The reciprocal relations between well‐being and maternal and peer warmth in adolescents involved in the juvenile justice system

Introduction Although justice system involvement increases the risk of negative outcomes for adolescents, many justice‐involved youth desist from crime as adults (Sampson & Laub, 2005). There are few studies examining predictors of positive development in justice‐involved adolescents. In the current study, we assess the influence of maternal and peer warmth on the development of well‐being in adolescents involved in the US justice system over the course of 5 years. Methods Participants included 1216 adolescent males who experienced their first arrest. Interviews were given every year for 5 years. Well‐being was measured using the EPOCH questionnaire (Kern et al., 2016) and relationship warmth was measured using a scale adapted from Conger et al. (1994). Hypotheses were tested using latent curve models with structured residuals. Results Baseline levels of well‐being were associated with maternal (β = 0.49, p