their interest to receive emails from the organization. Embedded in the email was a link
to a survey based in Qualtrics. The survey remained open for volunteers to complete for 3 weeks,
with a reminder email after 2 weeks. Using Qualtrics, the researcher monitored the response rate
to the survey and used the contact information provided at the end of the survey to reach out to
participants for additional information or further participation.
30

Data Analysis
Data analysis essentially involves making sense of the data collected during a study
(Merriam & Tisdell, 2016). In the case of this field study into juvenile recidivism, a survey
participant group of 30 people, although a large number, is small relative to the more than 6,000
juveniles currently involved in the juvenile justice system in Los Angeles County. In general,
data collected from surveys with many respondents will produce more accurate information and
allow for a great deal more comparison and analysis among various groups (Salkind, 2017).
However, with such a small participant group relative to the juvenile detention population,
responses obtained from the interview portion of the study were analyzed using narrative
analysis, with the intent of gathering the participants’ shared experiences and stories to help
answer the research questions presented in this study. Responses from the survey portion of the
study were analyzed using descriptive analysis to find shared experiences among participants.
Validity and Reliability
Validity refers to the evaluation of the degree to which a measurement tool measures
what it was supposed to measure, whereas reliability indicates whether the same results could be
achieved every time the measurement is made (Salkind, 2014). A survey is said to be valid if it
measures what it was designed to measure. Regarding reliability, a survey is said to have high
reliability if it produces similar results under the same conditions every time. For this mixed-
methods study with a small participant group and a recruitment process involving two locations,
one concern is validity, or the degree that the field study measured what it was supposed to
measure. According to Salkind (2014), there are three types of validity: content, criterion, and
construct validity. The most relevant form of validity to this field study is construct validity, or
the degree to which inferences can be made based on an underlying construct or idea used in the
31

creation of the survey tool (Salkind, 2014). A prequalifying question was asked in the survey
portion of the study to identify if participants had been convicted of two or more crimes as a
juvenile, thus ensuring conduct validity and relevance to the study.
Method: Interviews
Once the survey portion of the data collection process was completed, interested
participants were contacted to take part in an interview. The group of interest for the interview
portion of the study were those who had completed the survey and indicated their interest in
participating in an interview to advance this study into juvenile recidivism. The goal was to
interview approximately 10 to 12 adults in a Zoom online interview setting.
Interview Sampling Criteria and Recruitment
At the end of the survey, participants could indicate their interest in participating in an
interview by selecting a link at the bottom of the survey. The link redirected the participant to
share their name, phone number, and email for later contact. The focus of the interview was
allowing participants to thoroughly share their experiences in their own words through
semistructured interview questions that allowed for open-ended responses. Rather than forcing
participants to choose an answer that might be close to the truth, interviews allowed the
participants to elaborate on their answers for the interviewer. Merriam and Tisdell (2016)
emphasized that interviews should involve unstructured, open-ended questions that focus on
generating the perspectives and opinions of the study’s participants. During the one-on-one
interviews, participants answered questions grounded in social control theory regarding their
experiences outside of the juvenile detention facility.
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Interview Protocol
A semistructured approach was utilized during the interview portion of this field study.
When conducting a semistructured interview, the interviewer has formally structured and
unstructured interview questions along with a list of potential probing questions (Merriam &
Tisdell, 2016). During the interview, the interviewer can explore the participants’ personal
experiences and perspectives by using additional probing questions (Merriam & Tisdell, 2016).
The interview protocol consisted of 14 questions, and depending on the participants’ personal
experiences and perspectives, additional follow-up probing questions were available to the
interviewer. The questions included in the interview protocol addressed the level of influence of
a youth offender’s bonds with society, family, recreational activities, and school on their
decisions to engage in additional crimes following their release from a juvenile detention center.
Data Collection Procedures
During the survey portion of this study, volunteers were recruited and indicated their
interest using an embedded link at the end of the survey portion of the study. After providing
their personal contact information in the survey, the volunteers were contacted to schedule a
Zoom meeting to participate in an interview. Volunteers for the interview portion of the study
were selected on a first-to-respond basis. Once the researcher obtained 10 to 12 interview
volunteers, all subsequent responses received a letter of appreciation for their interest. The
researcher obtained verbal consent at the beginning of the Zoom meeting. The volunteers were
advised that the meeting was being recorded via Zoom for later follow-up and that the researcher
would be taking field notes during the interview. Participants were assured that although notes
were being taken and the Zoom call was being recorded, all information pertaining to the
interviews and surveys would be saved on a password-protected hard drive to protect any
33

sensitive data. The interviews took between 35 and 60 minutes, and much of the time difference
depended on the number of probing questions asked and the willingness of the volunteer to
provide information about their personal life. The researcher intended to conduct 12 to 15
interviews and projected that it would take 3 to 4 weeks to complete.
Data Analysis
The researcher for this field study created individual folders for each participant. Each
participant was randomly assigned a participant number, and the folders created for each
participant were saved to a password-protected hard drive using these participant numbers. The
key or identity of each participant was saved in a separate password-protected file. At the
completion of the study, the researcher saved each participant’s survey responses, field notes,
and recorded interviews in their designated file for comparative analysis.
The purpose of the first four questions in both the survey and interview portions of the
questionnaire was to gain a better understanding of the participants and the circumstances that
placed them on the path to juvenile recidivism. Similarities and differences in findings regarding
the backgrounds of participants are relevant in that they provide more data for analysis and
comparison outside of their juvenile record. During the analysis phase of the field study, all
participants’ responses, interviews, and recordings were transcribed and analyzed for common
patterns and themes.
At the completion of both the survey and interview portions of the field study, the
researcher compared the results of a narrative analysis of the survey data and the results after a
descriptive analysis of the survey to each other. The intent of comparing the descriptive data and
the narrative analysis data was to identify any conclusive findings, inconsistencies, or previously
hidden flaws in the survey or interview protocol.
34

Credibility and Trustworthiness
To ensure credibility and trustworthiness during the survey and interview portions of this
field study into juvenile recidivism, the researcher instituted triangulation, reflexivity, and peer
review. Triangulation is a strategy to improve internal validity after using multiple sources of
data and data collection to confirm the researcher’s findings and interpretations (Merriam &
Tisdell, 2016). Triangulation adds to a study’s credibility and quantity by addressing any
outstanding concerns that its findings are the result of a single method (Merriam & Tisdell,
2016). Researcher reflexivity involves the researcher engaging in self-reflection about biases,
theoretical orientation, or relationships to the study that could affect the research data (Merriam
& Tisdell, 2016). A final strategy to increase credibility and trustworthiness is peer review. Peer
review involves engaging fellow mentors in discussions regarding the study, findings, and the
possible explanations or implications (Merriam & Tisdell, 2016).
Ethics
The information gathered in this field study is sensitive in nature because the adult
participants had an established criminal record as a juvenile. The participants’ past criminal
history could lead to concerns regarding the public’s assumption that their participation means
they are lifelong criminals or untrustworthy. The implications of these concerns could include an
unwillingness among participants to be truthful about the extent of their criminal past and their
rates of recidivism. Using Patton’s (2015) ethical issues checklist, the researcher began all
conversations with participants by explaining the purpose of the field study and being transparent
about the type of data being gathered. As part of the interview protocol, participants were
reminded that their participation was strictly voluntary, and they could end the interview at any
point. Participants were also informed of the researcher’s intention to record the interview and
35

asked if they authorized the recording. Although the interview was recorded, the participants
were assured of their confidentiality and that the recording would be deleted at the conclusion of
the field study. It is the belief of the survey developer that issues of bias, assumptions, and
identity were mitigated by allowing survey participants to remain anonymous.

36

Chapter Four: Results
A mixed-methods approach was used to understand the perspective of adults regarding
the level of influence of their bonds with society, family, recreational activities, and school on
their decisions to engage in illegal activities as juveniles following their release from a juvenile
detention center. Nonsocietal or participation factors, such as mental disabilities, anger
management issues, or physical disabilities, can increase the likelihood of recidivism (Frailing,
2010). A survey was released to 30 adults who participated as juveniles in a postdetention Big
Brothers or Big Sisters program. Twenty-seven of the 30 participants contacted to participate
completed the anonymous survey. The survey distributed for this field study featured 17
questions designed to gain a basic understanding of the people with whom the participants
interacted, their involvement in activities, and how they valued their experience in a juvenile
detention center. All surveys were conducted by sending an embedded link to a targeted
distribution list.
At the completion of the survey, participants had the opportunity to indicate their interest
in the interview phase of the study. Twelve participants indicated their interest to move on to the
one-on-one interview portion of the field study. The interview phase of the research involved 12
interviews with adult volunteers who had been convicted of a crime more than once as a juvenile
between the ages of 12 and 17. Interviews were conducted on Zoom during a 2-week period in
October 2021. The two research questions that framed this study were as follows.
1. How are adults who were once juvenile offenders influenced, if at all, by friends and
family bonds to not become repeat offenders?
2. How does school and recreational involvement influence, if at all, adults who were
once juvenile offenders?
37

This chapter outlines the survey, interviews, insights, and findings based on themes
aligned with the research questions. The data collected from the interactive interview process
served as the primary source for insights into the research questions. Survey data collected from
all participants provided the quantitative data needed to provide insight regarding identified
themes. The findings were based on a mixed-methods data analysis of both surveys and
interviews. The interviews were recorded using Zoom and transcribed for analysis. The research
findings in this chapter are the result of a quantitative analysis of the survey responses and a
qualitative analysis of the interview transcripts. Through analyzing both the interview transcripts
and survey responses, key themes emerged. Once the interviews and surveys were completed,
themes indicated by five of the 12 interview participants referenced the same contributing
factors. The findings have been organized according to the correlating theme and are presented
with quotes from the participants.
Participants
Survey Participants
In all, of the 30 surveys distributed via Qualtrics, 27 participants responded. All 27 of the
surveys completed were fully completed and usable for this study, representing a 90%
completion success rate. The survey was distributed anonymously; however, each participant
was asked to confirm they were an adult aged 18 or older and had been convicted of a crime as a
juvenile before they could participate. All survey participants had been convicted of a crime
more than once as a juvenile. Survey responses that were incomplete were removed from the
dataset during the analysis phase. The demographic information of each survey participant was
collected during the survey. Each survey participant was assigned a unique number, and their
individual responses have been aggregated in tables for further analysis. If an individual agreed
38

to participate in the interview portion of the study, their number carried over as an identifier. The
participants’ numbers are used throughout the study to refer to direct quotes or points of interest.
Figures 2 and 3 provide an overview of the survey participants’ ethnic identities and gender.

