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Girls Study Group

Overview

Funding

Evaluation

TTA

Contacts

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OverviewTop  
The Girls Study Group assists OJJDP in understanding risk and protective factors associated with female juvenile offending and the consequences for youth involved in such offending. It also identifies effective strategies for communities to use in their efforts to prevent and reduce female involvement in delinquency and violence.

The Group will establish a theoretical and empirical foundation to guide the development, testing, and dissemination of strategies to prevent and diminish girls’ involvement in delinquency and violence and mitigate the consequences of such involvement. The Group hopes to provide policymakers with guidance that is theoretically sound, culturally and developmentally appropriate, and empirically grounded. The Group seeks to:
  • Understand the trends, developmental patterns, causes, and correlates of female delinquency and violence and the consequences of involvement in such delinquency.
  • Develop a comprehensive, integrated theory of female delinquency (including initiation, persistence, and desistance).
  • Assess the effectiveness of diverse programs in preventing and reducing female offending.
  • Identify critical information gaps about the nature of female delinquency and identify ways to close them.
  • Communicate with the field via the Internet and other means.
The Group’s tasks include:
  • Reviewing the research literature on the epidemiology and etiology of female juvenile offending and its consequences.
  • Conducting secondary data analyses of relevant data sets.
  • Reviewing federal delinquency prevention and treatment programs.
  • Reviewing risk and needs assessment tools for prevention and intervention and developing means to test and validate these instruments at the local level.
  • Developing products for review and dissemination to the field, including a Web site to inform the field of the Study Group's work.
The Girls Study Group consists of 15 members with theoretical and practical expertise related to female development, delinquency, and the juvenile justice system.
FundingTop  
Funded as a 3-year project, the Girls Study Group was competitively awarded to Research Triangle Institute (RTI International), in June 2004. No additional funding is anticipated.
EvaluationTop  
The project will not involve evaluation in its early phases. Subsequent evaluation of program models (either replication of effective programs or launching promising programs) may be pursued if funding is available.
Training and Technical AssistanceTop  
The Girls Study Group will provide training and technical assistance to model projects funded through formula and block grants. This type of support will be available in year 3 of the project.
ContactsTop  
ResourcesTop  
OJJDP Publication(s)
Girls Study Group--Charting the Way to Delinquency Prevention for Girls
Bulletin, October 2008. Provides an overview of the Girls Study Group’s research on female juvenile delinquency. The Girls Study Group was created to provide a comprehensive research foundation for understanding and responding to girls’ involvement in delinquency. 8 pages. NCJ 223434.
Abstract
PDF(267 KB) 
Resilient Girls--Factors that Protect Against Delinquency
Bulletin, January 2009. Describes how four factors—presence of a caring adult, school connectedness, school success, and religiosity—affect girls’ propensity towards delinquency. Available online only. 16 pages. NCJ 220124.
Abstract
PDF(11.3 MB) 
Violence by Teenage Girls: Trends and Context
Bulletin: Girls Study Group Series, May 2008. Examines the involvement of girls in violent activity (including whether such activity has increased relative to the increase for boys) and the contexts in which girls engage in violent behavior. Available online only. 24 pages. NCJ 218905.
Abstract
PDF(1.04 MB) 
Link(s)

Girls Study Group Web Site
Summarizes the issue of girls' delinquency and contains resources for finding more information, describes the research activities that will be carried out over the course of the project, identifies the group members and describes their backgrounds and areas of expertise, and provides an opportunity for members of the field to submit their comments, suggestions, and recommendations.

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