The effects of mental health problems and educational deficiency on high risk juveniles from Philadelphia, PA
Open Access
Author:
Rahman, Rabab
Area of Honors:
Criminology
Degree:
Bachelor of Arts
Document Type:
Thesis
Thesis Supervisors:
Megan C Kurlychek, Thesis Supervisor Stacy Silver, Thesis Honors Advisor
Keywords:
juvenile justice criminology pennsylvania philadelphia mental health education
Abstract:
Juvenile delinquency and recidivism is an important topic in American criminal justice. Most adult criminals started their deviant behavior in adolescence, however many adolescents who are delinquent as youth do not go on to recidivate as adults. This thesis is designed to explore two primary factors related to recidivism: educational deficiencies and mental health problems. Previous literature has suggested that delinquent juveniles are more likely to have educational deficiencies as well as mental health problems. While there has been research on the areas individually, there is a gap in the literature considering both areas put together. This thesis begins to fill this gap. The dataset used is comprised of serious juvenile delinquents from Philadelphia, PA. The independent variables are educational deficiencies and mental health, while the dependent variable is recidivism based on the amount and varieties of crimes that were committed. Results have shown that certain educational variables used in the study, like expulsion or suspension from school and enrollment in school before coming to the facility, were significant in predicting recidivism, while mental health variables like major depressive disorder and manic episode were only significant in the short term.