Figure 2:
Gender Distribution of Survey Participants

0
2
4
6
8
10
12
14
16
18
20
Male Female Non-binary
n
Gender
Gender Distribution of Survey Participants
Survey Participants
39

Figure 2 displays the gender of the study’s survey participants. Of the 27 respondents to
the Qualtrics survey, 18 identified as male, eight identified as female, and one identified as
nonbinary. All 27 survey respondents indicated that they had been convicted of a crime more
than once as a juvenile. As discussed in Chapter 2, boys have been shown to be at increased risk
of delinquency compared with girls.

Figure 3:
Ethnic Distribution of Survey Participants

41%
22%
33%
4%
SURVEY PARTICIPANT ETHNICITY
African American Caucasian Hispanic Asian
40

Figure 3 displays the ethnicity of the survey participants. Of the 27 participants, 11
identified as African American, six identified as Caucasian, nine identified as Hispanic, and one
identified as Caucasian. These participant data are similar to arrest statistics provided by the U.S.
Department of Justice, which indicate that in 2018, African Americans accounted for 33% of
nonfatal crime arrests and Hispanics accounted for 22% of nonfatal crime arrests in the United
States (National Bureau of Economic Research, 2013).
Interview Participants
Of the 27 survey participants, 12 participants indicated their interest in participating in
the interview portion of the study. Interview invitations were extended to these 12 participants as
a follow-up to the completion of the surveys. All 12 interview participants indicated that they
had been convicted of a crime more than once as a juvenile. The data used for the interview
portion of the study met a purposeful sampling criterion. According to Patton (2002), the logic
behind purposeful sampling lies in choosing information-rich cases for study. Using purposeful
sampling to study information-rich cases can yield greater insights and better in-depth
understanding rather than empirical generalizations. Each interview participant completed the
entire survey and indicated that they had been convicted of a crime as a juvenile. All interview
participants were interviewed via Zoom and are only identified by their assigned number. The
interview results were aggregated and quotations from interview participants are included in
relation to their assigned number. Demographic information from the interview participants is
displayed in Table 1.

41

Table 1:
Demographics of Interview Participants
Participant Engaged in
juvenile recidivism
Sex Ethnicity Household size
1234 Yes M African American 1–3
1150 Yes F African American 4–6
1786 Yes M Caucasian 1–3
1654 Yes M Hispanic 7–9
1356 Yes M African American 1–3
1922 Yes F Hispanic 4–6
1245 Yes M Hispanic 1–3
1153 Yes F African American 1–3
1099 Yes F Caucasian 1–3
1857 Yes M Hispanic 1–3
1211 Yes M Hispanic 7–9
1324 Yes F Caucasian 4–6

Note. F = female; M = male.

The data in Table 1 provide an overview of the interview participants in this study.
Specifically, the data in Table 1 provide a demographic overview of the ethnicity, family size,
and gender of all interview participants. Individuals who participated in the interview portion of
this study indicated their interest to participate during the survey portion of the study. All
individuals participating in the interview portion of the study indicated that they had committed a
42

crime more than once as a juvenile. During the interview portion of the study, participants were
also asked to describe what led them to commit additional crimes as a juvenile.
The demographic information obtained during interviews was intended to aid the
researcher and reader in gaining a realistic picture of the participants and their influences and life
experiences. The information provided by interview participants regarding their additional
crimes was meant to inform the researcher and reader of trends in crimes among juveniles.
Interview participants represented diverse ages and education levels; the commonality among
participants was that they all went on to commit additional crimes as juveniles. A brief profile of
all interview participants is provided here.
Participant Profiles
The participants’ demographic information was gathered during the survey of this study.
At the completion of the survey process, participants who had indicated their interest at the end
of the survey also participated in semi structured interviews. The semi structured interviews were
conducted with the intent of gathering additional background information related to the problem
of practice. This additional information from each interview participant has been condensed and
summarized to give the reader a deeper understanding of the background of each participant.
Participant 1786
Participant 1786 was currently employed as a mechanic at a small auto-repair shop.
When looking back on the events that influenced his childhood. Participant 1786 focused on his
teenage years and time spent in an East Los Angeles gang. This participant recalled his dad
leaving the household when the participant was 9 years old and the bond that formed between his
mom and brother in the aftermath. Looking back, Participant 1786 remembered looking for a
father figure and finding it in joining a gang. He acknowledged that his involvement with a gang
43

led to him being incarcerated but highlighted that it also led him to his career choice. During his
time in grade school, the participant remembered he had a hard time finding friends, and by the
time he reached high school, his inability to fit in led to a desperateness to be accepted by
anyone. The gang that the participant eventually joined frequently engaged in illegal activities,
and he willingly took part, seeking acceptance.
Participant 1099
Participant 1099 was currently seeking employment but had worked in the past as an
esthetician. Participant 1099 grew up in a large family consisting of her mother, father, and five
siblings. In high school, she recalled spending her free time on the football field cheering as part
of the cheerleading team. During her junior year of high school, the participant recalled her
parents getting a divorce, which led her to drop out of cheerleading and become friends with a
new group of kids at school.
Participant 1553
Currently enrolled in her sophomore year of college at a local university, Participant 1533
had a love for animals that led her to enroll in a 4-year pre-veterinary science program.
Participant 1533 was the oldest child of three, and in her youth, she could often be found tutoring
her brothers in math or science. In high school, the participant was part of both the water polo
and swim teams.
Participant 1922
A graduate of a local city college, Participant 1922 currently worked in inventory at a
local grocery store and was the mother of two girls. As a juvenile, the participant recalled having
two hard-working parents and was frequently left on her own a lot at home a lot while her
parents worked. Participant 1922 recalled that she frequently struggled to find her place
44

throughout grade school and after entering high school, she made friends with a group of kids
who liked to skip school a lot.
Participant 1786
A graduate of the culinary arts program at a local trade college, Participant 1786 had a
deep interest in cooking. Participant 1786 currently worked as a chef for a meal preparation
company in Los Angeles. When asked about school involvement, the participant described
learning how to bake in his eighth-grade economics class. He also talked about how his
economics teacher ignited his interest in cooking by showing him how to bake his first quiche as
part of a class project.
Participant 1356
Currently enrolled in his junior year at a local state university, Participant 1356 had
focused his studies on psychology. The participant hoped to graduate with a degree in
psychology and go on to become a social worker. As a juvenile, Participant 1356 moved through
the foster care system several times and said that this affected his ability to create close
relationships with new people. When asked about any close childhood friends or fond grade
school memories, the participant spoke of the sixth and ninth grades. For the participant, these
grades represented the best years for him because everyone was starting a new school. Everyone
was new, and no one looked at him strangely.
Participant 1245
Participant 1245 was currently a substance abuse counselor at a rehabilitation center in
Los Angeles and used his experiences fighting addiction to help others. When the participant was
15, he tried marijuana for the first time with a group of older friends. Although Participant 1234
remembered the stories his parents had told him about doing drugs, it didn’t make a difference,
45

because he was in a bad place mentally after the death of his mother. Coming from a large family
of 12 siblings, the participant progressed from marijuana use to stealing to pay for his habit. The
participant utilized counseling resources while incarcerated in a juvenile detention center to
break free of his substance abuse and find his passion for helping others.
Participant 1150
During her childhood, Participant 1150 was raised mostly by her mother and recalled
being left on her own a lot because her mother always worked. The participant remembered that
her mother was physically abusive and to avoid her in high school, she would skip school in
favor of hanging out at the beach all day with friends. A lack of money and boredom led the
participant to begin shoplifting. While incarcerated, Participant 1150 not only learned the
consequences of her actions but also learned the effects those actions can have on others. Now an
adult, the participant had a daughter of her own and worked hard to set a positive example for
her.
Participant 1153
During her childhood, Participant 1153 and her little brother were raised mostly by her
father because their mother died of cancer when the participant was 13. Participant 1153 recalled
falling into a deep depression during her teenage years and turning to drugs to soothe the hurt of
losing her mother. Years later and as a mother herself, the participant recognized that this was a
turning point in her life that led her to make poor life choices. Looking back, Participant 1153
said she wished that she had access now to the counseling services she utilized while in juvenile
detention. Although she regretted the actions that led her to be incarcerated, she learned to accept
the consequences of her actions and the path that they would eventually lead her down.
46

Defining Influences
Survey participants had varied responses to the prompt: “What factors do you believe led
you to commit additional crimes?” Hirschi’s (1969) social control theory was used as the guiding
framework in this study and guided the researcher in identifying relevant themes. According to
social control theory, an individual’s cumulative relationships, commitment, values, norms, and
beliefs determine if they will engage in illegal activities (Hirschi, 1969). When applying
Hirschi’s theory of social control to the problem of juvenile recidivism, several themes were
identified as potentially influencing juveniles to commit additional crimes. The four themes that
emerged from this prompt were: (a) friends, (b) family, (c) school, and (d) recreational activities.
The themes identified from survey participant responses and participant interviews coincide with
the themes identified in Hirschi’s social control theory as influencing delinquent activity. When
comparing the themes identified from the open-ended survey question to the themes identified by
Hirschi as bearing an influence on whether a juvenile engages in delinquent activities, the friends
and family survey themes are represented by Hirschi’s theme of relationships, school
involvement related to Hirschi’s domain of values and norms, and involvement in recreational
activities is related to Hirschi’s theme of commitment.
Friends
Six of the 12 interview participants indicated that they participated in illegal activities
after being introduced to them by a friend. A theme identified from participant accounts was the
power of friends to influence juveniles. Specifically, a pattern of making friends with individuals
already involved in delinquent behavior and then becoming involved themselves in delinquent or
illegal behavior emerged. Nine of the 12 interview participants associated their friendships with
47

their participation illegal activities, “ditching” school, or drug use, as described by Participant
1234:
I feel like I was on a good path all the way up to high school. I never fit it at any of my
previous schools, but that was fine with me. All the sudden I got to high school, and I
never felt more like an outsider. At lunch it was so obvious and awkward that I had no
friends. I ended up meeting a girl and she introduced me to her friends. These friends
were older than me and seemed cool. They smoked, drank, and seemed to like me. I
smoked and drank to fit in. When they started stealing stuff from the mall where we hung
out, I did too, so I could fit in.
Family
Seven of the 12 interview participants indicated that they participated in illegal activities
after being introduced or exposed to them by a family member. A theme identified from
participant responses was the power of family members to influence the juvenile members of the
family, such as a pattern of family incarceration at both the adult and juvenile levels, as
described by Participant 1786:
I grew up with a brother who was 9 years older than me. Developmentally, there was a
huge divide between us because I was so much younger. Despite our age gap, I idolized
him and would always try and follow him wherever he and his high school friends went. I
remember one night watching him hotwire my mom’s Volkswagen bug, so that he could
take it with a joyride with his friends.
School
Five of the 12 interview participants indicated that they had a dislike or were dissatisfied
with their school experience. A theme identified from participant responses was a lack of
48

