Research by Author & Topic

Publications by Caterina Gouvis Roman on Adolescents and Youth Development

In this letter to The Charlotte Observer editor, Caterina Roman explains that the recent surge in drug use and other high-risk behaviors among young Latinos can be a sign of their adjustment to the American culture and that the only way to prevent this is to understand the process of acculturation.

The SafeFutures Program to Reduce Juvenile Delinquency and Youth Violence was a five-year six-site demonstration supported by the Office of Juvenile Justice and Delinquency Prevention (OJJDP), U.S. Department of Justice. SafeFutures sought to prevent and control juvenile crime and victimization through a continuum of prevention, intervention, and treatment services to meet the needs of at-risk and delinquent youth. The At-Risk and Delinquent Girls component was intended to provide services to meet the unique emotional and developmental needs of young women. This report examines the programs targeted to at-risk girls in each site. The report also includes a brief overview of some promising national programs. The report then focuses on the efforts of the six SafeFutures sites in developing and maintaining programs targeted to at-risk and delinquent girls.

This study tests the assumption that community-based organizations and other neighborhood institutions help build community well-being, and, in testing the assumption, seeks to develop a measure of these organizations that represents the social-capital generating function of organizations. The study examines: (1) whether the presence (the number or density) of organizations, institutions and businesses is related to neighborhood well-being; (2) if the location (distance) of community-based organizations has a role in neighborhood well-being, and (3) whether the capacity of community organizations factors into neighborhood well-being.

The falling rate of violent crime in the United States is not likely to reduce the need for effective policies and programs to address youth gun violence. The rate of firearm deaths among American youth is still one of the highest in the world. In the coming years, all levels of government, the private sector, and communities will require sound information and practical guidance as they try to reduce gun violence among young people. Funded by the Joyce Foundation, this report reviews recent trends in youth gun violence, policy responses to gun violence, and the growing variety of data resources for research on the effects of gun laws. The report is designed to inform discussions about these issues and to aid in the development of future research efforts.

This report documents three locally based demonstration programs targeted toward criminally-involved and at-risk youth. It focuses on the ability of these programs to provide comprehensive services to at-risk youth through an integrated delivery system. It also examines the barriers and successes the programs have encountered during start-up and the first year of program operations. A design for formally evaluating the projects that analyzes process, outcome, costs, and cost effectiveness is included. The report concludes with a summary of project activities at each demonstration site, recommendations for program operations, and a strategy for proceeding with cross-site evaluation.

This report evaluates the effects of systemwide drug testing based on the experience of the Multnomah County Drug Testing and Evaluation Program (DTE) to determine whether DTE reduces criminal activity and increases compliance with court orders among defendants or offenders released under court supervision. The authors describe their research on the potential utility of drug testing programs, discuss the key components of systemwide drug testing, and provide details on DTE. Included are the conceptual framework that guided the evaluation and a description of study methodology. The report concludes with a discussion of the effect of DTE during pretrial, probation, and parole.