Juvenile reoffending is a costly and perplexing social problem. However, research and theory concerning juvenile reoffending have neglected to examine how young men's gender identities are constructed in the context of a juvenile justice system in which behavior reform through various therapies is a primary goal. This study draws on observational fieldwork in two residential correctional facilities and interviews with incarcerated juvenile male offenders to understand how masculinities are shaped within these institutional settings. They find that in the two settings, hegemonic forms of masculinities involving competition, hierarchy, stoicism, sexism, and homophobia were reinforced through institutional and interpersonal mechanisms. While alternative gender identity expressions were offered through various therapies, they were largely suppressed. This illustration of how masculinities are constructed in juvenile corrections provides a new way to examine the inner workings of institutions that are geared to change the attitudes and behaviors of the young men whom they serve.

This study uses Stein and Markus’ (1996) self-concept and behavior change framework to examine youth offenders’ responses to individual-level treatment in a residential correctional facility. The authors analysed transcripts collected from 10 male offenders, aged 15-17, who were interviewed at least three times over a period of four to six months. Results showed that while many offenders were able to identify negative trends in their life that led to their criminal behavior, other cognitively filtered out self-defeating information and did not identify troubling life patterns. Offenders also articulated visions of hoped for selves that were anchored in their lived experiences with positive role models and feared the selves that they might become if they continued down a criminal path. However, nearly all of the offenders had loosely organized or vague strategies for achieving their hoped for or idealized selves. Based on these findings, the authors pose implications for self-concept theory and for treatment practices with this population group.

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