NCJ Number
100637
Journal
Social Forces Volume: 63 Issue: 2 Dated: (December 1984) Pages: 433-444
Date Published
1984
Length
12 pages
Annotation
This birth cohort study, focusing on the extent to which dispositions for prior offenses influence current dispositions, indicates the importance of including process variables in explanations of the type and severity of juvenile justice dispositions.
Abstract
Data were collected on the birth cohort of all boys born in 1945 who lived in Philadelphia from at least their 10th to 18th birthdays (Wolfgang et al.). The cohort contained 9,945 boys; 3,475 were official delinquents. The pattern of any relationship between prior and current dispositions was determined. One model used examined seriousness of the current offense, number of prior arrests, and prior disposition against current disposition. Another model examined race, number of prior arrests, and prior dispositions against current dispositions. Results reveal that prior dispositions exerted significant impact on current offenses even when appropriate variables are controlled. Current dispositions tended to repeat prior dispositions rather than escalate in severity. Tabular data, 7 notes, and 14 references.