involvement or participation in any school or after school activities. X of the X participants
spoke of school truancy or “ditching” activities, as described by Participant 1234:
I would hang out at the park all day near my house because I didn’t feel like going to
school. I met some older friends in the park, and I thought they were cool. Just hanging
out all day, smoking weed and talking. Eventually, my friends and I started doing harder
drugs at parties. I was eventually arrested for stealing to feed my addiction.
Recreational Activities
Eight of the 12 interview participants spoke of a lack of recreational involvement as
juveniles. A theme to emerge from participant responses was the common dislike or disinterest
in recreational activities. A pattern of disinterest in school and recreational activities could not be
established; however, there was a common introspection among participants of friendship
influences and recreational activity involvement. Of the eight participants, those who indicated
that they had been disinterested in sports and those who indicated that their friendships had a
large effect on them seemed linked.
I always felt like I didn’t fit in. I was never good at anything, and I have always been
super uncoordinated. When it was time for PE class, I would often lie and say I forgot my
gym clothes just so I didn’t have to dress. All the kids that hadn’t dressed for class that
day would hang out on the bleachers, and that’s where I met the little clique I would
eventually start hanging out with. Once we got out of school, we would wander the
neighborhoods tagging our own made-up gang signs with spray paint we stole from some
local store. (Participant 1356)
Additional examples of anonymous responses related to juvenile influences are provided in
Table 2.
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Table 2:
Social and Familial Influences Themes
Code n Description Response examples
Friends 6 Heavily influenced
or peer pressured
by relationships
with friends
When my friends started smoking, then I started
smoking. My friends started ditching school, then I
started ditching school. This follower mindset led
me to getting caught up in some illegal activities as
a juvenile. (Participant 1533)
Around Christmas time when I was 16 years old, I
really wanted a pair of Jordans, but my family
didn’t have the money. My friends suggested we
just steal them from the local Macy’s. I went along
with it and was the one who ended up getting
caught. (Participant 1133)
I grew up living in a bad neighborhood. My parents
tried to keep those influences away by busing me
out to a nice high school in a better neighborhood.
The only problem was that I didn’t feel accepted
there as a person of color. I clung more to the kids
from my neighborhood than I would have if I had
just gone to the local high school. The kids in my
neighborhood were frequently bored, and we found
ways to keep buy by tagging buildings. (Participant
1054)
I’ve had the same friends since as long as I can
remember. I was always running around with a girl
two blocks up from me. She was older, so I just
made friends with whoever she did because I
thought she was so cool. (Participant 1150)
I had a hard time finding myself in college. I
eventually found myself with the wrong girl. She
was a party girl. That’s how we met as a matter of
fact … at a party. She introduced me to drugs, and I
went along willingly because I thought we loved
each other, and I thought I could quit when I
wanted. (Participant 1099)
Family 7 Heavily influenced
by individual
family members
My first hit of marijuana came from my twin sister.
(Participant 1356)
My dad was constantly in and out of jail for selling
drugs and stolen goods. (Participant 1245)
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Code n Description Response examples
or family
dynamics
I spent a lot of time growing up with my cousins
because it just seemed like their house was so much
cooler. Their parents were never home and let them
do whatever we wanted. One day, we went to a
corner liquor store, and I didn’t have any money.
My cousin showed me how to put the candy I
wanted in my pocket and steal it. The rush I got
walking out was almost better than the candy I
stole. (Participant 1786)
I realize now my mom was heavily addicted to drugs
and because of that, she was never around. I was
left frequently on my own in my teenage years to
fend for myself. Looking back, I realize I didn’t
make the best decision with the idle time I had but I
didn’t know any better. (Participant 1234)
Everything I did and everything I put my family
through was a page straight out of my brother’s
own book. My brother was 9 years older than me
and growing up, I watched everything he did. When
I hit my teens, I wanted to be just like him and
started stealing clothes, shoes, even stupid stuff
from my teachers’ desk. (Participant 1099)
School 5 Not an active
participant in
school
When my friends started smoking, then I started
smoking. My friends started ditching school, then I
started ditching school. This follower mindset led
me to getting caught up in some illegal activities as
a juvenile. (Participant 1356)
English is not my first language and because of that,
school was just hard. I didn’t understand a lot of
what I was being taught in basic English classes, let
alone complicated classes like math. (Participant
1245)
While I was in jail, I was diagnosed ADHD. I could
never figure out why I couldn’t sit still or focus on
class stuff. I couldn’t wait to get out of class.
(Participant 1150)
I never got why we had to learn the stuff we did in
school. I have never needed algebra. The stuff I
wanted to learn in school wasn’t being taught.
(Participant 1922)
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Code n Description Response examples
I didn’t mind the socializing aspect of school. I hated
the homework part of school. I hated having to do
group projects and being asked questions point
blank. I can think of several times when I skipped
class but actually jumped the fence to come into
school just for lunch. I liked my friends in school.
(Participant 1654)
Recreational
activities
8 Not involved in
recreation
activities
My parents never had a lot of money growing up.
Doing extra activities like afterschool plays or
sports were not an option. (Participant 1786)
My mom was a single mom while I was growing up. I
didn’t realize it at the time and not even really until
I became a mother that my mom had to hustle just
to pick me up from school. There was no money for
afterschool care. I was dropped off at my mom’s
house after school, and she would go back to work.
I would look for stuff to do and just go outside to
the park where I would meet with friends.
(Participant 1654)
Real talk, I’m just super uncoordinated. I’ve never
played a sport without embarrassing myself.
(Participant 1356)
I went to school in the inner city. We didn’t have a lot
of sports teams. I remember a basketball team and
football team, but if you weren’t great at those,
there wasn’t much else for you. (Participant 1533)
I didn’t like any of the extra stuff my school offered. I
just wanted to go home and play Call of Duty with
my friends. (Participant 1099)

Note. Five or more references from participants signaled an emergent theme.

52

As the examples in Table 2 demonstrate, interview participants continuously emphasized
the effect that their family, friends, school, and recreational activities had on their decisions to
reoffend. Of note, the examples listed in Table 2 show the importance of the connections among
family, friends, school, and recreational activities, which are emphasized in Hirschi’s (1969)
social control theory. Social control theory posits an elevated level of influence that family and
friends have on juvenile associates, raising concern about the risk of children being in the
presence of individuals exhibiting delinquent behavior (Hirschi, 1969).
Findings for Research Question One
The following sections present the survey and interview findings for Research Question
1. Prior to administrating the surveys and interviews to volunteers, specific thresholds were
developed for a shared experience between participants to be identified as a theme. To be
identified as a theme for the purpose of this study a shared experience was required to be
mentioned five times in the interview portion of the study and 10 times in the survey portion of
the study. More weight was given to shared experiences identified in the interviews because the
open response forum allows for more in-depth explanation and personalization of the participants
responses. The interview and survey results are categorized according to emergent key themes.
The findings have been grouped with the corresponding research question.
The first research question asked participants to describe from the viewpoint of their time
as juveniles how their relationships with family and friends affected the decisions they made in
their youth. During the survey portion of this study, questions were purposely placed in the
survey to uncover the time spent per week with and the size of the participants’ friendship and
family circles. During the interview portion of the study, questions were asked pertaining to the
participants’ hobbies, family life, childhood friends, and school involvement as juveniles. The
53

interview questions pertaining to time spent with school, friends, and family were designed to
gain a better understanding from a qualitative viewpoint of the most prevalent influences in their
life and how those connections affected them. All 27 survey participants and 12 interview
participants recalled their friendships and family relationships as juveniles.
Theme One: The Perceived Positive Impact of a Supportive and Stable Family
Environment
Based on social control theory, the role of parenting and providing a child with the skills
required to avoid future delinquent activities is imperative (Walters, 2019). The stability or
instability of their family environment has been directly associated with a juvenile’s choice to
engage in delinquent behavior (Gardner, 2011). A less stable family unit can cause a juvenile to
spend more time on the streets, thereby exposing them to more negative influences (Gardner,
2011). During the survey, participants were not specifically asked to describe their parents or the
stability of their family environment. To understand the influences on survey participants as
juveniles, they were asked to describe the size and composition of their family and how much
time they spent with friends outside their home.
Survey Results
There were no survey data to support this theme.
During the survey, survey participants were asked in the form of a multiple-choice
question about the size of their household growing up. Six survey participants described growing
up in a one-parent home, and 21 participants described growing up with at least one sibling. Of
the 27 survey participants, 13 described growing up in a home of four to six family members, 10
described growing up in a home of one to three family members, and four respondents described
growing up in a home with seven to nine family members. Although these survey data do not
54

provide any concrete evidence regarding the strength of bonds between family and survey
participants, they do lend a quantitative aspect to this study that is helpful in building a bigger
picture regarding the strength of influences on juveniles when combined with interview data.
Interview Findings
In speaking with the 12 interview participants about the family environment in which
they grew up, all respondents indicated that they had a relationship with a friend or family
member who negatively affected their behavior as a juvenile. Interview participants cited abusive
parental behavior, a death in the family, and friendship ties as reasons for starting down their
path to juvenile recidivism. Participant 1245 vividly described the family environment in which
he grew up:
I come from a background of addiction, plain and simple. My father used to sell drugs,
and when that didn’t bring in enough money, he stole things. I remember people would
just tell my dad what they were, like a pair of shoes, and he would find it for them. I think
I was around my dad’s lifestyle so much that when he started giving me packages to
deliver and things to “find,” [I] just started doing it. It was such a common thing for me
that the consequences didn’t even enter my mind. Didn’t even faze me.
Parenting factors can be divided into three types: parental support, control, and rejection
(Hoeve et al., 2009). In parental social support, parents develop an emotional bond with the
juvenile. Parental control is about setting limits and guiding and supervising the juvenile
(Walters, 2020). According to social control theory, each factor is equally effective in
establishing a bond and influencing the juvenile to not engage in delinquent behavior (Hoeve et
al., 2009). When parental control techniques are employed or not employed in some cases,
societal limits and the understanding of right versus wrong never develop. Parental control
55

coupled with poor supervision is a strong predictor of juvenile delinquency (Walters, 2020). This
example and the additional examples provided in Table 3 represent parental control. All
respondents who elected to participate in the interview portion spoke of events or patterns that
indicated to them that their parents were either not supervising or not teaching societal norms.
The example quotes used in Table 3 were pulled from interview transcripts to illustrate the
potential effects a lack of parental control can have on a juvenile’s relationship with their morals
and beliefs.

