VOL L M E R AWAR D COMMEN TARY

V O L L M E R A W A R D

The Best Science Is the Most Practical

Approach to Delinquency Prevention
The Contributions of Denise Gottfredson

Patrick Tolan
University of Virginia

T
he Vollmer Award is given for scholarship and professional activities that have
made outstanding contributions to justice or prevention of criminal or delinquent
behavior. It is my distinct pleasure to be able to comment on this award to Denise
Gottfredson, who is an apt awardee, epitomizing the purpose of the award (D. Gottfredson,
2017, this issue). Over the past 35 years, Professor Gottfredson has conducted seminal
studies that contributed knowledge to the field in numerous areas, including:
r Effects of prevention through randomized control trials
r Causes of delinquency
r Methodology in criminology and prevention
r The relation of education to delinquency and crime
r Schools as venues for prevention
r The processes comprising prevention effects
r Issues in implementing prevention to scale
r Policies that would increase influence of empirical evidence in guiding policy
r Policy evaluation to improve impact

She has been a critical influence across a broad array of topics, all of which link
scholarship and practice in a manner that is central to the intention of the Vollmer
Award. Each contribution has on its own lessened the gap between research and prac-
tice, argued eloquently for sound research to guide practice and policy, and enabled
insights otherwise obscured. As a body of work for more than three decades, the im-
pact is multitudinal and extends influence deeply in several areas. While surveying her

Direct correspondence to Patrick Tolan, Youth-Nex Center, University of Virginia, 405 Emmet St. South, P.O.
Box 400281, Charlottesville, VA 22904-4281 (e-mail: pht6t@virginia.edu).

DOI:10.1111/1745-9133.12279 C 2017 American Society of Criminology 35

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Vollmer Award Commentary Vollmer Award

accomplishments, three distinct and important themes emerge: putting trust in the re-
search process, the importance of integrity in that work, and a focus on gauging the
value of research by its utility. The cumulative impact has been to shape prevention pol-
icy and practices, firmly linking the field of education to the criminal justice system,
and promoting the utilization of experimental studies to determine which interventions
should be championed. Gottfredson has accomplished this with eloquence, forthright-
ness, and irrefutable logic through her writing, presentations, committee work, and policy
advisement.
Denise entered criminology after graduate training in social relations and brought
her earlier scholarly work from that realm with her as she joined the Gottfredson family,
a multigenerational criminology research family. This work includes study of vocational
choice (G. Gottfredson and Daiger, 1977; note she is Daiger on this publication, not
Gottfredson) and racial and ethnic differences in school performance (Thomas, McPartland,
and Gottfredson, 1981). By bringing this different perspective to criminology, she was
influential in shaping the emerging framework of her generations criminology scholars:
that delinquency is a complex and varied set of behaviors that emerges developmentally
from contextual as well as from person influences. Inherent in this view is the recognition
that systems such as schools, courts, and civic entities are each important in understanding
both problem and typical behavior, and that working across systems is not only valuable but
also advantageous (D. Gottfredson, 1985). For example, her 1985 article in Developmental
Psychology, Youth, Employment, Crime and Schooling, was among the first to show
that employment may not always be beneficial for youth and may even be implicated in
delinquency risk. The article also presented some of the first empirical linkage of risk factors
across settings.
Denise and her collaborators undertook several of the first valid empirical tests of
delinquency prevention programs and approaches, widening the prevailing focus on indi-
viduals to environments and systems. They were among the first to head upstream to
test delinquency prevention before individuals entered the juvenile justice. Even at these
early points in prevention science and ahead of the reliance on randomized control trials,
their work stands out for the quality of its design and implementation and for empirically
testing the theory of risk reduction (e.g., D. Gottfredson, 1986). These early studies set
the framework for a continuous stream of first-rate trials by Denise and her primary col-
laborator (husband Gary) and for much of the subsequent interventions focused on school
climate in prevention (Richards, Gottfredson, and Gottfredson, 1991). Along the way,
they provided several key methodological and measurement contributions (summarized in
D. Gottfredson, 1990). The influence of this work extended well beyond criminology
to affect educational research, clinical and school psychology, measurement and methods
of intervention analyses, and programming for preventing delinquency. The now accepted
linkage of developmental psychology, prevention science, education settings as foci for inter-
vention, and delinquency prevention is directly traceable to the work of Denise Gottfredson

