Juvenile Transfer and the Specific Deterrence Hypothesis

We conducted a systematic review of recidivism outcomes for juveniles transferred to adult court, incorporating meta-analytic techniques. Nine studies—based on nine statistically independent samples—met the inclusion criteria. Pooled analysis suggests that juvenile transfer had no statistically significant effect on recidivism. However, the distribution of effect sizes was highly heterogeneous and, given the strength of the research designs, suggests that in some instances transfer may decrease recidivism and in others may increase it.