Table 3:
Effect of Bonds Between Family Members and Juveniles
Barrier type n Response examples
Parental support 5 I didn’t at the time, but as a parent now I realize the lengths my parents
went to try and set boundaries, but also have an open relationship. I
think my parents knew my struggles identifying who I was at that
time. They wanted me to feel like I could talk to them about stuff if I
needed to. (Participant 1245)
Even though my parents were divorced and didn’t talk to each other, I
knew they cared for me. It sucked always being separated from one
parent but at the same time, now I think that’s what kept me going for
so long. I wasn’t left in any one situation for more than a few weeks
and then it would be time for me to go to the other parent’s house.
(Participant 1654)
Watching what my parents went through with my brother and all the
stuff he did to them, I think my parents decided to take a more relaxed
approach to raising me. Whenever I did something wrong, they would
ask me if I had thought about the consequences, did I think it was
worth it in the end, or would I do it again if I had a chance. I think
they were hoping for a different outcome with me. (Participant 1857)
There was nothing really wrong with my parents. I didn’t have a great
relationship with them, but it wasn’t their fault. My relationship with
them suffered because they tried to control every part of my life. It felt
like I was suffocating in the house. (Participant 1533)
56

Barrier type n Response examples
Lack of
parental
control
7 My father who I lived with until I was arrested for attempted murder.
My brothers and I stayed with my mother, but she was never home, so
we would just run the streets or hang out at my older cousin’s house.
When my older cousin joined a gang, I did, too. I looked up to my
cousins and thought it was cool. All the guys seemed like they had this
cool family that I never had. We did a lot of stuff for the gang as kids.
Acting as lookout. Moving stuff. It wasn’t until I was older that we
started having more of a part and doing more stuff we could get in
trouble for. It wasn’t all bad though. The gang showed me a lot of
stuff about cars, and that’s what I really love doing today. (Participant
1786)
I grew up in a very large family. My mother died when I was 13, but
prior to her death, she had 11 other children with my father. Twelve
kids were just too much for a single working father to handle. We
were often left to fend for ourselves while he was working at a car
repair shop. The area we lived in off of Slauson was a bad
neighborhood. We lived right near a train station and in order to get
money for food, my brothers and I would board the train and rob a
person or two. We would take whatever we could get and go get
dinner. (Participant 1353)
I always felt like my parents wanted something different for me. Like
nothing I did was ever good enough. I had an older sister who was
perfect. I think they just wanted me to be like her, and I wasn’t.
(Participant 1234)
I spent most of my childhood in foster care. My mom lost custody of me
when I was a baby and never got it back. I lived in several different
homes before a place to live could be found, so I felt like I never
really had a family. (Participant 1099)
I loved my parents, but something seemed to snap in me when my mom
died. I went down a really dark road with drugs and alcohol.
(Participant 1356)

As the examples in Table 3 demonstrate, participants emphasized the strength of their
bonds with family members and how those bonds influenced their decisions to offend or
reoffend. Of note, the participants quoted in Table 3 indicated that now as adults, they felt
maintaining a relationship with their delinquent friends had increased their propensity toward
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delinquency as juveniles. Interview participants recalled feelings of inadequacy, divorce, and
parental absence as reasons for their failed parental relationships.
Theme Two: Participants Reported Maintaining a Relationship with Delinquent Friends
Increased Their Propensity to Offend
Based on social control theory, the relationships established with friends and the people
with whom juveniles associate can be a strong influence on their attitudes and behaviors
(Gardner, 2011). Furthermore, interactions and relationships with family and peers as a child and
adolescent can influence the development of a juvenile’s behavior (Gardner, 2011). A negative
friendship or influence in a juvenile’s life can place the juvenile in situations that they would not
have otherwise experienced. These interactions between peers are most important during early
childhood; however, they have long-lasting effects into adulthood (Ellis, 2012). To understand
the influences on survey participants as juveniles, participants were asked to indicate the amount
of time they spent with friends on a weekly basis.
Survey Results
During the survey, participants were asked to describe the amount of time they spent with
friends per week in the form of a multiple-choice question. As seen in Figure 4, 85% of survey
participants stated that they spent 10-plus hours a week with friends, and 18% of survey
participants indicated that they spent 7 to 9 hours a week with friends. Although this survey
question did not ask about the effects of the participants’ relationships with friends, it provides
the reader with an idea of how much time the participants spent being influenced by someone
other than their family members.
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Figure 4:
Time Spent with Friends per Week Among Survey Participants

Figure 4 displays the number of hours survey participants spent with their friends per
week. Of the 27 survey participants, 23 described spending 10-plus hours a week with friends
outside their home. The remaining five survey participants described spending 7 to 9 hours a
week with friends outside of their home. The findings regarding the amount of time the juvenile
offenders in this study spent with friends is similar compared to other nonjuvenile delinquency-
related studies, which found that the average teenager spends 56 minutes a day socializing with
friends away from school (Masten et al., 2012). These data compared with the national
socializing average among teenagers indicate that the act of socializing among these teenagers
0
5
10
15
20
25
1-3 hours 4-6 hours 7-9 hours 10 + hours
n
Time with friends
Survey Participants
59

was not problematic; however, neither the survey nor the study addressed the content of these
relationships.
Interview Findings
In speaking with the 12 interview participants about the amount of time they spent with
friends outside their home as juveniles, nine participants stated they spent 10 or more hours with
their friends. Featured in Figure 5, the distribution of time spent with friends among participants
was slightly higher in the interview group than the survey group.

Figure 5:
Hours Spent with Friends per Week Among Interview Participants

0
1
2
3
4
5
6
7
8
9
10
1-3 hours 4-6 hours 7-9 hours 10 + hours
n
Time with friends
Interview Participants
60

When asked about activities that the participants did with their friends, seven interview
participants described illegal activities such as smoking, graffiti, or stealing. Interview
Participant 1054 described the time spent with friends:
Growing up, I was friends with two kids in the neighborhood, and we pretty much did
everything together. I guess you could say we were close. My friend Robert even stayed
with us over Christmas when his mom disappeared for a bit. Anyways, we did literally
everything together. When one of us started smoking, then we all started smoking. When
one of us wanted to ditch school, then we all ditched school. And when one of us wanted
a pair of Jordans for Christmas, we all went to the mall and stole shoes.
As featured in Table 4, eight of the 12 study participants indicated that they perceived that their
friendships as a juvenile influenced their exposure to and participation in illegal activities.

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Table 4:
The Effect of Negative Friendships
Barrier type n Response examples
Negative peer
relationships
9 I would hang out at the park all day because I didn’t feel like going to
class. I met some older friends in the park, and I thought they were
cool. Just hanging out all day, smoking weed and talking. Eventually,
my friends and I started doing harder drugs at parties. I became
addicted to spice. I was eventually arrested for stealing to feed my
addiction. (Participant 1356)
When I was about 12 years old, my best friend’s mom and my mom
started letting us go to the mall for short trips by ourselves. On our first
trip to the mall, we went to a Tower Record store. While we were
there, I watched my friend slip a CD in her shopping bag. When we
walked out, I couldn’t believe that she got away with it. I started
stealing from stores when it was never a thought in my head before.
(Participant 1654)
As a biracial guy in a majority White school, I had trouble finding a
group to hang out with. I remember thinking everyone in class was to
straight edge or dorky or stuck up. I don’t think I cared who I hung out
with so long as I felt accepted. The friends I chose were not involved
in the most productive activities. (Participant 1922)
There weren’t a lot of kids on my block, but I was friends with one girl
growing up. I can’t remember her name now, but I remember we used
to hang out in this vacant house on the corner. We were just bored, so
we started drawing on the walls. We kept going back, and one day we
found a pack of matches, so we thought it would be cool to start a fire.
Our trash fire ended up burning down the garage. (Participant 1324)
Positive peer
relationship
3 I feel like I had a lot of friends that would get into trouble with me but
not too many that wouldn’t. My next-door neighbor had a nice normal
family in comparison to mine. Two parents, a brother, and a dog. I
used to hang out with him and do cool stuff like play in her pool or do
arts and crafts his mom set up. When I hung out with him, I wasn’t out
in the streets finding trouble. (Participant 1245)
My junior need of high school I played water polo. All the girls on the
team were great. They went to school every day, did their homework,
and went to practice. My problems didn’t start till my senior year when
I quit playing water polo and started hanging out with a different
crowed who like to skip school and smoke. (Participant 1786)

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As the examples in Table 4 demonstrate, participants indicated that their friends either
intentionally or unintentionally had an effect on their decisions to engage in illegal activities. The
examples listed in Table 4 show the importance of building positive friendships during a youth’s
juvenile years. The data retrieved during the interview portion of this study coincide with
connections made in Hirschi’s (1969) social control theory. Social control theory posits an
elevated level of influence that friends have on juveniles, raising concern about the risk of
children being in the presence of juveniles exhibiting delinquent behavior
Findings for Research Question Two
The following sections present the survey and interview findings for Research Question
2. The interview and survey results are categorized according to emergent key themes. The
findings from both the surveys and interviews have been grouped with the corresponding
research question.
The second research question was designed to explore how participants’ school and
recreational involvement influenced, if at all, their decision to engage in recidivism as juveniles.
Questions were purposely placed in the survey to uncover the depth of the participants’
involvement with quantifiable data on the number of hours spent participating in these tasks. The
interview questions pertaining to the participants’ involvement in school and recreational
activities were designed to gain a better understanding from a qualitative viewpoint of what
activities either did or did not influence their decisions. All 27 survey participants and 12
interview participants recalled their involvement in school activities as juveniles.
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Theme Three: The Perceived Positive Impact of Engagement in Social and Structured
Activities
When looking at the four elements in Hirschi’s (1969) social control theory—attachment,
commitment, belief, and involvement—organized sports or structured activities are viewed as
positive influences on all elements. Sports and structured activities enhance attachment to others
or the team as well as the game being played, thereby helping people refrain from delinquent
activities. The juveniles’ beliefs in social and societal norms are practiced as part of the game or
structured activity (Spruit et al., 2016). The benefits of participating in social and structured
activities have been shown to include fewer behavioral problems and increased educational
attainment (Mahoney et al., 2005). When reviewing the survey and interview data collectively,
the third theme to emerge from respondents was that engagement in social and structured school
activities made juveniles less likely to engage in delinquent activities. A common thread was
seen among juveniles when they engaged in a structured or social activity and the level of their
delinquent activity. A similar account was observed between participants engaging in crimes and
the level of structured or recreational activities in which they were involved.
Survey Results
The survey did not directly ask participants if they felt that their engagement or lack
thereof in school activities contributed to their subsequent delinquent activities. The survey did
address how involved the participants felt they were in school activities prior to incarceration in
a juvenile detention center. For this survey, school activities were defined as school-led clubs or
learning-enrichment opportunities such as tutoring. In response to the survey question asking
participants how engaged they were in school activities, no participants indicated that they spent
10 or more hours per week participating in school activities. Two survey participants indicated
64

that they participated in 7 to 9 hours of school activities per week. Eight survey participants
indicated that they participated in 4 to 6 hours of school activities per week. Seventeen survey
participants indicated that they participated in 1 to 3 hours of school activities per week.

