EMPIRICAL RESEARCH Influences of Neighborhood Context, Individual History and Parenting Behavior on Recidivism Among Juvenile Offenders Heidi E. Grunwald • Brian Lockwood • Philip W. Harris • Jeremy Mennis Received: 13 November 2009 / Accepted: 15 February 2010 / Published online: 4 March 2010 Ó Springer Science+Business Media, LLC 2010 Abstract This study examined the effects of neighbor- hood context on juvenile recidivism to determine if neigh- borhoods influence the likelihood of reoffending. Although a large body of literature exists regarding the impact of environmental factors on delinquency, very little is known about the effects of these factors on juvenile recidivism. The sample analyzed includes 7,061 delinquent male juveniles committed to community-based programs in Philadelphia, of which 74% are Black, 13% Hispanic, and 11% White. Since sample youths were nested in neighborhoods, a hier- archical generalized linear model was employed to predict recidivism across three general categories of recidivism offenses: drug, violent, and property. Results indicate that predictors vary across the types of offenses and that drug offending differs from property and violent offending. Neighborhood-level factors were found to influence drug offense recidivism, but were not significant predictors of violent offenses, property offenses, or an aggregated recid- ivism measure, despite contrary expectations. Implications stemming from the finding that neighborhood context influences only juvenile drug recidivism are discussed. Keywords Juvenile recidivism Á Community context Á Neighborhood effects Á Drug offending While few empirical studies have examined neighborhood- level predictors of juvenile recidivism, the effects of environmental forces have played a leading role in the development of criminological theory and juvenile justice policy. The proliferation of juvenile courts during the early twentieth century has been attributed to concern for neighborhoods unable to prevent delinquency (Harris et al. 2000; Tanenhaus 2004). Shaw and McKay’s (1942) semi- nal research on delinquency rates in Chicago concluded that the spatial distribution of neighborhood characteristics influences delinquency rates. Even today, consideration of juveniles’ environments as they relate to delinquency influences juvenile court decisions (Fader et al. 2001). Reducing the likelihood that juvenile offenders will commit future offenses is a primary goal of the juvenile justice system. State-level juvenile recidivism rates as high as 55% have been reported (Snyder and Sickmund 2006). In 2003, the rate of juveniles in custody was 307 for every 100,000 juveniles, with more than 92,000 juveniles held in public and private juvenile facilities, according to a 1-day count (Snyder and Sickmund 2006: 201). This figure rep- resents a 28% increase in juvenile confinement since 1991. Moreover, Snyder and Sickmund (2006: 234) estimate the juvenile reincarceration rate at 24%. These recidivism and reincarceration rates are largely attributed to individual and family factors, or to program impact. Relatively little attention, however, has been given to the environmental factors that increase or decrease the H. E. Grunwald Beasley School of Law, Temple University, Philadelphia, PA 19122, USA e-mail: grunwald@temple.edu B. Lockwood (&) Á P. W. Harris Department of Criminal Justice, Temple University, Philadelphia, PA 19122, USA e-mail: brianl@temple.edu P. W. Harris e-mail: phil.harris@temple.edu J. Mennis Department of Geography and Urban Studies, Temple University, Philadelphia, PA 19122, USA e-mail: mennis@temple.edu 123 J Youth Adolescence (2010) 39:1067–1079 DOI 10.1007/s10964-010-9518-5