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Author: Morash, Merry
Resulting in 6 citations.
1. Morash, Merry
Rucker, Lila
An Exploratory Study of the Connection of Mother's Age at Childbearing to Her Children's Delinquency in Four Data Sets
Crime and Delinquency 35,1 (January 1989): 45-93.
Also: http://cad.sagepub.com/content/35/1/45.abstract
Cohort(s): NLSY79
Publisher: National Council on Crime and Delinquency
Keyword(s): Age at First Birth; Childbearing; Childbearing, Adolescent; Delinquency/Gang Activity; First Birth; Longitudinal Data Sets

Permission to reprint the abstract has not been received from the publisher.

This paper examines the relationship between early childbearing and delinquent outcomes for the child. Using data from the London Longitudinal Survey, the Philadelphia Cohort Study, the NLSY, and the National Survey of Children, it was found that: (1) although there is a relationship between mother's age at first child's birth and delinquency, it is conditioned by the presence of a father or stepfather; and (2) the connection between mother's age and father's presence while not strong was persistent across both U.S. and British samples and across racial/ethnic group samples. Policy implications are discussed.
Bibliography Citation
Morash, Merry and Lila Rucker. "An Exploratory Study of the Connection of Mother's Age at Childbearing to Her Children's Delinquency in Four Data Sets." Crime and Delinquency 35,1 (January 1989): 45-93.
2. Park, Suyeon
Morash, Merry
Stevens, Tia
Gender Differences in Predictors of Assaultive Behavior in Late Adolescence
Youth Violence and Juvenile Justice 8,4 (October 2010): 314-331.
Also: http://yvj.sagepub.com/content/8/4/314.abstract
Cohort(s): NLSY97
Publisher: Sage Publications
Keyword(s): Behavior, Antisocial; Behavior, Violent; Behavioral Problems; Delinquency/Gang Activity; Gender Differences; Parent Supervision/Monitoring; Religious Influences; Risk Perception; Risk-Taking; Runaways

Permission to reprint the abstract has not been received from the publisher.

This article addresses controversy over gender differences in risk and protective factors for late-adolescence assaults. A secondary analysis of data from the National Longitudinal Survey of Youth, 1997 cohort considered 2,552 youth aged 12 or 13 in the first survey wave. Comparison of girls and boys revealed, as expected, boys had higher levels of risk factors: early delinquency, gang involvement, and hopelessness. Girls were higher in the protective factors, parental monitoring, and school and religious ties; but boys were higher in parental support and work involvement. Negative binomial regression showed that gang exposure and hopelessness explained assaults, regardless of gender. For girls, early runaway behavior and work activity were positively, and parental monitoring was negatively, related to assaults. Unexpectedly, boys with high parental support were more assaultive than others. Prevention requires addressing negative contexts for all youth, but for girls, programs also must address conditions promoting their running away. Sage Publications Ltd., 6 Bonhill St. London EC2A 4PU UK
Bibliography Citation
Park, Suyeon, Merry Morash and Tia Stevens. "Gender Differences in Predictors of Assaultive Behavior in Late Adolescence." Youth Violence and Juvenile Justice 8,4 (October 2010): 314-331.
3. Stevens, Tia
Morash, Merry
Racial/Ethnic Disparities in Boys' Probability of Arrest and Court Actions in 1980 and 2000: The Disproportionate Impact of "Getting Tough" on Crime
Youth Violence and Juvenile Justice 13,1 (January 2015): 77-95.
Also: http://yvj.sagepub.com/content/13/1/77.abstract
Cohort(s): NLSY79, NLSY97
Publisher: Sage Publications
Keyword(s): Arrests; Crime; Criminal Justice System; Delinquency/Gang Activity; Ethnic Differences; Male Sample; Racial Differences

Permission to reprint the abstract has not been received from the publisher.

This study was designed to examine whether the shift in juvenile justice policy toward punitive sanctioning disproportionately impacted racial and ethnic minority boys. Using a nationally representative sample derived from the National Longitudinal Surveys of Youth 1979 and 1997 (NLSY79, NLSY97), this study examines 1980-2000 differences in contact with the justice system, controlling for self-reported delinquency. Results confirmed that boys in 2000 were significantly more likely than those in 1980 to report being charged with a crime. Once charged, they were less likely to be diverted and more likely to be convicted and placed in a correctional institution. Consideration of interaction effects revealed these effects were magnified for Black and Hispanic males. These findings provide evidence of a general trend toward more punitive treatment of boys in the juvenile justice system, especially racial and ethnic minority boys.
Bibliography Citation
Stevens, Tia and Merry Morash. "Racial/Ethnic Disparities in Boys' Probability of Arrest and Court Actions in 1980 and 2000: The Disproportionate Impact of "Getting Tough" on Crime." Youth Violence and Juvenile Justice 13,1 (January 2015): 77-95.
4. Stevens, Tia
Morash, Merry
The Roles of School-Level and Neighborhood-Level Characteristics in Explaining Delinquency and Involvement with the Criminal Justice System: A Cross-Classified Multilevel Analysis
Presented: Chicago IL, American Society of Criminology Annual Meeting, 2012
Cohort(s): NLSY97
Publisher: American Society of Criminology
Keyword(s): Census of Population; Criminal Justice System; Delinquency/Gang Activity; Geocoded Data; Neighborhood Effects; School Characteristics/Rating/Safety

Permission to reprint the abstract has not been received from the publisher.