Figure 6:
Hours of Weekly School Activities

0
2
4
6
8
10
12
14
16
18
1-3 hours 4-6 hours 7-9 hours 10 + hours
n
Hours of weekly activities
Survey Participants
65

As Figure 6 demonstrates, participants emphasized during the survey portion of the study
how little time they spent on average on school activities. The time that survey respondents spent
on afterschool activities is important to understand because lack of involvement in afterschool
activities represents a void of free unoccupied time that can be filled with either enriching or
negative activities. Data released by the FBI (2021) have indicated that criminal activity among
juveniles is at its peak during the afterschool hours of 2 to 6 p.m. It cannot be asserted from the
data collected in this study that the hours these participants engaged in delinquent activity as
juveniles was between 2 and 6 p.m. However, the data could be used to address the barrier types
in the interview findings in Table 5 to tailor activity offerings to future juveniles with the goal of
providing supportive, engaging, and enriching alternatives to keep juveniles from engaging in
delinquent behavior and improve their social development.
Interview Findings
In speaking with the 12 interview participants about a typical day in their lives and what
school activities they took part in, seven respondents indicated they did not participate in any
form of school activities on a weekly basis. Of note, participants who stated that they engaged in
1 to 3 hours of school activities a week went on to say that it was not intentional, but instead due
to a lack of program offerings that interested them. Five of the 12 interview participants who
engaged in 3 hours or less of school activities per week also mentioned a feeling of not
belonging or being an outsider in school. Table 5 features the respondents and their self-
described level of participation in school activities.

66

Table 5:
Effect of Social and Structured Activities
Barrier type n Response examples
Lack of engagement
in school
activities
7 I went to an inner-city school in L.A. We didn’t have school
activities. It was hard enough just to get us to attend school.
(Participant 1150)
All the extra school activities that took place like student
government happened after school. As a kid, to me, after school
was my time. I wasn’t spending another second on campus if I
didn’t have to. (Participant 1234)
There was no one to pick us up from school. All my siblings and I
had to walk home together. There was no option to leave one
person behind to play sports or any clubs. (Participant 1922)
My mom took me to a school outside my neighborhood. I did not fit
in at all. I couldn’t wait to get home after school just to get away
from that feeling of not fitting in. (Participant 1356)
I just didn’t have any friends that were in any extra activities. My
friends were like me … bored and hanging out at the park.
(Participant 1654)

The examples provided in Table 5 demonstrate the emerging theory of how not
participating in social or structured activities can affect a juvenile. Of note, the examples in
Table 5 illustrate the perceived impacts from the viewpoint of the interview participants of the
effect of social isolation or lack of involvement on their personal decisions to engage in juvenile
delinquency. It is important to note that five participants indicated that they participated in social
and structured activities and that their participation experience was positive. Participant 1324
described her experience:
I played water polo my junior year in high school, and I really enjoyed it. I wasn’t very
good at it, but I realize now it helped keep me focused and out of trouble. It also gave me
67

a group of people to fit in with because we had common interests. I had always struggled
with fitting in before that.
A person—specifically, a juvenile—develops a healthy mind, cooperation, honesty,
imagination, and self-confidence by participating in recreational and scholastic activities
(Nourollah et al., 2015). The examples provided in Table 5 and the experience of Participant
1324 demonstrate the viewpoint of the effect of forming a positive bond with school activities
and support the emerging theory that a positive bond and a safe environment can provide a safe
space to avoid negative influences (Yan, 2017).
Theme Four: Juveniles Engaging in School Truancy are at High Risk of Juvenile
Delinquency
Survey Results
During the survey, survey participants were asked in the form of a multiple-choice
question to rate their school experience. In rating their school experience, 23 of the participants
indicated that it was either negative or very negative. Three of the participants indicated that their
school experience was positive and one participant said their school experience was very
positive, as displayed in Figure 7.

68

Figure 7:
School Experience Ratings Among Survey Participants

0
2
4
6
8
10
12
14
16
18
Very Negative Negative Positive Very Positive
n
School experience rating
Survey Participants
69

Figure 7 displays the ratings that 27 survey participants gave their school experience.
Understanding and regularly checking in on a juvenile’s school experience is important because
school attendance can serve as protective factors against involvement in the juvenile justice
system. Having a positive school experience can have positive long-term effects such as lack of
engagement in illegal activities, whereas having a negative school experience may lead a student
to be more susceptible to truancy and delinquent activities. Identifying and monitoring students
reporting to have a negative experience in school could be an important method to determine
juveniles in need of help (Ohara et al., 2020).
Interview Findings
In speaking with the interview participants about their school experience, a link between
their family life and school involvement appeared to emerge. Nine of the 12 interview
participants who spoke of disinterest in school activities, truancy, or feeling a lack of belonging
in school also spoke of an unstable home environment. A comparison chart featuring the themes
relevant to social control theory and this study is provided in Table 6. The comparison chart in
Table 6 is valuable because it shows not only which interview participants were deeply affected
by which theme, but also how multiple factors can affect one juvenile.

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Table 6:
Total Effect of Social Control Theory Bonds on Participants
Participant Lack of school
involvement
Lack of
recreational
activity
participation
Negative influence
from family
members
Negative
influences from
friendships
1234 X X X X
1150 X X X
1786 X X X
1654 X X X
1356 X X X X
1922 X X X
1245 X
1153 X X
1099 X X X
1857 X
1324 X X
1533 X X X

Note. An X mark indicates that the interview participant indicated that they were affected by the
issue.

The purpose of Table 6 is to place all the information gathered during the data collection
phase of the study into a cumulative table that allows for a comparison view of the interview
participants’ responses. The data collected during the interview collection phase of the study
illustrate that a relationship between negative friendship and family influences did not emerge.
Participants who indicated that they had a negative relationship with friends did not indicate a
negative or positive relationship with their family all of the time.
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Summary
The data throughout Chapter 4 demonstrate that none of the interview participants had
only one bond or theme broken in their lives. In fact, eight of the 12 interview participants had
negative influences from at least four of the bonds mentioned by Hirschi’s social control theory.
Only two of the interview participants indicated that all four of the themes in their youth were
negative. During participant interviews, 68% of the study participants indicated during
interviews that at least three of the four bonds—family, friendship, school, or recreational
activities—were negative influences in their life. Data show that a juvenile’s bonds with friends,
family, school, and recreational activities did have an influence on their decision to commit
additional crimes following their release from a juvenile detention center. In fact, the data also
show that participants did not have broken bonds with only one of the four bonds in Hirschi’s
social control theory, but instead had broken bonds with at least three of the four bonds. Using
social control theory as its underpinning, this study and its quantitative and qualitative data
validate the research-driven perceived barriers indicating the influence of a juvenile’s
relationships with their family, friends, school, and recreational activities.

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Chapter Five: Recommendations
This chapter is divided into four sections: a discussion of the findings, suggested
recommendations for practice, limitations of the study, and a conclusion. The recommendations
section in this chapter is further divided into four subsections. Three of the subsections are
recommendations, and the final section is a suggested integrated implementation plan. The
chapter ends with a discussion of the limitations of the study and a conclusion highlighting
possible areas for future research.
Discussion of Findings
This section addresses recommendations regarding the factors leading to juvenile
recidivism and actions that can be taken to reduce recidivism. Many of the findings in the current
study are similar to those of prior research regarding the causes of juvenile recidivism and as
such, they add additional detail and support to the evidence base. Each theme from this study is
discussed individually. Some findings regarding the influences on juvenile recidivism are new or
have little to no prior related research. The findings identified in this study would benefit from
further research with a larger demographic or quantitative sample such as via a large-scale
survey.
Theme One: The Perceived Positive Impact of a Supportive and Stable Family
Environment
Throughout the literature, child and adolescent mistreatment is identified as a powerful
predictor of juvenile delinquency (Ryan & Testa, 2005). In the United States, neglect is the most
frequently investigated allegation by child protection agencies and the most common reason
cited for placing a juvenile in foster care. In the United States, approximately 78% of the
allegations reported to child protection agencies involve neglect (U.S. Department of Health and
73

Human Services, 2009). Neglect refers to the failure of a caregiver to provide age-appropriate
care (U.S. Department of Health and Human Services, 2007). Factors associated with neglect
cases among juveniles include poverty, inadequate parental supervision, and lack of parental
behavior knowledge (Hoeve et al., 2009). The present study found that juveniles who
experienced a lack of stability or a positive relationship with their parents self-reported higher
engagement in delinquent activities as a juvenile. These juveniles often experienced a
disconnection or did not have a positive relationship with their parents to guide them in their life
choices.
Each of the 12 interview volunteers expressed a familial relationship that they felt
negatively affected their behavior as a juvenile. Prior research has indicated that one-parent
homes, poor marriages, lack of parental control, ineffectual parental behavior, and very poor
parent–child relationships all influence juvenile delinquency (Aguilar Ruiz & Pereda, 2022).
Prior research has also identified that juveniles’ delinquent activities are likely to be a
consequence of parental behavior, lack of a positive home environment, or a lack of parental
supervision (Courtney et al., 2013). The participant interviews and prior research suggest that a
negative environment or ineffective parental figures could contribute to recidivism rates if
juveniles are allowed to engage and reengage in delinquent activities without fear of
disappointing their parents or experiencing discipline from their parents. Furthermore, any
educational or behavior milestones reached while incarcerated are potentially lost when juveniles
are released into the same negative environment in which they committed their delinquent
activities.
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Theme Two: Participants Reported Maintaining a Relationship with Delinquent Friends
Increased Their Propensity to Offend
The role of friends and peer influence is central to the issue of juvenile crime and
delinquency (Haynie et al., 2003). Compared to adults, adolescents attribute greater importance
to friends, spend more time socializing with friends, and are subject to a greater influence by
friends’ behaviors and attitudes (Giordano et al., 2003). Teen friendships can help juveniles gain
a feeling of acceptance and belonging. Positive friendships can support the development of
compassion, caring, empathy, and a sense of identity outside the family (Courtney et al., 2013).
One of the most consistent findings in the literature on juvenile recidivism is that not only can
negative friendships increase exposure to delinquent activities, but also spending more time with
delinquent friends increases a juvenile’s chance to become delinquent (Courtney et al., 2013;
Haynie et al., 2003). Furthermore, the perception of risk to a juvenile’s friends affects future
criminal activity more so than the perception of risk to the juvenile, which suggests a
psychological susceptibility to peer influence among juvenile offenders (Miller, 2010).
The present study found that the social influence of friends can affect a juvenile’s choice
to engage in or continue delinquent activities. During the survey portion of the study, participants
acknowledged that they spent a lot of time with their friends; 23 respondents said they spent 10
or more hours a week with their friends. These participants openly acknowledged how these
friendships influenced their choices to engage in illegal activities. Prior research has indicated
that daily interaction with delinquent or high-risk friends increases a juvenile’s risk of offending
(Gault-Sherman, 2012). Prior research also indicated that when a juvenile’s friends become
delinquent, the odds of the juvenile engaging in criminal activities more than double (Grunwald
75

