Motivating Juvenile Offenders Toward Making Responsible Choices in Daily Life

Based on the premise that the best deterrent to delinquent behavior is the offender's motivation to engage in moral reasoning and action, this article describes the value of teaching scientifically formulated principles of morality in the juvenile justice system. The authors review The Facts of Life Seminar , a program for teaching scientifically formulated principles of morality to delinquent youth. Outcome statistics demonstrate this approach is effective in providing incentives for adjudicated adolescents to refrain from theft and violence, to keep their promises, and to tell the truth.