The Use of Reinforcement and Punishment on Incarcerated and Probated Substance-Abusing Juvenile Offenders

• Author: Sergei Tsytsarev,Jennifer Manger,Deborah Lodrini
• Date: 01 February 2000
• DOI: 10.1177/0306624X00441003
• Published date: 01 February 2000
• Subject Matter: Journal Article

InternationalJournalofOffenderTherapy and Comparative Criminology

UseofReinforcementandPunishment

The Use of Reinforcement and

Punishment on Incarcerated and

Probated Substance-Abusing

Juvenile Offenders

Sergei Tsytsarev

Jennifer Manger

Deborah Lodrini

Abstract: The primary sentencing options for juvenile offenders areincarceration and pro-

bationinto community-basedrehabilitation programs.Each modelrelieson differentbehav-

ioralprinciples, punishment andreinforcementrespectively, toachieve thegoals ofthe juve-

nile justice system, which include a decrease in rates of recidivism. Self-esteem has been

found to be negatively correlated to criminal and substance abuse recidivism in past

research.The current study sought to determine the differential effects of imprisonment and

probation on self-esteem in a sample of 50 substance-abusingjuvenile offenders, sentenced

toone oftheaforementionedadjudication options.Participants weregroupadministered the

Culture-Free Self-Esteem Inventory and the Substance Abuse Subtle Screening Inventory.

Theresultsindicated thatthe punishment(incarcerated)group obtainedsignificantly higher

scores on a scale measuring social self-esteem than the reinforcement (probation) group.

The authors discuss theories that may help explain the current findings.

The juvenile justice system is faced with the challenge of balancing society’s

needs for protection, retribution, and rehabilitation. Currently, a debate exists

regarding the type of remediation that would be most beneficial for both the juve-

nile offender and society as a whole. Greenwood (1994) concluded that appropri-

ate correctional services for those defined as high-risk individuals, services that

specifically address criminogenic needs such as substance abuse or anger man-

agement, could reduce recidivism by as much as 50%. This strongly indicates the

need to investigatetraditional as well as alternative sentencing strategies to deter-

mine which treatment programs are most effective in meeting the goals of the

juvenile justice system.

Two models of correction have traditionally been used in the adjudication of

juvenile offenders: imprisonment and probation into community-based rehabili-

tation programs. From a behavioral perspective, imprisonment represents the

NOTE:This paper was presented in a different version at the World Congress on Behavior and Cogni-

tive Therapies, Acapulco, Mexico, July 1998.

International Journal of Offender Therapy and ComparativeCriminology, 44(1), 2000 22-32

2000 Sage Publications, Inc.

22