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 Tolan

(summarized in D. Gottfredson, Wilson, and Najaka, 2002, and Cook, Gottfredson, and
Na, 2010).
Another difference in Gottfredsons work that has shaped our thinking through ran-
domized trials of prevention is her frequent testing of programs developed by others (e.g.,
D. Gottfredson, Kumpfer, et al., 2006). A weakness of the prevention literature is the
predominance of evaluations by program developers. Another deficit is that often the im-
plementation comprises resources and methods of quality control that are not likely to be
approximated in the actual application (efficacy rather than effectiveness evaluations). Her
teams effectiveness randomized control trials of efficacious programs helped advance the
recognition of the importance of independent replication and of tests in real-world imple-
mentation conditions for judging what works. This line of work substantially influenced
standards for judging efficacy and effectiveness (e.g., Flay et al., 2005) and helped expose
many of the vexing challenges in replication research (e.g., Aos et al., 2011).
Simultaneous to these contributions, Gottfredson also published a critical line of
research on the effects of drug courts for affecting subsequent arrest and substance use
(e.g., D. Gottfredson, Najaka, Kearley, and Rocha, 2006). As in other areas, the program
of research was based on rigorous randomized control studies in challenging settings, with
careful measurement, and precise testing of theorized processes of effects in addition to
documenting outcomes. And, as with her other areas of contributions, she also engaged
with state and federal agencies and organizations to help translate findings into policy
guidance and articulation of the next-stage research agenda. Denise continues to work
using this approach. She most recently turned her attention to teen courts, after-school
programs, and police presence in schools.
Denise has also been a central contributor to organizing the understanding of empir-
ical findings about delinquency intervention and prevention for practice. She was part of
the team that produced Preventing Crime: What Works, What Doesnt, Whats Promising:
A Report to the United States Congress (Sherman et al., 1997). She has been a member of
the Blueprints for Health Development Program (formerly the Blueprints for Violence
Prevention Program), which has set the benchmarks for implementing an independent
reviewer surveying evidence of program effects and for using scientific standards for confi-
dence in recommendations. She was a senior advisor for the What Works Clearinghouse.
She is also a member of the Top Tier Initiative of the Collaboration for Evidence Based
Policy. Most recently, she chaired the Society for Prevention Research Standards of Ev-
idence Task Force that integrates standards for conduct, publication, and evaluation of
preventive interventions. As such, she is arguably one of the most influential voices in
promulgating reliance on valid scientific evidence to identify what works and what is
ready for utilization. She certainly is the nexus of multiple important efforts toward that
goal.
This service to her fields of study and the many related professions she has affected,
however, are only some of the ways in which she has been influential. She has served

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Vollmer Award Commentary Vollmer Award

as vice president of the American Society of Criminology (20052006), the editor of

Criminology (20052011), a board member of the Society for Prevention Research, and
a member of several National Research Council committees. Not surprisingly, this award
that is so deserved follows numerous other awards from professional societies (e.g., The
Academy of Experimental Criminology 2009 Joan McCord Award; the Society for Preven-
tion Research Prevention Science Award; and the University of Maryland Woman of the
Year award).
I am fortunate to have worked in areas that overlap with Denises interests and to
have served with her on boards and committees. I have had the privilege of learning from
her, benefitting from her empirical and theoretical contribution, and working directly with
her on several efforts. Her precise thinking, her insistence on the value of the best science, her
expectations of high standards, and her wisdom in relating this to practical considerations
has improved my work and the field at large. Denises work exemplifies how to integrate
impeccable methodology and research integrity with practical interests. It also thoroughly
demonstrates the how scientific knowledge can best be used to address issues in reducing
delinquency, preventing crime, and promoting positive outcomes for youth. I am confident
Professor Vollmer would be very proud to have his name and work associated with Denises
exemplary contributions by way of this award.

