NCJ Number
238860
Journal
Trends & Issues in Crime and Criminal Justice Issue: 435 Dated: April 2012 Pages: 1-6
Date Published
April 2012
Length
6 pages
Annotation
This paper from the Australian Institute of Criminology examines a new field of study on the oral language competency skills of high-risk adolescents in Australia.
Abstract
This paper discusses an emerging field of study that examines the oral language competency skills of juvenile offenders. Oral language competence refers to a set of listening and talking skills that are usually present in every individual from birth onwards. The successful development of these skills early in life is seen as a factor in reducing the risk an adolescent's involvement in delinquent behavior. Competent communication skills are seen as playing an important role in social cognition and social inferencing both of which impact social challenges faced in everyday life, as well as behavior that assists in establishing and maintaining interpersonal relationships of varying degrees and complexity, and the ability to derive intended meaning from incomplete or contradictory verbal/non-verbal information. The paper examines recent research in this field that highlights the finding that young people involved with the criminal justice system are more likely to have previously undetected oral language deficits. These language deficits raise important questions on how the criminal justice system engages young offenders in forensic interviews, whether as suspects, witnesses, or victims, and whether juvenile delinquency intervention and prevention programs that require a high degree of verbal interaction can be successful when working with these young offenders. Implications for working with young offenders with oral language deficits are discussed. References