Nueces County Juvenile Delinquency Risk Factors Executive Summary

NUECESCOUNTY JUVENILE DELINQUENCY RISK FACTORS

EXECUTIVE SUMMARY[1]

The continuing mission of the Data Collection and Analysis Work Group is to provide to the Youth Opportunities United (YOU) Committees and the community as a whole a data based image of the community’s juvenile delinquency risk factors. The Data Work Group, supported by the Social Science Research Center, Texas A&M University – Corpus Christi, has collected and analyzed data for 135 indicators relating to 18 risk factors. Added to that data are the results from the YOU Middle School/Junior High Student Survey – 2000 and several surveys of adults. The full report details improvements on a variety of risk factors.

An integrated cluster of four risk factor sets was identified as a group of Priority Risk Factors for the community.

They are related to each other by cause and effect and contribute to all five problem behaviors: delinquency, violence, drug use, teen pregnancy, and dropout. The Priority Risk Factors are reported in their order of seriousness for the community.

Family Management Problems and Family Conflict are confirmed by higher County rates of family violence, higher rates of child abuse victimization, and higher divorce rates in comparison to the State. For 2003, the rate of confirmed victims of child abuse was double in NuecesCounty as compared to the State.

The numbers of children in foster care and domestic violence victims being served by local agencies have increased. From 1994 to 2003, the number of domestic violence victims served in the County increased 32.4%. The YOU survey data indicated that child abuse is highly under reported in NuecesCounty. According to the YOU survey data, rates of abusive physical discipline are much higher than the officially reported rates of child abuse for NuecesCounty. These risk factors interfere with bonding and the development of healthy beliefs and clear standards. They damage children’s potential for development.

Extreme Economic Deprivation is confirmed by significantly lower per capita income and a higher rate of unemployment of the County when compared to the

State. NuecesCounty per capita income was approximately $2,440 lower than the State figure in 2002. Also, the County has higher proportions of families in poverty and students from economically disadvantaged families than the State. This leaves families under economic stress and unable to provide adequate support to children. Children grow up in environments conducive to the production of problem behaviors.

Favorable Parental Attitudes Toward the Problem Behavior is confirmed by the increase of adult alcohol related arrests and drug abuse violations from 1995 to 2000. However, from 2000 to 2002, alcohol related arrests decreased by 16.0%. The number of adults in alcohol or drug treatment units has steadily increased in NuecesCounty. The sales of alcoholic beverages in NuecesCounty have remained relatively stable. The increases of alcohol and drug abuse are strikingly clear among the adults in the County. It is likely that these adult behaviors are sending a powerful message to the children of NuecesCounty. Evidence for this conclusion is found with the indicator that follows. The long-term effects of alcohol abuse can be seen by the higher death rates due to liver disease and cirrhosis in NuecesCounty as compared to the State. Adult violent crimes arrests and adult property crime arrests have steadily decreased in NuecesCounty. Also, homicides, robberies, and aggravated assaults committed with firearms have steadily decreased in NuecesCounty.
Early Initiation of the Problem Behavior is confirmed by higher rates of

delinquency for the 10 to 14 age range than the State and Nation, increasing drug arrests for this same age group, frequent higher dropout rates than the State, and a higher teen pregnancy rate than the State. The YOU survey data indicated that 16% of NuecesCounty middle and junior high school students reported that they had first used alcohol or drugs by age 10 or younger.

The data permit the conclusion that the eight risk factors described below are also present and contribute to delinquency and problem behaviors in the community.

Early Academic Failure is confirmed by lower TAAS scores and lower proportions of students scoring above the accountability criteria on SAT and ACT exams. The YOU survey data indicates that NuecesCounty students are more likely to report their average grades as “B’s” and “C’s” rather than “A’s” when compared to students nationwide. The indicators demonstrate improvement on this risk factor since 1998.
Lack of Commitment to School is confirmed by lower average daily attendance rates than the State. The YOU survey data confirms that truancy is a problem in our community. Of those students responding, 22.6% reported they had “skipped” or “cut” school one or more days during the school year. The indicators demonstrate improvement on this risk factor since 1998.
Rebelliousness is confirmed by reported vandalism and graffiti damage, and children assessed or processed by the Corpus ChristiJuvenileAssessmentCenter. According to the YOU Middle School/Junior High Survey, 44.8% of the students indicated gangs existed in their school.
Favorable Attitudes Toward the Problem Behavior is confirmed by State student surveys and the local YOU student survey assessing adolescent’s perception of the harmfulness of alcohol and marijuana use. Of those students participating in the local YOU survey, only 17.8% viewed drugs as a serious or very serious problem and even less, 14.7% viewed drinking as a problem.
Friends who Engage in the Problem Behavior is confirmed by State student surveys and the local YOU student survey. According to the YOU survey data, 15.6% reported that their friends have carried

a weapon to school. Problem behaviors are also confirmed by drug treatment data, health data for diagnosed cases of sexually transmitted diseases, and higher teenage pregnancy rates for the community when compared to Texas.

Availability of drugs is confirmed by State student surveys and the local YOU student survey indicating the readily availability of alcohol and marijuana and by County sales figures for alcoholic beverages.
Community Laws and Norms Favorable Toward Drug Use and Crime is confirmed by significant increases in juvenile drug offenses arrests and an increase in school discipline for behavior problems. The YOU survey data confirms that alcohol and drug use is a serious problem among 8th graders in NuecesCounty. The YOU survey data also indicates that bullying is a problem among students.
Family History of High-Risk Behavior is confirmed by the number of adults in drug treatment, higher levels of deaths due to liver disease and cirrhosis than the State and poorer performance on literacy tests than the State.

Inadequate data or data indicators that point in opposite direction were found for six risk factors. These factors may have an effect in the community; however, additional data is needed to make that determination. These factors are discussed in the full report.

Data collection continues to be limited by the level of government for which data are tabulated, the absence of data for some indicators, and the presence of multiple school districts in the County. The Social Science Research Center (SSRC) is attempting to collect data for at least five-year periods for data indicators. It is adding data indicators to the set and is expanding the collection effort to systemic variables, adult issues, and victim data. The SSRC is attempting to develop the capacity to collect neighborhood data, engage in mapping data, and provide program evaluation data.

For more information or copies/full text reports contact:

TexasA&MUniversity – Corpus Christi

SocialScienceResearchCenter

6300 Ocean Drive, Suite 2005

Corpus Christi, Texas78412

Philip W. Rhoades, Ph.D.

(361) 825-2637

Kristina M. Zambrano, MPA

(361) 825-3206

Fax: (361) 825-3784

[1] Revised Edition June 30, 2004