Risk Level and Variation in Social Support Access Among Justice-Involved Youth

Social support is important for the average incarcerated person, although variation exists. The amount of support received and whether improvements in support are made over confinement can vary across numerous factors including sentence length and quality of family relationships. Preliminary evidence suggests that risk level might also be an important factor to consider, though no study has examined this possibility. Accordingly, the current study examines whether access to social support (family contact, willingness to support, treatment participation, and non-family support) differs based on risk level classification (low, moderate, moderate-high, high). Additionally, we assess how risk level is associated with changes in social support during confinement. Using a sample of incarcerated youth, results show that access to social support, and to a lesser extent changes in social support during confinement, differ across risk level. The findings have important implications for juvenile justice system responses and efforts to promote support.