Development and Evaluation of a Classification of High Risk Youths Entering a Juvenile Assessment Center

Abstract

We report the results of developing and evaluating a classification of high risk youth entering a Juvenile Assessment Center in Hillsborough County, Florida, involving over 2,000 youths processed at the center during its first 8 months of operation. Cluster analysis of the youths potential problems probed by the Problem Oriented Screening Instrument for Teenagers defined four groups. The usefulness of the typology was supported by a discriminant analysis and by recidivism information. The research implications of these results are discussed.

Key Words:

• High risk youth
• Classification of high risk youth
• Typology of offenders
• Delinquent youth