Individualization, criminalization, or problem resolution: A factorial survey of juvenile court judges' decisions to incarcerate youthful felony offenders

Existing research on the, criteria used by juvenile court judges in choosin g dispositions is limited in two respects. First, the predictor variables i ncluded in most investigations have been limited either in number or in the quality of their measurement. Second, research has not focused on sentenci ng decisions for serious offenders. Using a factorial survey of juvenile co urt judges, the present study seeks to determine what factors shape disposi tion decisions for juvenile felony offenders. The results suggest that judg es focus primarily on offense characteristics, and are influenced only marg inally by the offender's social characteristics. These findings are more co nsistent with the view that juvenile courts are becoming "criminalized" tha n with the view that individualized treatment is the goal. An alternative i nterpretation-that judges may be problem solvers, trying to dispose of case s efficiently-also is proposed.