Criminogenic families: influence of family offending, drug problems, and mental health on juvenile offenders

Abstract

The description of risk factors of justice-involved youths is a target for researchers and public agencies with preventive objectives. This paper analyzes the risk profile of 1.317 youth involved in the criminal justice system from 2012 to 2021. Sex differences and differences related to family risk factors were analyzed. Results showed that family risk factors were related to an increased prevalence of risk factors among juvenile offenders. Family drug problems, family offending, and family mental health problems, in this order,showed higher numbers of differences between the groups. Nevertheless, none of these classifications exhibited differences in the perpetration of violent crimes. Differences related to the presence of violence at home and between the sexes were the less frequent, although violence at home was the only influence on the perpetration of violent crime. Females were more prevalent in the family offending, family mental health problems, and social-services use groups, while males only exhibited more drug use. Family variables are shown to be a differentiating risk factor in the study of juvenile offenders, indicating the need for family-centered intervention and prevention plans.