“They're just made up different”: Juvenile correctional staff perceptions of incarcerated boys and girls

Tasha Randall Galardi and Richard A. Settersten

Children and Youth Services Review, 2018, vol. 95, issue C, 200-208

Abstract: Staff members in youth correctional facilities (YCFs) serve as primary adults in the lives of incarcerated youth. They are charged with promoting positive development, supporting rehabilitation, enforcing security, and holding youth accountable. YCF staff members not only control the daily lives of confined youth but also affect the incarceration experience and treatment outcomes. Consequently, they play crucial roles in implementing juvenile justice policies and are largely responsible for the youth authority's rehabilitation efforts. However, limited research examines the perspectives of YCF staff members about incarcerated young people, and no known study has explicitly asked about their potentially different perspectives on boys and girls. Views of staff about the gendered attributes of the youth they supervise have the potential to shape the gender identities and beliefs of boys and girls in ways that reproduce gender stereotypes and norms, which may impact rehabilitation and treatment. This qualitative analyses of 58 in-depth interviews found that YCF staff in the United States characterize boys and girls in very different ways, with a focus on aspects of communication, engagement, and conflict with staff and peers. These perspectives bring important insights and implications for the rehabilitation efforts of the juvenile justice system.

Keywords: Correctional staff; Gender; Incarcerated youth; Juvenile justice; Qualitative research (search for similar items in EconPapers)
Date: 2018
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Persistent link: https://EconPapers.repec.org/RePEc:eee:cysrev:v:95:y:2018:i:c:p:200-208

DOI: 10.1016/j.childyouth.2018.10.040

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