Girls Study Group

Coordinating Council on Juvenile Justice and Delinquency Prevention Quarterly MeetingJune 6, 2008Washington, D.C.

Margaret A. Zahn, Ph.D.

What led to the development of the Girls Study Group?

Public Concern

Increased Arrests

Increased Detention

Public Concern

Trends in Juvenile Female and Male Arrest Ratesa (per 100,000) and Juvenile Female Percentage of Arrestsb for Simple Assault: Uniform Crime Reports, 1980-2003

a. Rates are adjusted for the sex composition of the population and for changes in UCR coverage over time. The population base includes ages 12-17.

b. Female Percentage = Female Rate / (Female Rate + Male Rate)*100%.

0

500

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2500

80 81 82 83 84 85 86 87 88 89 90 91 92 93 94 95 96 97 98 99 00 01 02 03

Rat

e p

er 1

00,0

00

0

5

10

15

20

25

30

35

40

45

50

Fem

ale

Per

cen

tag

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Male Rates Female Rates Female Percentages

Increased Arrests

0

1,000

2,000

3,000

4,000

5,000

1991 1993 1995 1997 1999 2001

Delinquents in public & private juvenile facilities

DetainedFemales

The number of detained females more than doubled between 1991 and 2001

*Data obtained from OJJDP’s Census of Juveniles in Residential Placement – Presentation made by Melissa Sickmund to Girls Study Group in September 2004.

The Arrested Girl

In 2003, 29% of juveniles arrested were female

Source: Snyder, Howard N., and Sickmund, Melissa. 2006. Juvenile Offenders and Victims: 2006 National Report. Washington, DC: U.S. Department of Justice, Office of Justice Programs, Office of Juvenile Justice and Delinquency Prevention.

Proportion of arrests, by gender

0 20 40 60 80 100

Prostitution

Runaway

Simple Assault

Property Crime Index

Violent Crime Index

%Male %Female

The Detained/Incarcerated Girl

Percentage of male and female juvenilesin custody by offense type, 2003

Source: Snyder, Howard N., and Sickmund, Melissa. 2006. Juvenile Offenders and Victims: 2006 National Report. Washington, DC: U.S. Department of Justice, Office of Justice Programs, Office of Juvenile Justice and Delinquency Prevention.

0 5 10 15 20 25 30 35 40

Public Order

Drug

Status Offense

Technical Violation

Property

Person

%Male %Female

Lack of research focused on girls…

“Not only are there a limited number of studies that focus specifically on female offending, but many important studies also either do not include females in their samples or do not analyze the female data separately.”

--Kruttschnitt, 1994; Loeber and Farrington, 1998; West, Houser, and Scanlan, 1998

Are girls becoming more violent?

What are the causes of girls’ delinquency and what are the pathways to it? 

Are the causes and pathways  the same or different from those of boys?

What delinquency intervention programs are effective for girls?

Are existing risk assessment and screening instruments appropriate for girls?  If so, which ones?

Questions that needed to be answered

Multi-disciplinary group of researchers and practitioners

Convened to:

Study patterns and causes of female delinquency

Identify effective strategies to prevent and reduce female involvement in delinquency

Funded in 2004 by the Office of Juvenile Justice and Delinquency Prevention (OJJDP) and coordinated by RTI International

Girls Study Group

Girls Study Group Members

Peggy Giordano, Bowling Green State UniversityCandace Kruttschnitt, University of MinnesotaCindy Lederman, Presiding Judge, Juvenile Court, Miami-Dade County, Florida. Jody Miller, University of Missouri, St. LouisMerry Morash, Michigan State UniversityDarrell Steffensmeier, Pennsylvania State UniversityGiovanna Taormina, Executive Director, Girls Circle AssociationDonna-Marie Winn, Duke University

Robert Agnew, Emory University Anne Marie Ambrose, Director,

Bureau of Juvenile Justice Services, Pennsylvania Office of Children, Youth and Families

Elizabeth Cauffman, University of California, Irvine

Meda Chesney Lind, University of Hawaii, Manoa

Gayle Dakof, University of MiamiDelbert Elliott, Director, Center

for the Study and Prevention of Violence, University of Colorado

Barry Feld, School of Law, University of Minnesota

Diana Fishbein, RTI International

To develop the research foundation that communities need

to make sound decisions about how best to prevent and reduce

delinquency and violence by girls

Girls Study Group — Ultimate Goal

Research Activities

Literature Review

Secondary Analysis

Screening and Assessment Instrument Review

Program Review and Focus Groups

Dissemination Activities

BulletinsConferences

BooksWebsite