Bridging Disciplinary Boundaries (January 11 - 14, 2007)

Purpose: Little research has been dedicated to examining the mechanisms that connect maltreatment and delinquency. The objectives of the study were to (1) investigate how risk factors change over time for African American youth in foster care, and (2) determine whether changes in risk impact the likelihood of delinquency. The sample was limited to African American youth because African American youth are overrepresented in both the child welfare and juvenile justice systems. Methods : Four risk factors for delinquency (peer relationships, education, alcohol and drug use, and mental health problems) were examined in 429 African American foster youth. Youth were interviewed at 12 years of age, and reinterviewed 2 years later. To establish which variables significantly changed over time, McNemar non-parametric related sample tests were conducted on categorical variables, and paired samples t-tests were used to analyze continuous variables. Follow-up logistic regression analyses determined if the change in risk factors, in addition to children's and substitute caregiver characteristics, predicted children's self-reported arrests. Change over time scores were used for both continuous and dichotomous variables. The arrests that occurred between the wave 1 and wave 2 interviews (n=68) served as the dependent variable. Results : Eight percent (n=36) of children had at least one arrest prior to the wave 1 interview and 11% (n=68) were arrested between the first and second interviews. As the sample aged into adolescence, their risk for delinquency increased. There was an augmentation over time for arrests, substance use by children and their peers, a drop in grades and life satisfaction, and the amount of time children spent with peers. Being male, having prior arrests, having friends who consume alcohol, and feeling like life is not headed in the right direction were associated with an elevated risk for being arrested. Implications: The findings of this study are intended to advance the understanding of adolescent development and help inform the development of delinquency prevention efforts within the context of the child welfare system. Relying explicitly on cross-sectional exploration prevents the true identification of the mechanisms underlying the development of delinquent behavior, which often is not static. Preadolscent and adolescent foster youth are an especially important group worth studying, as the older the child gets, his/her chances of being adopted or placed into legalized guardianship decrease. Knowing how behaviors develop over time in overrepresented foster youth, such as African Americans and adolescents, may allow for the determination of the developmental timing of risk factors. Once these are known, interventions may then be tested and introduced to this vulnerable group of children.