An Analysis Of The Consequences Of Running Away Among Black And Hispanic Female Juvenile Offenders With An Emphasis On Future Orientation

Author

K Jagadish Kumar, Prairie View A&M University

Date of Award

8-2023

Document Type

Dissertation

Degree Name

Doctor of Philosophy (PhD)

Degree Discipline

Juvenile Justice

Abstract

Girls are prominent in the etiology of runaways due to having higher runaway rates than boys. While empirical studies of runaways have extensively focused on the causes of girls’ runaways, few studies shed light on the runaway consequences. Those studies that analyzed the consequences of a girl’s runaway have majorly stressed the delinquent outcomes. However, studies of runaway consequences have minimally paid attention to youth future orientation since future orientation is a vital factor in youth offending behavior. Furthermore, contextual background, such as runaway, influences the same future orientation. Therefore, this research explored the understudied relationship between the girl’s runaway consequences, future orientation, and offending behavior among female Black and Hispanic offenders. This quantitative research utilized a secondary dataset, Research on Pathways to Desistance [Maricopa County, AZ and Philadelphia County, PA]: Subject Measures, 2000-2010 from the Inter-university Consortium for Political and Social Research (ICPSR). This research examined three research questions. The first research question measured whether runaway girls significantly differed in their future orientation, exposure to violence, procedural justice, and certainty of sanctions perceptions than non-runaway girls. The second research question attempted to understand if there are any significant differences between runaway Black and Hispanic girls in their future orientation, exposure to violence, procedural justice, and certainty of sanctions perceptions. The third research question examined the interaction between exposure to violence, procedural justice, certainty of sanctions perceptions, and future orientation’s influence on runaway girls’ offending behavior.

This research employed one-way ANOVA and Multiple Regression analysis to analyze the research questions. The research findings from one-way ANOVA identified no significant differences between runaway and non-runaway girls and Black and Hispanic girls in their future orientation, exposure to violence, procedural justice, and certainty of sanctions perceptions. The results from Multiple Regression analysis found a statistically significant influence of the interaction of exposure to violence and future orientation, and procedural justice and future orientation on runaway girls’ offending behavior.

Keywords: runaway girls, future orientation, exposure to violence, procedural justice views, certainty of sanctions perceptions, self-reported offending behavior

Committee Chair/Advisor

Myrna Cintron

Committee Co-Chair:

Nabil Ouassini

Committee Member

Shantae Motley

Committee Member

Douglas Hermond

Publisher

Prairie View A&M University

Rights

Date of Digitization

8/23/2023

Contributing Institution

John B Coleman Library

City of Publication

Prairie View

MIME Type

Application/PDF

Recommended Citation

Jagadish Kumar, K. (2023). An Analysis Of The Consequences Of Running Away Among Black And Hispanic Female Juvenile Offenders With An Emphasis On Future Orientation. Retrieved from https://digitalcommons.pvamu.edu/pvamu-dissertations/22