Criminal Justice Research Shows Increasing Number of Female Youths Arrested

Margaret Zahn speaking at policy briefing on female juvenile delinquency

RESEARCH TRIANGLE PARK, N.C. -- The number of female youth arrests is on the rise, said Margaret Zahn, Ph.D., RTI International senior researcher and North Carolina State University professor, during a policy briefing concerning women and girls in the criminal justice system.

The policy briefing was hosted May 19 by the Consortium of Social Science Associations, the American Sociological Association, and the Institute for the Advancement of Social Work Research.

Zahn noted that female offenders in custody increased 52 percent from 1991 to 2003, making girls account for almost a third of arrested juveniles. Girls also represent a small increasing proportion of juvenile offenders in residential placement in almost all states.

"Girls and boys experience many of the same risk factors, but they differ in sensitivity to and rate of exposure to these factors," Zahn said. "Effective gender-responsive programming may be a key to the future prevention and intervention of girls' delinquency."

In a study of more than 7,000 arrested juveniles, researchers found that girls' delinquency often spawns from sexual abuse, relationship with a delinquent romantic partner, a mother-daughter conflict, disparity between biological maturity and social maturity or low bonding to conventional institutions such as school or a religious institution.

The study also showed that girls in the criminal justice system are much more likely than boys to be victims of sexual and physical abuse and to suffer from substance abuse and mental health disorders like depression, anxiety and posttraumatic stress disorder.

Zahn heads up the Girls Study Group, an interdisciplinary group of researchers and advocacy groups convened by the Office of Juvenile Justice and Delinquency Prevention to develop a comprehensive research foundation for understanding and responding to girls' involvement in delinquency.

RTI News Media Contacts
  news@rti.org
  Lisa Bistreich: 919-316-3596
  Patrick Gibbons: 919-541-6136
  Research Triangle Park, NC 27709-2194

____________________________________________________________________

http://girlsstudygroup.rti.org/

Welcome to the Girls Study Group Web Site The Office of Juvenile Justice and Delinquency Prevention awarded the Girls Study Group project to RTI International to further the field's understanding of female juvenile offending and also to identify effective strategies to prevent and reduce female involvement in delinquency and violence. About Girls: The GIRLS section of the Girls Study Group web site describes the issue of girls' delinquency and contains information and resources for finding more information. About the Study: The STUDY section of the Girls Study Group web site describes the research activities that will be carried out over the course of the project. About the Group: The GROUP section of the Girls Study Group web site describes the members of the Girls Study Group as well as the members of the Study Advisory Board.				Spring/Summer 2006 Newsletter Now Available (08/09/06) The Girls Study Group has issued its fourth quarterly newsletter summarizing activities and accomplishments between April 2006 and July 2006. Download the PDF newsletter: Spring/Summer 2006 Newsletter. Look for the next issue November 2006........ Webcast on Girls Involved in the Criminal Justice System (04/06/06) Girls Study Group Principal Investigator Margaret A. Zahn was one of four presenters in a March 2006 webcast on Webcast on Girls Involved in the Criminal Justice System sponsored by Health Resources and Services Administration's Maternal and Child Health Bureau. The archived presentation is available at Girls Study Group 2006 OJJDP Conference Presentations Available (01/18/06) Girls Study Group members Barry Feld and Diana Fishbein, along with Barbara Allen-Hagan and Margaret Zahn discussed the work of the study group at the OJJDP conference Building on Success, Providing Today's Youth With Opportunities for a Better Tomorrow held January 9-13....... JRSA Presentation Now Available (12/01/05) RTI Girls Study Group staff member Susan Brumbaugh gave a presentation at the 2005 BJS Justice Research and Statistics Association National Conference in October. A copy of her presentation is now available: Girls Study Group: Lea....... ASC Presentations Now Available (12/01/05) Dr. Margaret Zahn, along with study group members Robert Agnew, Darrell Steffensmeier and Merry Morash participated in a session at the recent conference for the American Society of Criminology. Two presentations from Dr. Zahn are now available: Causes and Correlates of Girls' Del.......
The Girls Study Group encourages the involvement of researchers, practitioners, policy makers, and others who are interested in the issue of girls' delinquency. A link to a Contact Form appears at the bottom of every page on the Girls Study Group web site. We encourage you to use this form to send the Study Group recommendations in a number of areas. Although we cannot incorporate every suggestion we receive, each submission will be considered for inclusion into our study and dissemination plans.