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Beliefs About What Works in Juvenile Rehabilitation: The Influence of Attitudes on Support for "Get Tough" and Evidence-Based Interventions

NCJ Number
225871
Journal
Criminal Justice and Behavior: An International Journal Volume: 36 Issue: 2 Dated: February 2009 Pages: 184-197
Author(s)
Abigayl M. Perelman; Carl B. Clements
Date Published
February 2009
Length
14 pages
Annotation
This study examined college students’ judgments about the effectiveness of different interventions for juvenile offenders.
Abstract
Participants rated three get tough programs, all generally empirically unsupported as well as four evidence-based programs. Half of the participants rated programs for first-time juvenile offenders; the remainder rated the same programs directed toward repeat offenders. Results found that participants did not differentiate between program types. Effectiveness ratings for get tough options were equal to those for empirically supported programs. However, personal attitudes were a strong moderator of program effectiveness ratings; those endorsing rehabilitative goals were more likely to rate empirically supported intervention as effective. A punishment orientation was associated with endorsement of get tough programs; effectiveness ratings for the get tough version of juvenile corrections and for its evidence-based counterparts were influenced by sentencing ideology, blame attribution, and gender. The effectiveness finding is less pessimistic than the original prediction in which it was assumed that the raters would endorse more strongly the popular get tough programs. Data were collected from 130 students in Introductory Psychology classes from a large southeastern university. Tables, figure, appendixes, notes, and references