et al., 2010). Similarly, when a juvenile’s friends stop being involved in crime, the odds of the
juvenile ceasing their criminal behavior increase 10 times (Grunwald et al., 2010).
Theme Three: The Perceived Positive Impact of Engagement in Social and Structured
Activities
Juveniles spend much of their day engaged in a variety of leisure activities (Mahoney &
Cairns, 1997). These activities can vary considerably in both content and form. Participation in
structured activities, activities with adult leaders, regular meetings, or skill-building activities has
been related to academic success, lower school dropout rates, and lower rates of delinquency
(McNeal, 1995). Alternatively, participation in unstructured or unsupervised peer activities has
been related to higher rates of delinquency and antisocial behavior (Mahoney, 2000).
The present study found that some juveniles who lacked involvement in school had an
increased risk of being exposed to delinquent activities. Although truancy or lack of engagement
in school activities may not seem relevant to the issue of juvenile recidivism, studies have found
that truancy is a behavioral problem often followed by progressively more serious behavior
problems, including an increased propensity toward violence (Moore & Morris, 2011). Research
indicated that participation in sports programs can decrease certain risk factors for juvenile
delinquency and recidivism (Mulder et al., 2010). The creation of afterschool programs such as
sports has the potential to occupy juveniles during these peak crime hours and protect them from
other risky behavior such as smoking, alcohol, or drug use (Tannis, 2017).
Theme Four: Juveniles Engaging in School Truancy are at High Risk of Juvenile
Delinquency
Truancy or irregular school attendance in juveniles is normally a result of multiple factors
involving the juvenile, their family, social influences, and school (Mallett, 2015). Truancy is a
76

problem for many juveniles, but it disproportionately affects vulnerable and at-risk youth
(Seeley, 2008). The problem of juveniles engaging in truancy is not new; truancy is a
longstanding problem that has negative consequences for individuals, families, schools,
communities, and society (Dahl, 2016). The present study found that socioeconomic stability can
influence juveniles who chose to engage in and continue delinquent activities. Interview
participant data combined with prior research studies indicate that juveniles who engage in
truancy are at an increased risk of developing additional difficulties such as poor performance in
school, delinquency, school dropout, and substance abuse problems (Chang & Romero, 2008).
Recommendations for Practice
Three recommendations have been identified that may decrease the number of juveniles
repeatedly being cycled through the juvenile detention system. The study’s findings indicate that
people’s relationships, commitments, values, and norms have the ability to influence an
individual’s decisions. The study’s findings are reinforced by previous research confirming
Hirschi’s (1969) social control theory and the effect of people’s relationships, commitments,
values, and norms on an individual’s proclivity to participate in delinquent acts. Using Kotter’s
(2009) 8-step change model, the recommendations encourage the implementation of an
overseeing coalition of leaders to ensure a successful application of the following juvenile
delinquency aversion programs: (a) multisystem therapy to improve familial relationships, (b)
investments in cognitive behavior therapy to encourage impulse control and reasoning, and (c)
encourage a school delinquency intervention program to encourage greater school attendance.
Following the recommendations, the researcher presents an integrated implementation and
evaluation plan using Kotter’s 8-step change model.
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These recommendations are made with the intent that leaders from the juvenile detention,
education, and mental health system will come together and create a guiding coalition to guide
each program to work together on a holistic level to combat juvenile recidivism. To support the
reduction in juvenile recidivism, Kotter’s 8-step change model was used create a guide to
implement change in the juvenile justice system that supports growth in healthy familial ties,
supportive friendships, active participation in school, and other structured activities as methods
to reduce juvenile delinquency and recidivism (Yan, 2017).
Recommendation One: Encourage Multisystemic Therapy
The study’s findings demonstrate that nine of the 12 participants indicated that they lived
in an unstable home environment. When asked about their exposure to illegal or delinquent
activities, seven of the 12 interview participants indicated that they participated in illegal
activities after being introduced or exposed to them by a family member. A juvenile’s
relationship with their parents or extended family members can either represent an obstacle or an
advantage to diverting juveniles away from the path of juvenile recidivism. Parent advocates and
staff members of mental health counseling and parenting centers can play an important role in
promoting family involvement in the juvenile justice system (Cavanagh & Cauffman, 2015).
Justice system personnel can make connections with advocates by referring families (Calhoun et
al., 2001). Parent advocates can help parents provide the court with documents indicating any
mitigating factors such as mental health challenges (Frailing, 2010). By making connections with
parent advocate centers, the juvenile justice system can also gain assistance for parents during
the probation period or with school issues (Dolittle & Aalsma, 2012).
Multisystemic therapy is a family- and community-based intervention that regards family
involvement as fundamental to influencing and improving the conduct of youth with serious
78

behavioral problems (Behnken et al., 2017). It is an intensive and focused program that works
with families and youth in their natural settings; these include school, peers, and other networks
in which the youth is involved. By working in a youth’s natural settings, efforts to alter
problematic behaviors and reinforce positive behaviors can be achieved (McReynolds et al.,
2010). The therapy staff works with parents, caregivers, or guardians so that they can acquire
more effective parenting skills that will enable their child to respond more effectively and in
socially appropriate ways (McNiel & Binder, 2007). The staff works simultaneously with youth
to understand and redirect problematic intersections involving family, school staff members, and
peers and help the youth develop more appropriate and effective responses.
The multisystemic therapy portion of this program should be individually designed
according to the needs of each teen and their family, incorporating family therapy, cognitive
behavioral therapy, and parent training as necessary. The mental health therapists and counselors
involved in this program should be part of a larger guiding coalition that provides school
counseling, recreational activity opportunities, and aggression therapy opportunities. By using
this form of therapy as part of a larger multifaceted approach to lowering juvenile recidivism,
multiple negative influences can be identified and removed or corrected before juveniles advance
down the path toward continued delinquent and criminal behavior (McReynolds et al., 2010).
Recommendation Two: Invest in Cognitive Behavioral Therapy and Multimodal Programs
The study’s findings demonstrate that nine of the 12 interview participants indicated that
they spent 10 or more hours with their friends per week. Six of the 12 interview participants
indicated that they only participated in illegal activities after being introduced to them by a
friend. It is not the goal of any parent or guardian to choose a juvenile’s friends or influence, but
it is the goal of all interested parties to empower a juvenile with the skills to identify the positive
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influences in their life. Cognitive therapy is recommended to empower juveniles with the ability
to identify the positive influences in their lives and give them the tools to make positive life
choices. Cognitive behavioral therapy for juveniles is designed to correct dysfunctional thinking
and behaviors associated with delinquency, crime, and truancy (McNiel & Binder, 2010).
Cognitive behavioral therapy is based on the premise that how juvenile think about a
circumstance explicitly shapes their decisions and behavior (Narvey et al., 2020). In other words,
adverse thoughts lead to adverse behavior, whereas a positive mentality leads to positive
behavior. The six most common behavioral interventions are cognitive restructuring or
reframing, guided discovery, exposure therapy, journaling, activity scheduling, and behavior
activation (Pullmann et al., 2006). Cognitive behavioral therapy has been found to reduce
recidivism rates in some cities by as much as 44% (Ramirez et al., 2015). It has not only been
used as a recidivism deterrent but also has been found to be effective in helping victims
understand and process the crimes that happened to them (Pullmann et al., 2006). Juveniles who
receive this therapy should receive it as part of a larger multimethod approach to address any
issue of aggressive behavior or attitudes. Juveniles receiving this treatment should have their
success or progress managed by a guiding coalition that can recommend any additional therapy
needed.
Recommendation Three: School Engagement Programs
The study’s findings demonstrated that 23 of 27 survey participants rated their school
experience as negative and that 17 of 27 participants spent less than 3 hours on school activities
per week. The interview portion of the study found that five of the 12 interview participants who
engaged in 3 hours or less of school activities per week mentioned a feeling of not belonging or
being an outsider in school. Students become disengaged from school for a variety of reasons,
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including feeling of academic failure, behavioral problems, or life issues (Hjalmarsson et al.,
2015). This disengagement in school is particularly strong in poor urban and rural communities
(Dhara, 2020). Students who are academically disengaged do not necessarily drop out of school,
but they do find other areas to focus their attention, such as substance abuse, gang activity, or
other delinquent activities such as vandalism (Tannis, 2017). Based on the findings of this study
and previous research, it is recommended that a school engagement program be developed with
the goal of increasing parental involvement and providing mental health counseling, integrated
classroom arts, and athletic programs as part of school activities. Juveniles and their families
should participate in the program as part of a large-scale movement to increase engagement with
both the students and their families with the goal of helping juveniles form positive relationships
with their family and peers and an increased interest in school.
Integrated Recommendations
One of the most difficult issues for any organization, no matter the size, is implementing
and adapting to change. To address the problem of juvenile recidivism on a large scale in Los
Angeles County, the researcher clearly recommends the development of a coalition with
programs targeted at reducing juvenile recidivism based on successful implementation of this
approach in a county of a similar size. One such model can be found in Santa Clara County, in
Northern California, which has created a governing body that monitors the success and progress
of programs targeted at reducing juvenile recidivism. Santa Clara County has served as a road
map for other counties seeking to make changes to lower the rate of juvenile recidivism. The
primary recommendation based on this study is to take the intervention programs utilized to
reduce juvenile recidivism in Santa Clara County and mold them to the needs of juveniles in Los
Angeles County. Santa Clara County provides oversight for five community programs with the
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intent of providing aid to children younger than 18. The intervention programs available in the
Santa Clara County community are titled the Prevention and Early Intervention Diversion
Program, Victim-Offender Mediation Program, District Attorney Truancy Abatement, Fresh
Lifelines for Youth, and Project YEA. Each program is designed to improve a juvenile’s bond
with their beliefs, community, society, school, and friends (Community Crime Prevention
Associates, 2007).
The Prevention and Early Intervention Diversion Program is designed to keep low-level
juvenile offenders out of the juvenile justice system. Juveniles have the opportunity to learn from
their mistakes and perform community service as repayment for their illegal activities
(Community Crime Prevention Associates, 2007). The Victim-Offender Mediation Program
brings together juveniles and victims of their crimes with the intent that the juveniles
acknowledge the effect of their crimes on the victims. The mediation program also offers family
mediation and parent–teen conferences to assist with family relationships. In the District
Attorney Truancy Abatement program, school district employees identify truant children and set
up meetings with their parents. The goal is to identify and address truant students when they first
start skipping school, so that it doesn’t become a habit. Fresh Lifelines for Youth is a program
available to juveniles who have spent time in a juvenile detention center. The Fresh Lifelines
project provides one-on-one mentoring and career advice dedicated to breaking the cycle of
violence, crime, and incarceration of teens (Community Crime Prevention Associates, 2007).
Finally, Project YEA is designed to identify juveniles with learning abilities and get them the
help needed to be successful. Under Project YEA, probation officers and social workers are
trained to identify and help children who should be tested for a learning disability. A large part of
Project YEA involves working with parents and teaching them how to ask for their child to be
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tested and to access special needs programs in the event their child is diagnosed with a learning
disability (MacKenzie, 2006). Creating and implementing these types of programs in Los
Angeles County would likely lead to an improvement in the bonds a juvenile has with their
family, friends, school, and recreational involvement—all bonds identified in Hirschi’s (1969)
social control theory as having a direct effect on a juvenile’s decision to engage and reengage in
delinquent activity.
People are inherently resistant to change, and resistance often comes from multiple
sources (Kotter & Schlesinger, 2008). Kotter and Schlesinger (2008) suggested four reasons: a
desire not to lose something of value, a misunderstanding of the change and its implications, a
belief that the change does not make sense for the organization, and a low tolerance for change.
Kotter (1995) argued that the basic goal of organizational change is “to make fundamental
changes in how business is conducted to help cope with a new, more challenging market
environment” (p. TK). Governing bodies or coalitions in Santa Clara County that are tackling the
challenging problem of juvenile recidivism understand that change isn’t simply needed in one
organization. In fact, for change to be successful, it must occur on a holistic level with multiple
organizations.
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When seeking progressive change and lowering of juvenile recidivism, one roadblock is a low
tolerance for change due to a preconceived “this is how we’ve always done things” attitude.
Kotter’s change model (Figure 8) can be used to address the reluctance to change by confirming
the change process and the importance of creating change. Kotter’s change model involves eight
steps: establishing a sense of urgency, creating a guiding coalition, developing a vision and
strategy, communicating the change vision, empowering broad-based action, generating short-
term wins, consolidating gains to produce more change, and anchoring the change in the
organizational culture (Kotter, 1995). The eight steps outlined in Kotter’s change model are
explained in Figure 8.

