Kiara Planter

Annotated bibliography

Jordan, Kareem L., and Brittani A. Mcneal. "Juvenile Penalty or Leniency: Sentencing of
Juveniles in the Criminal Justice System." Law and Human Behavior 40.4 (2016): 387400. Web.
Jordan and Mcneal examine the effects sentencing in the criminal justice system have on
juvenile offenders while explaining how they are compared to adults in which then determines
the length or likelihood of incarceration. With the start of a fast growing violent juvenile crime
rate in the 1980s the public began to panic with concerns regarding violence among the youth,
the concerns also rose to a legislative level resulting in policies to crack down on the youth.
The authors go as far as researching how behaviors are studied and perceived to have come about
by analyzing the internal and external factors. Internal factors are those within the individual
meaning the offense would be looked at in a harsher sense if it came down to these factors
because it is thought to represent bad character. External factors are those influenced by the
environment things such as neighborhood conditions or school, external factors usually reduces
offenders liability because the things are seen to be out of the control of the individual. The
author explores how sentencing works and how transferred individuals are impacted. The
purpose of the research is to understand the background aspects of sentencing that go into the
major decisions made by the court.
My inquiry project goes into understanding how the courts view juvenile criminals and
what goes into sentencing individuals. The information presented in the journal article provides
facts about how the courts look into the background of criminals to determine what had the most

behavioral effects essentially causing an individual to act out. The information definitely helps
my argument because it shows that although juveniles usually treated less than or equal to adults
the length of the incarceration is longer. I plan to build on this idea by using my other sources to
further my detail on explaining the sentencing of juvenile delinquents.
Pyle, N., A. Flower, A. M. Fall, and J. Williams. "Individual-Level Risk Factors of Incarcerated
Youth." Remedial and Special Education 37.3 (2015): 172-86. Web.
Individual Level Risk Factors of Incarcerated Youth goes in depth with understanding
the risk factor incarcerated youth face in four different domains being the individual, family,
peer, school, and community while diving into behavioral levels that gives an understanding of
the characteristics of an individual. The research hits on mental, psychological issues, lastly the
intellectual and academic achievements. Mental health is a significant concern among youth in
juvenile detention centers the research goes into detail about mental health care that was assessed
along with use of medication for mental health problems. A large portion of youth prior to and
during incarceration experienced mental health issues the most common ones being substance
abuse, depression, anxiety and sleep disorder. Those occurring on lower rates consist of panic
attacks, personality disorders and mania. Psychological concerns consist of perceptions of self
and peers in which two different researched results one which males incarcerated and nonincarcerated show no difference in perception of themselves and others; the other results show
that there is a low perception of others and themselves in youth that are incarcerated.
The information presented helps so the effects of being put in a correctional facility. The
information goes into individuals and understanding how they exist in such conditions and what
about them differs from non- incarcerated individuals. One of the main points I plan to use
focuses on the academic achievement among incarcerated youth and how the lack in major areas

such as reading levels and mathematical skills. The issue with academics is said to primarily lie
in maintenance of attention and comprehension/digestion of information.
Kuanliang, A., J. R. Sorensen, and M. D. Cunningham. "Juvenile Inmates in an Adult Prison
System: Rates of Disciplinary Misconduct and Violence." Criminal Justice and Behavior 35.9
(2008): 1186-201. Web
The authors collectively discuss how those younger than eighteen when going into jail
are by far more likely to be involved in violent misconduct on various levels. This journal also
talks about the increasing rate of crime among youth and the effects it had on the justice system.
One of the changes made to the justice system at this time lowered the age in which juvenile
offenders can be transferred to adult criminal courts. Another change researched was the ability
to give a blended sentence in which an individual is sentenced to a juvenile correctional facility
then after a certain age they are transferred to an adult correctional facility for the remainder of
the sentence. The research conducted regarding the effects on youth show that in adult facilities
incarcerated youth have a higher potential of becoming career criminals this is due to the being
in an environment with violent criminals and having a lack of accessibility to rehabilitation
programs.
The journal helps prove my argument because it shows the negative effects youth have
when being placed in adult correctional facilities and how they can be long lasting. This is very
relevant to my inquiry project because it gives insight into the direct effects of change in the
justice system on youth. I will build on this by finding similar topics being discussed on the
things the incarcerated youth face will being held with adult criminals.
Coleman, Daniel. "Trauma and Incarcerated Youth." Journal of Evidence-Based Social Work
2.3-4 (2005): 113-24. Web.

Coleman researches how sexual abuse and witnessing traumatic events are associated
with the likelihood of the individual committing suicide or having other internal problems.
Problems youth face while incarcerated stem from high rates of trauma exposure causing things
such as stress then leading to emotional, social and behavioral problems. The changes seen in
youth are not only psychological penalties but can also be seen in changes in brain chemistry as
well as biology. Viewing the data in the journal allows me to see the correlation between being
exposed to trauma and the idea of committing suicide as well as suicide attempt. The results
show sexual abuse is a factor found to be the most correlated to suicidal thoughts or attempts and
those sexually abused are eight times more likely to have made an attempt at suicide.
The article is relevant to my topic because it shows how different things effect
incarcerated youth and the way in which they are associated with other factors. The article shows
a darker side to the argument Im posing rather than negative effects it explores the thoughts and
rate of possible suicidal thoughts. Showing the long lasting effects are important but showing the
alternative way youth choose to deal with traumatic stress.
Rodriguez, Nancy, Hilary Smith, and Marjorie S. Zatz. "Youth Is Enmeshed In A Highly
Dysfunctional Family System: Exploring The Relationship Among Dysfunctional Families,
Parental Incarceration, And Juvenile Court Decision Making." Criminology 47.1 (2009): 177208. Web.
The research conducted looks into the effects family situations and parent incarceration to
influence the decision of placing an individual out of home. The effects of parental
incarceration has an effect on children, family and the overall community. Human behavior is
commonly explained by personal and environmental contributions. The juvenile court decision
making process has guided factors such as support shown by parents and cooperation exhibited

by the parents. When looking into the family background of individuals the most influential
pieces are care quality, family structure and resource primarily on an economic level.
The research allows me to connect closely related environmental factors that play an
important role. The research provides factors that have yet to be covered in other sources and it
provides insight into how family effects the behavior of an individual. This information fills the
gap about family structure and the different ways it can change someones actions to cause them
to act out violently.