The effects of youth incarceration in adult institutions on future incarceration

Abstract

Several thousand juveniles are incarcerated in adult facilities each year across the U.S., exposing them to a unique Adverse Childhood Experience (ACE). Exposure to this unique ACE can potentially increase an individual's involvement in the criminal justice system (CJS) as an adult. The current study served to assess if juvenile incarceration contributes to decreased time until CJS involvement during adulthood. The current study employed the NLSY-97 – a nationally representative sample – and survival models to assess if incarcerating juveniles in adult facilities is associated with time until CJS involvement during adulthood—a proxy for a criminogenic effect. The statistical models control for criminal risk factors that could contribute to a heightened likelihood of recidivism. The findings suggested that juvenile incarceration in an adult facility resulted in a 89% decrease in months until first incarceration after the age of 18 when compared to juveniles not involved in the juvenile justice system as well as juveniles arrested before the age of 18 but not bound over to adult court. The results highlight that a juvenile's incarceration in an adult facility could be criminogenic. Policy recommendations are provided to limit the criminogenic effects of juvenile incarceration in adult facilities.