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Figure 8:
Kotter’s 8-Step Change Model
In this study, the proposed solutions can be integrated into a successful and
comprehensive change management initiative to reduce juvenile recidivism. The suggested
changes involve the participation of multiple organizations including schools, juvenile mental
health providers, and the juvenile court system. Implementing the recommendations suggested in
this study would require the creation of a governing body or nonprofit organization that can act
as an overseeing board to communicate with the leaders of each organization and ensure the
desired changes are happening. The leadership in each organization would be required to buy
into a large-scale change initiative to ensure the success of Kotter’s 8-step change model. If any
leaders in their independent organizations do not buy into the change initiative for their
organization, then the governing board would take action and elect new leadership in their place.
It is recognized that each institution is unique and when implementing Kotter’s 8-step change
model, there may be variances in the time spent between each step to successfully implement all
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eight steps. There are parallels present in all organizations, including the struggle to provide
services to an entire group of juveniles but still on an individualized level and the negative
connotation in the public’s mind toward juveniles with a history of delinquency. Kotter’s change
model has been applied in this study as a model to structure a change program effort and to
institute major institutional changes in the juvenile detention and rehabilitation system. In Table
7, the organizational variables and changes are outlined and applied to the problem of practice.

Table 7:
Kotter’s 8-Step Change Model Applied to the Problem of Juvenile Recidivism
Step Strategies to drive change Implementation strategies
Step 1: Create
urgency
Identify and highlight potential
threats and the repercussions
which might crop up in the future.
Examine the opportunities which
can be tapped through effective
interventions.
Initiate honest dialogues and
discussions to make people think
over the prevalent issues and give
convincing reasons to them.
Request the involvement and
support of the industry people,
key stakeholders, and customers
on the issue of change.
Inform stakeholders of the juvenile
recidivism statistics and the
success of similar programs in
other counties.
Inform stakeholders why the
problem of juvenile recidivism
needs to be addressed
Step 2: Form a
powerful
coalition
Identify the effective change leaders
within the organization and also
the key stakeholders. Request
their involvement and
commitment towards the entire
process.
Form a powerful change coalition
that would be working as a team.
Form a coalition of mental health
professionals, counselors, school
principals, and juvenile detention
centers. This coalition will
develop and review new program
opportunities, as well as the
success of current programs with
the intent of decreasing the use of
in-house detention sentences, and
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Step Strategies to drive change Implementation strategies
This coalition would be
responsible for
Identify the weak areas in the
coalition teams and ensure that the
team involves many influential
people from various departments
and different levels in the
company.
increasing the use of mental
health services, behavioral
therapy, and educational
opportunities.
Step 3: Create a
vision for
change
Determine the core values, define
the ultimate vision and the
strategies for developing change
in the organization.
Ensure that the change leaders can
describe the vision effectively and
in a manner that employees can
easily understand and follow.
Task the newly formed coalition
with developing a new vision
statement highlighting the
importance of alternatives to
incarceration for juveniles.
The coalition will communicate
with each individual program and
ensure they understand not only
their individual goals but the
goals of the coalition as a whole.
Ensure that program leaders can
effectively describe the urgency
and importance of solving the
problem of juvenile recidivism.
Step 4:
Communicate
vision
Communicate the change in the
vision powerfully and
convincingly. Connect the vision
with all the crucial aspects like
performance reviews, training,
etc.
Handle the concerns and issues of
employees with honesty.
The coalition will develop
presentations to be shared to
employees and the public. The
presentation will communicate
the importance of tackling the
problem of juvenile recidivism
through multiple channels.
The coalition will create a platform
that solicits anonymous feedback
from staff in all programs
Individual program reviews will be
developed by the coalition. The
goal will be to communicate their
successes and failures in reaching
key milestones on a quarterly
basis.
Step 5: Remove
obstacles
Ensure that the organizational
processes and structure are in
The coalition will review the
effectiveness of any current
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Step Strategies to drive change Implementation strategies
place and aligned with the overall
organizational vision.
Continuously check for barriers or
people who are resisting change.
Implement proactive actions to
remove the obstacles involved in
the process of change.
Reward employees for endorsing
change and supporting the
process.
programs aimed at reducing
recidivism on a quarterly basis.
Any individual program leaders
who are not “buying in” or
resisting change will be removed
and new leadership put into place.
Step 6: Create
short-term wins
Create many short-term targets that
are achievable, less expensive,
and have lesser possibilities of
failure.
Reward the contributions of people
who are involved in meeting the
targets.
During quarterly reviews with each
program leader the guiding
coalition will work to establish
short-term goals such as an;
increase in school counselor visits
and an increase in mental health
appointments.
Step 7: Build on
change
Achieve continuous improvement
by analyzing success stories
individually and improving from
those experiences.
The guiding coalition will make
monthly observation visits to the
individual programs and gather
data for improvement from their
visits.
Using data gathered during
observations and quarterly
reviews with program leaders, the
coalition will develop annual
goals to continue reducing
juvenile recidivism.
Step 8: Anchor
changes in
culture
Discuss the success stories related to
change initiatives.
Ensure that the change becomes an
integral part of your
organizational culture and is
visible in every organizational
aspect.
Ensure that existing companies and
new leaders continue to extend
their support towards change.
The governing coalition will attend
conventions and conferences to
speak to mental health
professionals, schools, and
recreational programs about the
importance of lowering juvenile
recidivism with the goal of
expanding their reach outside of
LA County.
The governing coalition will work
to create plans that highlight a
continued expansion in the
88

Step Strategies to drive change Implementation strategies
availability of mental and family
health professionals to juveniles
before they are incarcerated.

The issue of juvenile recidivism is a complex problem facing today’s youth. However,
through Hirschi’s (1969) social control theory, schools, detention centers, probation officers, and
mental health professionals can be prepared and observant for any youth exhibiting a decline in
their relationships with family, friends, school, or recreational activities. The implementation
strategies outlined in Kotter’s 8-step change model are intended to address these triggers for
recidivism by offering opportunities for juveniles to seek counseling, mental health assistance, or
activities to occupy their time. This implementation plan to reduce juvenile recidivism cannot be
successful without all key stakeholders, such as mental health providers, juvenile detention
centers, the juvenile probation department, and school counselors, agreeing to provide the
support and manpower necessary to provide in-person interviews and therapy sessions. The goal
of each stakeholder should be to create a safe circle of people who juveniles feel they can
confide in and come to for help.
School counselors and juvenile probation officers will find themselves taking the role of
gatekeeper for juveniles who have served time in a juvenile detention center. It should be the
goal of the probation officers and the school counselors to work together and identify students
struggling with avoiding delinquent activity. Juvenile probation officers should visit weekly with
juveniles who have spent time in a detention center as part of their release process. If a probation
officer, school counselor, or teacher reports a student to be detached, struggling in class, or
89

skipping class, then a referral should be made to both a mental health provider for further mental
health counseling and a school counselor to identify any assistance the school can provide. The
goal in bringing juveniles with a history of delinquency to speak with school counselors and
mental health professionals is to identify a problem before it exists. If a juvenile reports to a
counselor during a meeting that they are having problems at home, then a referral can be made
for further family therapy. If a juvenile mentions to their school counselor that they are being
pressured by friends to take part in illegal activities, then strategies can be discussed to help
enable the juvenile to disengage from their friends and find healthier outlets for their free time. It
is only by working together in the juvenile justice and school systems that the problem of
juvenile recidivism can be tackled.
Limitations and Delimitations
According to Creswell and Creswell (2014), limitations are beyond the researcher’s
control. On the opposite end of the spectrum, according to Creswell and Creswell (2014),
delimitations include the path or choices the researcher makes to confine the scope of the study.
Limitations and delimitations are part of the research process, and outlining them ensures a better
understanding of the study context.
Limitations
The most prominent limitation of this study is the small sample size. The sample size was
limited due to the specific nature of both the research questions and the target population.
Participants were required to be adults older than 18 and convicted of a crime as a juvenile. The
researcher chose to survey adults because of the potential ethical concerns and difficulties related
to studying a juvenile population. To incorporate juveniles into this study, the researcher would
have needed special permission and consent from the parents of the juveniles. Given the
90

timeframe for this study, it would not have been a realistic method for conducting the surveys
and interviews.
In conjunction with the small sample size, the researcher found it difficult to recruit
participants without the ability to provide incentives. The study ultimately involved 27 survey
participants and 12 interview participants. The respondents’ personal information was not
collected unless they indicated their interest in participating in the interview portion of the study.
There was no way for the researcher to contact survey participants and inquire about their
responses.
Another limitation to the study regarding the recruitment method is the inability of the
researcher to know how truthful the responses were because participation was anonymous. It is
possible that participants answered in a way that put them in a more favorable light or that
responses were not well thought out due to the length of the survey. According to Merriam-
Webster (n.d.), the idiom of 20/20 hindsight references “the full knowledge and complete
understanding that one has about an event only after it has happened.” It is possible that when
these adults reviewed events from their juvenile years, they did so with the wisdom that comes
with aging, making it easier to diagnose relevant influences in their lives.
Delimitations
The researcher chose not to observe participants while they completed the survey.
Observation during the interviews was conducted; however, there could be no correlation
between names and survey or interview responses because both the survey and interviews were
anonymous. This study was also limited to adults who had committed crimes as a juvenile. The
study did not determine what types of crimes the participants committed as juveniles or if they
felt guilty or innocent of the charges.
91

