Ward Jeffrey T, Link Nathan W, Forney Megan
Department of Criminal Justice, Temple University, 1115 Polett Walk, Philadelphia, PA 19122 USA.
Department of Sociology, Anthropology, & Criminal Justice, Rutgers University-Camden, 405-07 Cooper St, Camden, NJ 08102 USA.
J Dev Life Course Criminol. 2023 Feb 20:1-22. doi: 10.1007/s40865-023-00224-3.
Recent theoretical and empirical work has drawn increased attention to the role that mental and physical health can play in promoting life-course success and desistance from crime. This study integrates literature on youth development with the health-based desistance framework to investigate a key developmental pathway through which health influences desistance among system-involved youth. Using multiple waves of data from the Pathways to Desistance Study, the current study uses generalized structural equation modeling to examine whether and to what extent mental and physical health influence offending and substance use directly and indirectly through psychosocial maturity. Findings indicate that both depression and poor health stall the development of psychosocial maturity, and that those with higher psychosocial maturity are less likely to engage in offending and substance use. The model provides general support for the health-based desistance framework, finding an indirect process linking better health states to normative developmental desistance processes. Results hold important implications for the development of age-graded policies and programs geared toward promoting desistance among serious adolescent offenders both within correctional and community settings.
近期的理论和实证研究工作已使人们越来越关注身心健康在促进人生历程成功及停止犯罪方面所能发挥的作用。本研究将青少年发展方面的文献与基于健康的停止犯罪框架相结合，以探究一条关键的发展路径，通过这条路径，健康会影响与司法系统有涉的青少年停止犯罪的情况。利用来自“停止犯罪路径研究”的多轮数据，本研究采用广义结构方程模型来检验身心健康是否以及在何种程度上通过心理社会成熟度直接和间接地影响犯罪及物质使用。研究结果表明，抑郁和健康状况不佳都会阻碍心理社会成熟度的发展，而心理社会成熟度较高的人从事犯罪及物质使用的可能性较小。该模型为基于健康的停止犯罪框架提供了总体支持，发现了一个将更好的健康状况与规范性发展停止犯罪过程相联系的间接过程。研究结果对制定旨在促进教养机构和社区环境中严重青少年罪犯停止犯罪的年龄分级政策和项目具有重要意义。
