A Classification of High-Risk Youths

The authors report the results of developing and evaluating a classification of 315 arrested youths processed at the Hillsborough County Juvenile Assessment Center in Tampa, Florida. Cluster analysis of summary measures of nine baseline alcohol/other drug use and self-reported delinquency variables identified four groups of youths: (a) low-level delinquents and drug users, (b) high-level delinquents, (c) hair-test-identified marijuana and cocaine users, and (d) self-reported drug users. The validity of the typology was assessed by comparing the clusters of youths on their(a) educational experiences; (b) delinquency referral history; (c) neglect, abuse, and family problem history; (d) close friends’ problem behavior; and, of particular interest, given the focus of the analyses, (e) emotional/psychological functioning and mental health and substance abuse treatment history. The findings indicate the youths were experiencing overlapping delinquency, alcohol/other drug use, and emotional/psychological problems. The cooccurrence of these problems among youths entering the juvenile justice system extends findings of their co-occurrence reported in studies of incarcerated youths.