Chapter 13: Delinquency prevention, assessment, and early intervention

Abstract

Chapter 13 begins by offering an inventory of the key concepts and contexts of delinquency that have been advanced in theory and research. (These were described in detail in Chapters 6 through 12.) Using this knowledge as a foundation, we describe contemporary efforts of delinquency prevention and early intervention. Delinquency prevention programs represent a proactive approach to juvenile crime, attempting to keep delinquency from occurring. Early intervention seeks to prevent future delinquency once antisocial behavior has occurred. Early intervention is sometimes based on mental health assessment that systematically evaluates and classifies antisocial behaviors and mental health problems. Risk/need assessment is a tool used to identify the needs of the youth and to determine the likelihood of reoffending. Delinquency prevention and early intervention efforts are increasingly driven by evaluation research that tries to establish whether particular strategies, methods, and programs effectively reduce the likelihood of delinquent offending, an approach called evidence-based practice. We point to several model program guides, widely used in the field, that identify delinquency prevention and intervention programs of demonstrated effectiveness.

Key Terms

• causal analysis
• problem behavior
• risk factors
• static risk factors
• dynamic risk factors
• resiliency
• protective factors
• implementation fidelity
• universal prevention
• selective prevention
• indicated prevention
• evidence-based practice
• meta-analysis
• risk/need assessment
• cost–benefit analysis
• assessment
• early intervention
• internalizing behavior
• externalizing behavior
• oppositional defiant disorder
• attention-deficit/hyperactivity disorder

Outline

1. Responding to delinquency: the role of theory and research
   1. Key theoretical concepts and contexts
      1. Individual traits
      2. Situational contexts
      3. Family relations
      4. Peer group influences
      5. School experiences
      6. Neighborhood and community influences
2. Delinquency prevention
   1. Risk-focused delinquency prevention
      1. Problem behaviors
      2. Risk factors
      3. Protective factors and resiliency
   2. Evidenced-based practice in delinquency prevention
   3. Delinquency prevention programs
      1. Life Skills Training: drug use prevention curriculum
      2. Nurse–Family Partnership: prenatal and infancy home visits by nurses
      3. Multisystemic Therapy: intensive treatment for chronic juvenile offenders
3. Assessment and early intervention
   1. Assessing behavioral problems of children and adolescents
      1. Clinical diagnostic categories of externalizing disorder
      2. Mental health and substance use assessment
      3. Risk/need assessment
   2. Early intervention
      1. Mental health and substance use
      2. Education
      3. Child welfare
      4. Juvenile justice
4. Summary and conclusions