Abstract

For juveniles in residential facilities, visits from family can be quite important. But juveniles are routinely confined far from home, and travel distance can deter many families from visiting. In the current study, we examined the conditions under which families overcome distance as a barrier to visitation. We used data on juveniles who completed residential placement in Florida (N = 2,345) and negative case analysis to explore whether household income, parent-child closeness, and family support affected the likelihood that youth were visited despite being far from home. Results indicated that, although distance reduced the likelihood of visitation, many juveniles were still visited at great distances from home. Additionally, families with higher household incomes and greater parent-child closeness were more likely to travel substantial distances to visit. These findings suggest that policies aimed at increasing parent-child closeness and access to financial resources could maximize visitation for confined youth.

摘要

对于居住设施中的青少年来说，家人的探视可能非常重要。但青少年通常被限制在离家很远的地方，而且旅行距离可能会阻止许多家庭来访。在当前的研究中，我们研究了家庭克服距离作为探视障碍的条件。我们使用了在佛罗里达州完成居住安置的青少年的数据（N = 2,345）和负面案例分析，以探讨家庭收入、亲子亲密度和家庭支持是否会影响尽管远离家乡的青少年被探访的可能性。结果表明，尽管距离降低了探视的可能性，但仍有许多青少年在离家很远的地方被探视。此外，家庭收入较高且亲子亲密度较高的家庭更有可能长途跋涉去探望。这些研究结果表明，旨在增加亲子亲密度和获得财政资源的政策可以最大限度地增加对受限青少年的探视。