Differential Effects of Adult Court Transfer on Juvenile Offender Recidivism
File version
Author(s)
Mulvey, Edward P
Schubert, Carol A
Chassin, Laurie A
Steinberg, Laurence
Piquero, Alex R
Fagan, Jeffrey
Cota-Robles, Sonia
Cauffman, Elizabeth
Losoya, Sandy
Griffith University Author(s)
Primary Supervisor
Other Supervisors
Editor(s)
Date
Size
File type(s)
Location
License
Abstract
Prior research indicates that adolescent offenders transferred to adult court are more likely to recidivate than those retained in the juvenile system. The studies supporting this conclusion, however, are limited in addressing the issue of heterogeneity among transferred adolescents. This study estimates the effect of transfer on later crime using a sample of 654 serious juvenile offenders, 29% of whom were transferred. We use propensity score matching to reduce potential selection bias, and we partition the sample on legal characteristics to examine subgroup effects. We find an overall null effect of transfer on re-arrest, but evidence of differential effects of transfer for adolescents with different offending histories. These results suggest that evaluating the effects of transfer for all transferred adolescents together may lead to misguided policy conclusions.
Journal Title
Law and Human Behavior
Conference Title
Book Title
Edition
Volume
34
Issue
6
Thesis Type
Degree Program
School
Publisher link
Patent number
Funder(s)
Grant identifier(s)
Rights Statement
Rights Statement
Item Access Status
Note
Access the data
Related item(s)
Subject
Correctional theory, offender treatment and rehabilitation
Cognitive and computational psychology