This paper uses the public-use National Longitudinal Survey of Youth 1997 (NLSY97) data, the confidential NLSY97 School Survey, the confidential NLSY97 Geocode data, and the public-use U.S. Census data to examine the effects of school and neighborhood context on delinquency, net of the effects of early delinquency, demographic characteristics, and individual risk and protective factors. We analyze the data using cross-classified multilevel models, because, although youth are nested within schools, schools are not perfectly nested within communities. A key early contribution of criminological theory and related research is that at the neighborhood level, ecological conditions are highly related to illegal activity, including delinquency. However, there is limited research examining the effects of school context after controlling for neighborhood contextual variables and individual risk/protective factors. It is important to identify school contextual influences that are negatively and positively related to delinquency. In an era of shrinking financial support for schools and an increasingly punitive juvenile justice system that in many jurisdictions has shifted away from rehabilitation, knowing whether certain features of schools have direct effects on delinquency or affect the connection of other variables to delinquency can inform decisions about investments in schools that might prevent or reduce delinquency.
Bibliography Citation
Stevens, Tia and Merry Morash. "The Roles of School-Level and Neighborhood-Level Characteristics in Explaining Delinquency and Involvement with the Criminal Justice System: A Cross-Classified Multilevel Analysis." Presented: Chicago IL, American Society of Criminology Annual Meeting, 2012.
5. Stevens, Tia
Morash, Merry
Chesney-Lind, Meda
Are Girls Getting Tougher, or Are We Tougher on Girls? Probability of Arrest and Juvenile Court Oversight in 1980 and 2000
Justice Quarterly 28,5 (2011): 719-744.
Also: http://www.tandfonline.com/doi/abs/10.1080/07418825.2010.532146
Cohort(s): NLSY79, NLSY97
Publisher: Academy of Criminal Justice Sciences
Keyword(s): Arrests; Crime; Criminal Justice System; Gender Differences; Racial Differences

Permission to reprint the abstract has not been received from the publisher.

Girls suspected or convicted of assaults make up an increasing proportion of juvenile arrests and court caseloads. There is indication that changes in domestic violence arrest policies, school handling of student rules infractions, and practices of charging youth for assaults rather than status offenses account for these trends. To determine whether girls were treated more harshly for assaults after these policies changed, the present study compared the probabilities of conviction and institutionalization, net of the effect of self-reported attacks on persons, for 1980 and 2000. Data were from the National Longitudinal Surveys of Youth 1979 and 1997 cohorts. Girls experienced a unique increase in the probabilities of justice system involvement that was replicated only for Black males. The increase was magnified for Black girls. Additional research is needed to better connect specific policies to drawing selected subgroups more deeply into the justice system and on the consequences for affected youth.
Bibliography Citation
Stevens, Tia, Merry Morash and Meda Chesney-Lind. "Are Girls Getting Tougher, or Are We Tougher on Girls? Probability of Arrest and Juvenile Court Oversight in 1980 and 2000." Justice Quarterly 28,5 (2011): 719-744.
6. Stevens, Tia
Morash, Merry
Park, Suyeon
Late-Adolescent Delinquency: Risks and Resilience for Girls Differing in Risk at the Start of Adolescence
Youth and Society 43,4 (December 2011): 1433-1458.
Also: http://yas.sagepub.com/content/43/4/1433.abstract
Cohort(s): NLSY97
Publisher: Sage Publications
Keyword(s): Adolescent Behavior; Delinquency/Gang Activity; Family Influences; Parent Supervision/Monitoring; Poverty; Racial Differences

Permission to reprint the abstract has not been received from the publisher.

Based on resilience and feminist criminological theories, several individual, family, and community characteristics were hypothesized to predict late-adolescent delinquency for girls varying in early-adolescent risk. Girls aged 12 and 13 were interviewed each year as part of the National Longitudinal Survey of Youth 1997. Predictors of late-adolescent delinquency were compared for girls in and below the top 10% in self-reported early-adolescent delinquency. Girls who were higher in delinquency in early adolescence were resilient by 2002 if they had no incarcerated family members and high parental monitoring. Girls with little or no early delinquency were at risk for illegal activity by age 17 primarily due to contextual adversities, low hope for the future, poverty status, and minority racial status. Persistently delinquent girls require programming to address multiple risk and protective factors over an extended time. To prevent delinquency beginning later in adolescence, girls need safe community and school contexts.
Bibliography Citation
Stevens, Tia, Merry Morash and Suyeon Park. "Late-Adolescent Delinquency: Risks and Resilience for Girls Differing in Risk at the Start of Adolescence." Youth and Society 43,4 (December 2011): 1433-1458.