Papers by Michael Whitaker
Evaluation Review, Dec 1, 1982
The desirability of combining tests of theory with evaluations of treatment modalities is argued ... more The desirability of combining tests of theory with evaluations of treatment modalities is argued in the context of an investigation of the effectiveness of a juvenile diversion program. More than 2000 Memphis-area youth participated in a true experimental design (with randomization) assigning youth to "penetrate" the traditional system, "services," or a control group "without services." Recidivism analyses dependent on court record data consistently failed to demonstrate the relative superiority of any of the three treatment approaches on outcome measures of dichotomous recidivism status, total number of recidivating offenses, and days of successfully avoiding rearrest.
Journal of Applied Social Psychology, Mar 1, 1993
The role of beliefs, personality variables, and demographic factors in the sentencing of juvenile... more The role of beliefs, personality variables, and demographic factors in the sentencing of juvenile offenders was investigated. The subjects (1,030 members of the juvenile justice system) judged hypothetical juvenile perpetrators. Various personality, belief, and demographic variables were found to be related to sentencing severity; these relationships differed based on the type of crime judged. Further, relations among these variables and sentencing behavior indicated three coherent patterns or resonances. A liberal group of individuals, believing in rehabilitation, external causality of crime, a positive prognosis for the perpetrator, and nontraditional views of women, sentenced moderately. Two types of conservative individuals were defined. Both groups were punitive, and believed in internal causality of crime; however, they differed on attitudes toward women, needs for cognition, and beliefs about seriousness and harm. One group sentenced the most severely and the other the most leniently. Implications for the sentencing of juvenile offenders are discussed. Historically, sentencing in the juvenile court has emphasized rehabilitation. More recently, however, punishment has become a serious goal (McNally, 1984). With this shift in sentencing philosophy it becomes particularly important to understand factors affecting dispositions in thejuvenile system. How is it decided whether punishment, treatment, o r some combination of the two is most beneficial or most appropriate for a particular juvenile? Previous research on juvenile court sentencing decisions has focused on information about the defendant, such as race and socioeconomic status, and on the role of the offender's history (prior record), and current family and school support systems (Cohen & Kluegel, 1978; Horwitz & Wasserman, 1980). However, individual difference variables associated with the decision maker, such as personality characteristics, beliefs, and goals, have been relatively neglected. 'This project was financially supported by J. Michael Whitaker in his role as Executive Director, Allegheny Intensive Treatment Program for Violent Sexual Juvenile Offenders. The authors would like to thank Monica Biernat, Chris Crandall. and Kevin Doherty for valuable comments on earlier versions of this manuscript and James Algina for statistical consultation.
Journal of Applied Social Psychology, 1993
The role of beliefs, personality variables, and demographic factors in the sentencing of juvenile... more The role of beliefs, personality variables, and demographic factors in the sentencing of juvenile offenders was investigated. The subjects (1,030 members of the juvenile justice system) judged hypothetical juvenile perpetrators. Various personality, belief, and demographic variables were found to be related to sentencing severity; these relationships differed based on the type of crime judged. Further, relations among these variables and sentencing behavior indicated three coherent patterns or resonances. A liberal group of individuals, believing in rehabilitation, external causality of crime, a positive prognosis for the perpetrator, and nontraditional views of women, sentenced moderately. Two types of conservative individuals were defined. Both groups were punitive, and believed in internal causality of crime; however, they differed on attitudes toward women, needs for cognition, and beliefs about seriousness and harm. One group sentenced the most severely and the other the most l...
Criminal Justice and Behavior, 1984
An empirical analysis of 1100 youth attempts to identify youth characteristics and service delive... more An empirical analysis of 1100 youth attempts to identify youth characteristics and service delivery program attributes associated with diversion success. Youth needs, type of agency, and percentage of proposed service cycle actually delivered all seem to have dramatic effects on the nature of the service experience by youth, and, in turn, are related to recidivism patterns.
Evaluation Review, 1982
An expectancy-value procedure is developed for delineating the nature of interagency relationship... more An expectancy-value procedure is developed for delineating the nature of interagency relationships during the operation of a youth-servmg agency. The advantages of this quantitative approach for assessing this one aspect of a process analysis are presented. Commonality of agency values and perceptions of agency characteristics are discussed. Total scores indicate the appropriate insertion of an ombudsman agency in the total youth-serving social system network in Memphis, Tennessee.
Evaluation Review, 1982
The desirability of combining tests of theory with evaluations of treatment modalities is argued ... more The desirability of combining tests of theory with evaluations of treatment modalities is argued in the context of an investigation of the effectiveness of a juvenile diversion program. More than 2000 Memphis-area youth participated in a true experimental design (with randomization) assigning youth to "penetrate" the traditional system, "services," or a control group "without services." Recidivism analyses dependent on court record data consistently failed to demonstrate the relative superiority of any of the three treatment approaches on outcome measures of dichotomous recidivism status, total number of recidivating offenses, and days of successfully avoiding rearrest.
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Papers by Michael Whitaker