Drug Testing of Juvenile Detainees to Identify High-Risk Youth in Florida, 1986-1987

This data collection examines the interrelationships among drug/alcohol use, childhood sexual or physical abuse, and encounters with the juvenile justice system. To identify high-risk individuals, youths in a Tampa juvenile detention center were given urine tests and were asked a series of questions about past sexual and/or physical abuse. Official record searches were also conducted 6, 12, and 18 months afterward to measure later encounters with the juvenile or criminal justice systems. The investigators used the youths' urine test results as the primary measure of drug use. On the basis of their review of Florida's statutes, the investigators developed outcome measures for the following offense categories: violent felonies (murder/manslaughter, robbery, sex offenses, aggravated assault), property felonies (arson, burglary, auto theft, larceny/theft, stolen property offenses, damaging property offenses), drug felonies (drug offenses), violent misdemeanors (sex offenses, nonaggravated assault), property misdemeanors (larceny/theft, stolen property offenses, damaging property offenses), drug misdemeanors (drug offenses), and public disorder misdemeanors (public disorder offenses, trespassing offenses). Other variables measured physical and sexual abuse, emotional and psychological functioning, and prior drug use. Demographic variables on sex, race, age, and education are also contained in the data. The individual is the unit of analysis.

本数据集旨在探讨药物/酒精使用、童年性虐待或身体虐待与少年司法系统接触之间的相互关系。为识别高风险个体，研究人员对坦帕少年拘留中心的青少年进行了尿液检测，并询问了一系列关于其过往性虐待和/或身体虐待经历的问题。此后6、12和18个月，研究人员还开展了官方记录检索，以评估这些青少年后续与少年或刑事司法系统的接触情况。研究人员将青少年的尿液检测结果作为药物使用情况的主要衡量指标。基于对佛罗里达州法规的审查，研究人员针对以下犯罪类别制定了结果衡量指标：暴力重罪（谋杀/过失杀人、抢劫、性犯罪、严重袭击）、财产重罪（纵火、入室盗窃、汽车盗窃、盗窃、赃物犯罪、破坏财产罪）、毒品重罪（毒品犯罪）、暴力轻罪（性犯罪、非严重袭击）、财产轻罪（盗窃、赃物犯罪、破坏财产罪）、毒品轻罪（毒品犯罪）以及公共秩序轻罪（公共秩序犯罪、非法侵入罪）。其他变量涵盖身体与性虐待经历、情绪与心理功能状态以及既往药物使用情况。数据中还包含性别、种族、年龄和教育程度等人口统计学变量，分析单位为个体。