Prop Lise J C, van der Laan André M, Beerthuizen Marinus G C J, Barendregt Charlotte S, van Nieuwenhuizen Chijs
Research and Data Centre (WODC), Ministry of Justice and Security, PO BOX, 20301, 2500 EH, The Hague, The Netherlands.
TRANZO, Scientific Center for Care and Welfare, Tilburg University, PO BOX 90153, 5000 LE, Tilburg, The Netherlands.
Child Adolesc Psychiatry Ment Health. 2025 Mar 28;19(1):33. doi: 10.1186/s13034-025-00888-3.
To improve rehabilitation and reduce recidivism, adolescent criminal law provides tailor-made sanctioning in which the emphasis is on the offender's development. This results in the possibility that juvenile sanctions, in which education, treatment and rehabilitation are central, can be applied to young adult offenders. It is unknown, however, whether there is a relationship between the developmental focus of adolescent criminal law and the rehabilitation of young adult offenders. Therefore, the aim of this study was to examine whether juvenile sanctions are efficacious in rehabilitating young adult offenders.
A quasi-experimental design was used with judicial observational data. From a total of young adults (n = 671) sentenced with juvenile sanctions and young adults (n = 7.221) sentenced with adult sanctions different subsamples were composed. The subsamples were based on distinct starting conditions: (1) young adults engaged in education or employment, (2) young adults without education, income or on unemployment benefits, (3) young adults living independently, and (4) young adults living with parents or institutionalized. Rehabilitation was operationalized as changes or stability in education/employment status and housing conditions two years after the sanction was imposed. Binary logistic regression analyses were used to assess the associations.
Young adults who were engaged in education or employment before their conviction were more likely to maintain this status after a juvenile sanction (OR = 1.43, p < 0.05) than after an adult sanction. Young adults who were not engaged in education or employment had a lower chance (OR = 0.677, p < 0.05) of improving their status after a juvenile sanction than after an adult sanction. No significant differences were found for housing conditions.
By focusing on maintaining existing engagement in education and employment, juvenile sanctions align with the developmental needs of young adults and promote stability in their transition to mature societal roles. This study highlights the importance of reinforcing existing prosocial bonds and providing adequate support for those needing to establish new prosocial bonds.
为了改善改造效果并减少累犯，青少年刑法提供了量身定制的制裁措施，重点在于罪犯的发展。这使得以教育、治疗和改造为核心的少年制裁有可能适用于成年罪犯。然而，青少年刑法的发展重点与成年罪犯改造之间是否存在关联尚不清楚。因此，本研究的目的是检验少年制裁对成年罪犯改造是否有效。
采用准实验设计，利用司法观察数据。从总共671名被判处少年制裁的成年人和7221名被判处成人制裁的成年人中组成了不同的子样本。子样本基于不同的起始条件：（1）从事教育或就业的成年人，（2）没有教育、收入或领取失业救济金的成年人，（3）独立生活的成年人，（4）与父母同住或被收容机构收留的成年人。改造以制裁实施两年后教育/就业状况和住房条件的变化或稳定来衡量。采用二元逻辑回归分析来评估关联。
定罪前从事教育或就业的成年人在受到少年制裁后比受到成人制裁后更有可能维持这种状态（OR = 1.43，p < 0.05）。未从事教育或就业的成年人在受到少年制裁后改善其状况的机会比受到成人制裁后更低（OR = 0.677，p < 0.05）。在住房条件方面未发现显著差异。
通过关注维持现有的教育和就业参与度，少年制裁符合成年罪犯的发展需求，并促进他们向成熟社会角色过渡的稳定性。本研究强调了加强现有亲社会联系以及为需要建立新亲社会联系的人提供充分支持的重要性。
