Ashford University Diane Vaughan Theory of Normalization of Deviance Discussion

Compare and Contrast Quantitative Methodologies [WLO: 1] [CLO: 2]There are four main quantitative approaches in descriptive research, which all serve
specific research purposes. Those four quantitative approaches are 1) observational
studies, 2) correlational research, 3) developmental designs, and 4) survey research. In
this discussion forum, you will discuss the similarities and differences among these four
approaches, as well as determine which approach may be suitable for your selected
topic. As you learn about the four quantitative descriptive research designs, think about
how you could potentially use one or more of these approaches to conduct your own
study based on your selected topic from Week 1.
Prior to beginning work on this discussion,
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Read Chapter 6 of the textbook.
Watch Quantitative Research: An Overview (Links to an external site.) This is
on YouTube.
Pick two descriptive research designs to compare. Your options include
observational studies, correlational research, developmental designs, and
survey research.
Quantitative Research: An Overview (Links to an external site.)

In your initial discussion forum post,
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List the two descriptive research designs you chose to compare.
Discuss two similarities that these two descriptive research designs have in
common.
Discuss two ways that these two descriptive research designs differ from one
another.
Explain, briefly, how one of these descriptive research designs would be
appropriate for your selected topic.
Quantitative Sampling Designs [WLO: 2] [CLO: 3]
In addition to determining how the data will be collected and which measures to use
when conducting research, researchers must also decide who will be asked to
participate. Obtaining an adequate sample is one of the most important factors in
conducting research. In this discussion, you will be taking a closer look at different
sampling designs in two research studies.
Prior to beginning work on this discussion forum,
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Locate two research studies in ProQuest (Links to an external
site.), ProQuest Dissertations and Theses (Links to an external site.),
or EBSCOhost (Links to an external site.) (or another database through
the UAGC Library)—one that utilized a probability sampling method and one
that utilized a non-probability sampling method.
o Download and save your two articles as PDF files.
Consider reviewing Chapter 6 of the textbook.
In your initial discussion forum post,
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Attach the two current, peer-reviewed research studies you found to your
discussion post.
o You may need to reply to your initial post with the second attached
article.
Answer the following questions regarding each study:
o What sampling procedure was used? Discuss in detail and in your
own words how the sample was selected and collected.
o For the probability sampling method, did the sample adequately
represent the population? Why or why not?
o What other probability and non-probability sampling procedures
could have been used?
o What changes could you suggest that would make the sampling
procedures more rigorous?
o In your opinion, which study and sampling procedure produced the
most rigorous research and why?
THE INFLUENCE OF GENDER ON JUVENILE RECIDIVISM
Recidivism in Juvenile Delinquents: Males/Females Comparison
Dragana Stijepovic
Ashford University
RES 7105 Scholarly Argument I
Dr. Corey Carpenter
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THE INFLUENCE OF GENDER ON JUVENILE RECIDIVISM
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Abstract
Juvenile recidivism is a growing issue of concern for law enforcement, practitioners, policy
makers, and society in general. This concern particularly appeared due to the rise in the number
of juveniles being arrested and rearrested. As a result, more understanding is needed on this
population, how they are affected by life inside and outside the justice system, and their
prospects when they come out of the system. Gender plays a critical role in how juveniles
experience life, there is a need to study how it influences their chances of reoffending. Therefore,
this paper will justify my topic of interest and my research question.
THE INFLUENCE OF GENDER ON JUVENILE RECIDIVISM
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Introduction
According to Conrad et al. (2014), just like adults, children do not always make the right
choices or decisions. Sometimes these decisions lead to breaking the law. However, whether
categorized as a felony or a misdemeanour, the consequence of these charges is an entry into the
justice system. Many of the minors charged with a misdemeanor are almost always guaranteed
entry into the juvenile justice system. A juvenile being arrested and serving time in a correctional
facility once or twice, does not imply they will not be rearrested. As a result, juvenile recidivism
has been an important topic for scholars, law enforcement, policy makers, and society in general.
Juvenile recidivism is a broad topic. Therefore, the research question has been narrowed down to
is recidivism in juvenile delinquents higher in males or females?
Justification for Research Topic and Question
My research topic of interest (recidivism of juvenile offenders) and my research question
(is recidivism in juvenile delinquents higher in males or females?) are important and justified by
a number of factors. According to Pusch and Holtfreter (2017), the rate of juvenile recidivism is
the number of children who are convicted of a crime(s), serve their time, and after being
released, they reoffend and are imprisoned again. In essence, preventing recidivism among
children is a huge problem and involves focusing on the root causes of such criminal activities
and offering these children the needed services to permanently abstain from crime. The impact of
juvenile recidivism is a topic that is of interest to psychology students. It is something that they
might focus on in a professionally by working in the juvenile justice system to help children and
teenagers break the cycle of crime and become more productive citizens. Within the justice
system, a psychologist will deal with both male and female offenders. This leads us to the
research question, is recidivism in juvenile delinquents higher in males or females?