Recommendations for Future Research
Future research with a larger study population is recommended to test and support the
findings of this study, including research findings that were inconclusive or nonexistent.
Recommendations for future research include exploring:
• At what age juveniles are most susceptible to external influences
• Recidivism rates among different crimes
• Current intervention programs in school and detention centers
• Equity issues related to resource and intervention availability
• The impact of juvenile incarceration on adulthood
• Multigenerational effects of juvenile recidivism on a family
Conclusion
Using a mixed-methods approach, this study examined the effect of a juvenile’s bonds
with society, family, recreational activities, and school on their decisions to engage in juvenile
crimes and additional crimes following their release from a detention center. The study also
focused on why juveniles chose to further engage in crime following their release to juvenile
probation officers, so that officers may better identify what types of programs a newly released
juvenile may need. Regarding why juveniles chose to engage in criminal activity, this study
found that external influences from family or friends could have either direct or indirect effects.
The study also found that a juvenile’s experience in school and recreational activities can
indicate their vulnerability to reoffending. Creating programs that educate juveniles on the
consequences of their choices, influences in their lives, and positive ways to occupy their time is
a critical step to giving juveniles the power to control the outcome of their future.

92

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102

Appendix A: Survey Protocol
Question Open or
closed
Level of
measurement
Response
options
Research
question
addressed
Concept
measured
1. Are you at
least 18
years of age?

2. What do you
identify as
your race
and
ethnicity?
Closed Nominal American Indian
or Alaska
Native,
African
American,
Hispanic or
Latino, Asian
or Pacific
Islander,
Caucasian,
prefer not to
say, other
Baseline
question
2. How do you
describe your
gender?
Closed Nominal Male (including
transgender
men), female
(including
transgender
women),
gender variant
or non-
conforming,
prefer not to
say
Baseline
question
3.What was the
size of your
household
growing up?
**Please
include
everyone
who lived in
your
Closed Interval 1–3, 4–6, 7–9,
10 or more
RQ 1 Social
control
theory
103

Question Open or
closed
Level of
measurement
Response
options
Research
question
addressed
Concept
measured
household on
a full-time
basis.
4. How do you
rate your
experience in
public or
private
school
(particularly
Grades 6-12)
Closed Ordinal Very positive,
positive,
neutral,
negative, very
negative
RQ 2 Social
control
theory
5. How
involved
were you in
school
activities
during
Grades 6-12?
Closed Ordinal Very involved,
somewhat
involved,
slightly
involved, not
involved
RQ 2 Social
control
theory
6. While in
school
(particularly
Grades 6-
12), did you
take part in
any
recreational
sports?
Closed Ordinal Yes, or no RQ 2 Social
control
theory
7. If you
answered yes
to Question
#6, what
sports did
you
participate
in?
Open Open ended Open response RQ 2 Social
control
theory
104

Question Open or
closed
Level of
measurement
Response
options
Research
question
addressed
Concept
measured
8. On average,
how many
hours a week
did you
spend with
friends
outside your
home?
Closed Interval 1–3, 4–6, 7–9,
10 or more
RQ 1 Social
control
theory
9. Have you
been
convicted of
a crime as a
juvenile?
Closed Ordinal Yes, or no RQ 1–2 Baseline
qualifier
for study
10. How do
you rate your
experience
with the
juvenile
detention
center you
visited?
Closed Ordinal Positive, neutral,
negative
RQ 1–2 Social
control
theory
11. While in
the juvenile
detention
center, how
many hours
per week did
you
participate in
recreational
activities?
Closed Interval 1–3, 4–6, 7–9,
10 or more
RQ 2 Social
control
theory
12. How
helpful
would you
rate the
outreach
programs or
Closed Ordinal Helpful, neutral,
not helpful
RQ 1–2 Social
control
theory
105

Question Open or
closed
Level of
measurement
Response
options
Research
question
addressed
Concept
measured
services
available at
the juvenile
detention
center?
13. Did you
continue
using any of
the outreach
programs
once
released?
Closed Ordinal Yes, no RQ 1–2 Social
control
theory
14. If you
answered yes
to Question
#13, what
services did
you continue
to use once
released?
Open Open ended Open response RQ 1–2 Social
control
theory
15. Tell me
more about
what
happened
after you
were
released
from juvenile
detention?
Did you
return to
school?
Enter the
workforce?
Open Open ended Open response RQ 1–2 Social
control
theory
16. As an adult
looking
back, what
Open Open ended Open response RQ 3 Social
control
theory
106

Question Open or
closed
Level of
measurement
Response
options
Research
question
addressed
Concept
measured
factors do
you believe
led you
toward
committing
additional
crimes?
17. Would you
be willing to
participate in
an interview
discussing
society and
its influences
on juvenile
recidivism?
If yes, please
leave your
contact
information
below.
Open Open ended Open response RQ 1 Social
control
theory

107

Appendix B: Interview Protocol
Interview
questions
Potential
probing
questions
Research
question
addressed
Concept
addressed
Question type
1. Tell me what
you do for
work.
How did you
end up on that
career path?
Or in that line
of work?
RQ 1 Social control
theory
Background
2. Tell me about
what you like
to do in your
free time.
What are your
hobbies?
What does
your perfect
day look like?
RQ 2 Social control
theory
Background
3. Tell me about
your family
life growing
up.
a. Tell me about
your family
structure.
b. How did you
fit in the
family?
c. What is your
favorite thing
to do with
your family?
RQ 1 Social control
theory
Background
4. Tell me about
your closest
childhood
friends.
a. How much
influence did
your friends
have on you
and your
decision
making?
b. Did you hang
out in a big
group?
c. What
happened to
your group of
friends?
RQ 1 Social control
theory
Background
108

Interview
questions
Potential
probing
questions
Research
question
addressed
Concept
addressed
Question type
5. Describe your
school
involvement as
a teenager.
a. How do you
feel your
school
involvement
has
influenced
your decision
making?
RQ 2 Social control
theory
Feelings
6. What did you
enjoy or
dislike about
school as a
teenager?
a. Did you feel
as if you were
part of the
“in” crowd or
an outsider in
school?
RQ 2 Social control
theory
Feelings
7. Walk me
through a
normal day of
school.
a. What was
your favorite
part of the
day?
b. What would
you do after
school?
RQ 2 Social control
theory
Feelings
8. Tell me more
about the
crimes you
were convicted
of as a juvenile
(under 18
years of age).
a. How old were
you at this
time?
Background Social control
theory
Background
9. Looking back,
what do you
believe led you
to reengaging
in illegal
activities as a
juvenile.
a. What is your
perception of
their teenage
years?
b. Who or what
do you feel
led to you
breaking the
law?
RQ 3 Social control
theory
Feelings
109

Interview
questions
Potential
probing
questions
Research
question
addressed
Concept
addressed
Question type
10. Walk me
through your
experience at
the juvenile
detention
center you
were sent to.
a. How much
time did you
spend there?
b. How do you
feel it affected
you?
RQ 3 Social control
theory
Feelings
11. Tell me how
you occupied
your time
while you
were in the
juvenile
detention
center.
a. What type of
outreach
programs or
recreational
activities
were offered?
b. What do you
wish had been
offered?
RQ 3 Social control
theory
Background
12. Tell me more
about the type
of recreational
activities that
you took part
in while
staying at the
juvenile
detention
center.
b. What other
recreational
activities have
you
participated
in?
RQ 2 Social control
theory
Sensory
13. Did you
make any new
friends while
in the juvenile
detention
center.
a. Did you
maintain
these
friendships
once
released?
b. Do you feel
like these
friendships
were a
positive or
negative
RQ 1 Social control
theory
Background
110

Interview
questions
Potential
probing
questions
Research
question
addressed
Concept
addressed
Question type
influence in
your life?
14. Tell me more
about what
happened after
you were
released.
a. Did you
repeat the
same crimes?
b. Did you
utilize the
knowledge
gained from
the programs
you
completed
while in the
detention
center?
c. Have you
been
convicted
since?
RQ 3 Social control
theory
Feelings and
knowledge

Abstract (if available)

Abstract The high levels of juvenile recidivism in Los Angeles County are a problem for communities and taxpayers alike. The juvenile justice system has used incarceration as a means of addressing and reducing the high level of recidivism rates among juvenile offenders. This mixed-methods study sought to gain an in-depth understanding from adults of the level of influence their bonds with society, family, recreational activities, and school had on their decisions to engage in juvenile crimes and additional crimes following their release from a juvenile detention center. Social control theory was used as the theoretical foundation for this research. The study participants of focus were individuals aged 18 or older who reported having established records as juvenile offenders. Data were collected via interviews and document analysis. The results and findings demonstrated that the most significant barriers to reducing juvenile recidivism were the effects of the bonds juveniles formed with their friends, family, society, and the school system. This study provides recommendations developed using Kotter’s 8-step change model (Kotter, 1995). The recommendations identified are designed to support developing and implementing a coalition of school providers, mental health professionals, and juvenile probation officers that reduces recidivism among juveniles.

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Asset Metadata

Creator Bird, Sarah Elizabeth (author)

Core Title A field study of juvenile recidivism in Los Angeles

School Rossier School of Education

Degree Doctor of Education

Degree Program Organizational Change and Leadership (On Line)

Degree Conferral Date 2022-05

Publication Date 04/28/2022

Defense Date 04/28/2022

Publisher University of Southern California (original), University of Southern California. Libraries (digital)

Tag behavior,delinquent behavior,juvenile,juvenile corrections,juvenile court,juvenile delinquent,juvenile incarceration,juvenile justice,OAI-PMH Harvest,probation,recidivism

Format application/pdf (imt)

Language English

Contributor Electronically uploaded by the author (provenance)

Advisor Ferrario, Kimberly (committee chair), Phillips, Jennifer (committee member), Seli, Helena (committee member)

Creator Email hellokittygirl87@msn.com

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Rights Bird, Sarah Elizabeth

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