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Cited by 72Crime Patterns and InterventionsCriminal Justice and Corrections AnalysisCriminal Justice and Penology

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The 40-year debate: a meta-review on what works for juvenile offenders

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Pappas, Laceé N., Dent, Amy L.·2023·Journal of Experimental Criminology
DOI 10.1007/s11292-021-09472-zPMC PMC8196268
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Abstract

Objectives: This meta-review integrates the findings of meta-analyses and systematic reviews to explore the effect of intervention programs on recidivism for juvenile offenders. Methods: The systematic literature search gathered 48 meta-analyses and systematic reviews from 53 research reports, contributing 56 independent effect sizes for analysis. These effect sizes were statistically integrated, and five moderators of theoretical and methodological importance were tested using meta-regression. Results: On average, intervention programs are associated with a significant reduction in recidivism (rΦ = −0.09, p < 0.001) for juvenile offenders who participate in a program compared to those who do not. However, reductions in recidivism significantly vary between the levels of criminal justice system, characteristics of juvenile offenders, types of program modalities, and methodological quality. Conclusions: Results indicate that intervention programs can be an effective approach to reducing recidivism for juvenile offenders, especially when combined with a rehabilitative program modality.

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Cited by

Sorted by citations

  • Safety First! Residential Group Climate and Antisocial Behavior: A Multilevel Meta-analysis

    E. M. A, E., J. J, R., G. H. P, V. D. H., E. J. E, H., C. H. Z, K., K. S, N., S, V., J. D, L., G. J. J. M, S., E, K., et al. (2025) · International Journal of Offender Therapy and Comparative Criminology · doi:10.1177/0306624x241252052 · Cited by 4

    “…group climate, although health service utilization in detained youth (White et al., 2019) and adults (Persson et al., 2017) has been shown to be low, and residential judicial interventions for youth have been shown to produce only small effects on criminal recidi-vism (Pappas & Dent, 2021).”

See all 72

Metadata

Authors
Pappas, L. N., & Dent, A. L.
Affiliations
University of California, Irvine (US)
Corresponding author
Pappas, Laceé N.
ORCID
Pappas, Laceé N.
Venue
Journal of Experimental Criminology
Publisher
Springer Science and Business Media LLC
Published
2021-06-12
Volume
19
Issue
1
Pages
1-30
ISSN
  • 1572-8315 (ISSN-L)
  • 1573-3750
DOI
10.1007/s11292-021-09472-z
PMC
PMC8196268
OpenAlex
W3168315948
Cited by
72
References
11
Citations by year
2026: 17 · 2025: 20 · 2024: 22 · 2023: 5 · 2022: 7
FWCI
61.73
Type
book chapter
Language
en
Open access
Licence
Locations
  • Journal of Experimental Criminology (publishedVersion, cc-by)
  • PubMed Central (publishedVersion, cc-by)
  • PubMed (publishedVersion)
  • eScholarship (California Digital Library) (submittedVersion, cc-by)
Topics
  • Social Sciences › Sociology and Political Science › Crime Patterns and Interventions
  • Social Sciences › Sociology and Political Science › Criminal Justice and Corrections Analysis
  • Social Sciences › Law › Criminal Justice and Penology
Keywords
juvenile offenders, recidivism, intervention program, juvenile justice, rehabilitation, recidivism reduction, program effectiveness, offender characteristics

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CoChat. (2026). Citation check: The 40-year debate: a meta-review on what works for juvenile offenders. https://app.cochat.ai/papers/10.1007/s11292-021-09472-z
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Pappas, L. N., & Dent, A. L. (2023). The 40-year debate: a meta-review on what works for juvenile offenders. Journal of Experimental Criminology. https://doi.org/10.1007/s11292-021-09472-z