THE INFLUENCE OF GENDER ON JUVENILE RECIDIVISM
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Consequently, gender plays an important role in criminal behavior and is an important
area that should be studied. As a risk factor for offending, gender is often ignored. There is a
wider belief that crime is mostly committed by males, a trend that has continued into juvenile
delinquency data. Some data shows that males constantly offend more than females. Therefore, it
implies that irrespective of socio-economic status, age, race and other risk factors, males often
have a higher offending rate. This is supported by studies, for instance, by Pusch and Holtfreter
(2017), who found that the likelihood of boys offending is higher than that of girls.
The link between gender and recidivism also tells the same story. According to
researchers, such as Scott (2018), boys’ reoffending rate is nearly double that of girls. This is in
line with the results from research done by Schwalbe et al. (2006). The study revealed that
gender was an important recidivism predictor and that male juveniles reoffend more frequently
than their female counterparts. It is also shown that boys not only reoffended more frequently but
also more seriously (involving serious crimes) than girls. As a result, these existing research
studies provide a glimpse of the research atmosphere concerning the influence of gender on
delinquency. This makes gender and juvenile recidivism an important societal problem that
requires more attention.
Research that attempts to forecast recidivism in juvenile delinquents has been relatively
limited, with results normally constituting about 20 percent of the variance (Scott, 2018). Most
studies measure recidivism as the re-adjudication by the juvenile court, instead of recidivism into
an incarceration facility or detention center. Although assessing recidivism as a re-adjudication is
informative, not every youth that enters the juvenile justice system is subsequently sent into an
incarceration or confinement center (Scott, 2018). According to this proposed research, this
placement in detention centers will be of interest since it usually increases consequent offending.
THE INFLUENCE OF GENDER ON JUVENILE RECIDIVISM
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Particularly, the experiences of incarceration are unique for males and females, increasing the
likelihood that incinerated juveniles will continue engaging in crime, in turn, expanding the
chances of recidivism. As a result, it is critical to find the risk factors impacting both placement
in detention centers and recidivism among males and females.
Therefore, the significance of this research question is that for us to identify the impacts
of the factors that lead some juveniles to re-offend, it is important to know the unique
experiences of males and females in the juvenile justice system and how these experiences
influence the rates of recidivism (Pusch & Holtfreter, 2017). While focusing on gender, this
research will be seeking to show the importance of the environment, culture, family, friends, and
even spiritual life. This is because a juvenile requires a family to belong to, to provide for their
needs, and push the things that develop their skills by sending them to school. A juvenile also
has friends that will accept who and what they are and influence their lives. Similarly, the
environment is part of these factors, which together, uniquely contribute to offending in juvenile
delinquents and the consequent recidivism.
The Research Audience
There are individuals or audiences, who will benefit from this research. The study is for
the youths who are involved and those who are considering involving in criminal activities. It
will provide them with an understanding of the reasons for their participation in crimes and how
their gender influences their likelihood of recidivism. A life of crime is not what anyone wants.
Due to various circumstances, youth find themselves getting involved in crime and offending
(Pusch & Holtfreter, 2017). For both male and female juveniles, reasons for involvement in
crime can be as simple as thinking that life is unfair and everyone is against them, or serious,
such as neglect and abuse, poverty, lack of proper parenting, among others. However, these
THE INFLUENCE OF GENDER ON JUVENILE RECIDIVISM
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factors sometimes raise debates. This study may assist in developing programs in which families
will benefit by better understanding and utilizing more positive strategic approaches while
working with their children (Scott, 2018). Therefore, with my research question, we will learn
more about juvenile recidivism among males and females.
This research will provide preliminary data on gender differences in recidivism for
juveniles who enter the justice system. My research will add to an already existing discourse on
juvenile delinquency. There is a general consensus among practitioners that juveniles who
continue offending after entering the justice system are increasingly at risk for a number of
adverse consequences such as repeat detention, poor academic achievement, high-risk sexual
behavior, substance use, and involvement in the adult criminal justice system (Scott, 2018).
However, there is a need for a gender understanding of juvenile recidivism.
