Gender, Ethnicity, and the Family Environment: Contributions to Assessment Efforts Within the Realm of Juvenile Justice

The present study examines potential variation in the family environments of African American and Caucasian males and females coming to the attention of the juvenile court. Results of initial analysis of variance (ANOVA) procedures indicated a significant Gender × Ethnicity interaction on scores from the family/parenting domain of the Global Risk Assessment Device, such that African American and Caucasian women displayed the greatest family risks and needs. Further ANOVA procedures indicated that factors related to family, gender, and ethnicity were significant predictors of illegal behavior, and the presence of a Gender × Family interaction was detected, such that the presence of higher family risk and needs coincided with African American and Caucasian women reporting relatively equal prior offenses with their male counterparts.