EXPLORING EFFECTIVE PARENTING AND THE JUVENILE JUSTICE SYSTEM
by Chris Tirrell ’09

Last summer as part of the Stonehill Undergraduate Research Experience (SURE) program, I collaborated with Susan Guarino, professor of criminology, on research into effective parenting and the juvenile justice system.

Our research examined the juvenile justice system’s underlying philosophy of parens patriae, or the state acting as a parent to children in need, and we connected it to a recently established body of research. 

This research identifies “authoritative” parents -- those who receive high scores for warmth/involvement and strictness/supervision -- as the most effective caregivers of adolescents in general, and delinquents in particular.

Collaborating with Faculty
Our research looked at the staff of juvenile correctional programs, those who act as the de facto parental surrogates. We examined how closely they adhere to the ideal model of authoritative parents as defined by experts on adolescent development.

Our research made several contributions to the fields of criminology and juvenile justice. 

We determined that our questionnaires successfully measured parenting styles and our findings suggest that the expression of warmth/involvement is currently not as high a priority for staff as strictness/supervision. 

This may be a function of current policies in staff recruitment, staff selection, training, and/or staff performance incentives within the programs.

Making Professional Presentations
Building on our research, Prof. Guarino and I co-authored a panel presentation “Parens Patriae in Juvenile Corrections: The Ideal Versus the Actual,” which we presented at the American Society of Criminology meeting in Atlanta, Ga., on November 16, 2007. 

I also presented “Ineffective Parenting as a Socioeconomic Risk Factor for Juvenile Delinquency” at the New England Sociological Association meetings at Stonehill College on November 3, 2007. 

We submitted a manuscript titled “Staff-Parenting Styles in Juvenile Corrections” to the professional journal Crime and Delinquency and it is under consideration for publication at present.

Invited to Serve by State Commissioner
As a result of this work, the Commissioner of Department of Youth Services (DYS) Jane Tewksbury invited us to join the DYS Workforce Development Committee, which is re-designing job descriptions for program staff and developing a tool, based on our research, to screen job applicants. 

Guarino and Tirrell have already submitted their SURE proposal for summer 2008. In February, they will learn if it is approved.

A double major in sociology and psychology, Tirrell plans to attend law school. An earlier version of this article appeared in the The Thalmus, the newsletter of the College’s Psychology Department. 

Issued 1/2/08