References
Aos, Steve, Thomas D. Cook, Delbert S. Elliott, Denise C. Gottfredson, J. David Hawkins,
Mark W. Lipsey, and Patrick Tolan P. 2011. Commentary on Valentine, Jeffrey, et al.
replication in prevention science. Prevention Science, 12: 121122.
Cook, Philip J., Denise C. Gottfredson, and Chongmin Na. 2010. School crime control and
prevention. In (Michael Tonry, ed.), Crime and Justice: A Review of Research. Chicago,
IL: The University of Chicago Press.
Flay, Brian R., Anthony Biglan, Robert F. Boruch, Felipe Gonzalez Castro, Denise
Gottfredson, et al. 2005. Standards of evidence: Criteria for efficacy, effectiveness
and dissemination. Prevention Science, 6: 151176.
Gottfredson, Denise C. 1985. Youth employment, crime, and schooling: A longitudinal
study of a national sample. Developmental Psychology, 21: 419432.
Gottfredson, Denise C. 1986. An empirical test of school-based environmental and individ-
ual interventions to reduce the risk of delinquent behavior. Criminology, 24: 705731.
Gottfredson, Denise C. 1990. Changing school structures to benefit high risk youths. In
(Peter E. Leone, ed.), Understanding Troubled and Troubling Youth: Multidisciplinary
Perspectives. Newbury Park, CA: Sage.
Gottfredson, Denise C. 2017. Prevention research in schools: Past, present, and future.
Criminology & Public Policy, 16: 727.
Gottfredson, Denise C., Karol Kumpfer, Danielle Polizzi-Fox, David Wilson, Veronica
Puryear, Penny Beatty, and Myriam Vilmenay. 2006. The Strengthening Washington

38 Criminology & Public Policy

 Tolan

D.C. Families Project: A randomized effectiveness trial of family-based prevention.

Prevention Science, 7: 5776.
Gottfredson, Denise C., Stacy S. Najaka, Brook W. Kearley, and Carlos M. Rocha. 2006.
Long-term effects of participation in the Baltimore City Drug Treatment Court: Results
from an experimental study. Journal of Experimental Criminology, 2: 6798.
Gottfredson, Denise C., David B. Wilson, and Stacy S. Najaka. 2002. School-based crime
prevention. In (Lawrence W. Sherman, David P. Farrington, Brandon C. Welsh, and
Doris L. MacKenzie, eds.), Evidence-Based Crime Prevention. London, U.K.: Routledge.
Gottfredson, Gary D. and Denise C. Daiger. 1977. Using a classification of occupations to
describe age, sex, and time differences in employment patterns. Journal of Vocational
Behavior, 10: 121138.
Richards, James M., Denise C. Gottfredson, and Gary D. Gottfredson. 1991. Units of
analysis and the psychometrics of environmental assessment. Environment and Behavior,
23: 423437.
Sherman, Lawrence W., Denise C. Gottfredson, Doris L. MacKenzie, John Eck, Peter
Reuter, and Shawn Bushway. 1997. Preventing Crime: What Works, What Doesnt,
Whats Promising. Report to the U.S. Congress. Washington, DC: U.S. Department of
Justice, Office of Justice Programs, National Institute of Justice.
Thomas, Gail E., James M. McPartland, and Denise C. Gottfredson. 1981. Desegregation
and Black student higher educational access. In (Gail E. Thomas, ed.), Black Students in
Higher Education: Conditions and Experiences in the 1970s. Westport, CT: Greenwood
Press.

Patrick Tolan is a professor at the University of Virginia in the Curry School of Educa-
tion and in the Department of Psychiatry and Neurobehavioral Sciences in the School of
Medicine. He is director of the cross-university multidisciplinary center, Youth-Nex: The
U.Va. Center to Promote Effective Youth Development. Over the past 30 years, Professor
Tolan has conducted research studies on explanatory longitudinal studies and programs
to affect youth development and prevent problems such as youth violence, delinquency,
and criminal behavior. His latest book is Gene-Environment Transactions in Developmental
PsychopathologyThe Role of Intervention Research, a volume in the Brain Research Foun-
dation Symposium Series he edits (Springer, 2016). His most recent studies include syn-
thesizing models of positive youth development characteristics, understanding risk taking
as positive development, and a large scale group randomized trial of a twenty-first-century
health and wellness program for elementary schools. He serves on several advisory boards
including the Blueprints for Healthy Development. He is a fellow of the Academy of Exper-
imental Criminology. Among his awards are the Star of Science Award from the Childrens
Brain Research Foundation (2007), a Presidential Citation from the American Psycholog-
ical Association (2008), and the Nicholas Hobbs Award from the American Psychological
Association (2016).

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