The research will play an important role in practitioners’ decisions concerning
interventions to reduce recidivism for both genders. Do to the fact that more females are being
arrested and incarcerated, there is a need for prison officials and practitioners to identify the
differences in the way female and male juvenile offenders experience the world, as well as how
it influences their approach to their offenses and whether they will decide to do it again (Pusch &
Holtfreter, 2017). Therefore, it is only when rehabilitation programs and services are tailored to
meet female and male delinquents’ unique needs separately can this protected section of the
prison population be served effectively. It is not enough to make a few modifications to male
designed programs to suit the female population. The way females and males respond to
circumstances is very different for such an approach to be successful. In essence, female juvenile
offenders are often a misunderstood population (Scott, 2018). To help female juvenile offenders
out of recidivism, the practitioner will have to create programs from scratch, considering the
THE INFLUENCE OF GENDER ON JUVENILE RECIDIVISM
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unique needs of females. Research has generally demonstrated that programs that treat women
exclusively are more effective than the one-size-fits-all programs in addressing female
recidivism. According to Conrad et al. (2014), whether or not this results from females’ learned,
natural inclination to follow males, or whether they feel more comfortable using all of the
group’s instruments in homogenous situations, it should be considered when creating gender
tailored intervention.
Practitioners can use the insights from this proposed research to effect positive social change.
According to Pusch and Holtfreter (2017), as a field, juvenile justice can implement, amend, and
enhance procedures for intervention approaches focused on countering the risk factors as well as
their influences on juvenile recidivism. Therefore, the research question represents an important
exploration of the link between gender and recidivism. Similarly, it will build on existing
research to provide a new understanding of the issues of juveniles in the justice system.
This research will stir practitioners and scholars into a new direction focusing on the
gender element provide additional information, especially when it comes to other subtle issues,
such as the development of PTSD, and how it is linked to recidivism among males and females.
This is underlined by the fact that although male juvenile offenders might require more
intervention concerning their impulsive behavior and criminal attitudes, female juvenile
offenders with a history of child sexual abuse may require trauma-based support and treatment to
prevent recidivism.
THE INFLUENCE OF GENDER ON JUVENILE RECIDIVISM
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Overcoming Ethical Concerns
I am aware of the potential ethical issues that will arise while conducting my research.
However, I am well placed to overcome them. I will adhere to and follow both the American
Psychological Association’s ethical principles and the university’s procedures and policies in my
research (American Psychological Association, 2014). This will include submitting an IRB
application for approval. It will identify the purpose of the research, actions, and procedures for
the respondents’ ethical protection. I will use the American Psychological Association Manual
guidelines on conducting ethical research.
I will follow both the IRB and APA principles for informed consent as well as for approval
of the study details during the inquiry into the recruitment (American Psychological Association,
2014). I will explain the objectives of my study, procedure, data collection and analysis, benefits
and risks in the participant’s consent form as well as the required participants’ signatures,
signifying their consent to take part in my research.
I will include the university’s IRB approval number and measures for the confidentiality of
participants. A study participant or guardian will electronically sign the consent form prior to any
interviews or in person at the start of interviews. However, a participant will be free to withdraw
or cease their participation in my research anytime without any adverse consequence(s). The
anonymity of the study participants will be ensured by the use of number codes and secure
storage for data. Working with juveniles will propose issues with guardianship. Therefore, I will
have to seek guardianship consent as well.
THE INFLUENCE OF GENDER ON JUVENILE RECIDIVISM
References
American Psychological Association. (2014, June 30). APA: Psychologists should obtain
informed consent from research participants.
https://www.apa.org/news/press/releases/2014/06/informed-consent
Conrad, S. M., Tolou-Shams, M., Rizzo, C. J., Placella, N., & Brown, L. K. (2014). Gender
differences in recidivism rates for juvenile justice youth: the impact of sexual abuse.
Law and Human Behavior, 38(4), 305-314. https://doi.org/10.1037/lhb0000062
Pusch, N., & Holtfreter, K. (2017). Gender and risk assessment in juvenile offenders: A
meta-analysis. Criminal Justice and Behavior, 45(1), 56-81.
https://doi.org/10.1177/0093854817721720
Schwalbe, C. S., Fraser, M. W., Day, S. H., & Cooley, V. (2006). Classifying juvenile
offenders according to the risk of recidivism. Criminal Justice and Behavior, 33(3),
305-324. https://doi.org/10.1177/0093854806286451
Scott, T. (2018). Risks, strengths, and recidivism among justice-involved youth:
Investigating gender differences and similarities. Journal of Consulting and Clinical
Psychology. https://doi.org/10.22215/etd/2017-12194
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