Cognitive and Academic Functioning of Juvenile Detainees: Implications for Correctional Populations and Public Health

• NCJ Number: 248865
• Author(s): Amy E. Lansing; Jason J. Washburn; Karen M. Abram; Ursula C. Thomas; Leah J. Welty; Linda A. Teplin
• Date Published: January 2014
• Length: 13 pages
• Grant Number(s): 2008-JF-FX-0068; 2005-JL-FX-0288; 99-JE-FX-1001
• Sponsoring Agency: Office of Juvenile Justice and Delinquency Prevention (OJJDP)
• Publication Format: Article; Document (Online)
• Publication Type: Research (Applied/Empirical); Report (Study/Research); Report (Grant Sponsored)
• Language: English
• Country: United States of America

Annotation

Cognitive functioning affects health. This study assessed cognitive functioning among participants in the Northwestern Juvenile Project, a stratified random sample of 1,829 newly detained juveniles (10 to 18 years old) from Cook County, Illinois.

Abstract

The study examined receptive vocabulary, oral reading, arithmetic computation skills, and general intellectual abilities. The sample exhibited impaired overall intellectual functioning and deficits in all areas. Males performed more poorly than females. More than three quarters of males showed below average overall intellectual functioning, and 9 in 10 had below average receptive vocabulary skills. Hispanic and African-American males performed more poorly than non-Hispanic White males. The multiple systems that serve delinquent youthcorrectional, health, legal, and rehabilitativemust collaborate to tailor needed services to the cognitive level of youth in the juvenile justice system. (Publisher abstract)