Youth violence: an exploratory study of a treatment program in a central Illinois county

A local treatment provider has developed an OPTIONS program to prevent adolescent aggression. The program is designed for youths who displayed threatening or abusive behaviors, particularly toward family members. This study described the characteristics of juveniles and their families who were referred to the program and if the program participation helped reduce the severity of violence and improve the communication skills among program participants. Referrals came from law enforcement, juvenile court services, school resource officers, and parents. Information on 100 juveniles and their families were provided by the counselors of the program. The findings showed that a large percentage of juveniles came from unstable families with a family history of criminal convictions, substance abuse, or mental illness. Program participants showed an improvement in communication skills and reduction in their levels of dangerousness.     

An uneven playing field: The impact of strain and coping skills on treatment outcomes for juvenile offenders

Purpose

This study examines the experiences of a group of drug-abusing juvenile offenders following their release from a residential treatment facility in order to determine how pre-existing levels of strain and coping skills affect their ability to benefit from the treatment program and avoid recidivism and relapse.

Methods

During an extensive pre-treatment interview, the youths were asked a variety of questions assessing potential sources of strain (including the experience of physical/emotional abuse and intra-familial violence, parental drug use, and physical/emotional health problems) and a variety of coping (cognitive, emotional, physical, social, and spiritual) skills. We hypothesized that pre-existing strain levels would decrease the likelihood of treatment success just as pre-existing coping skills levels would enhance it, but also predicted that the impact of strain on treatment success would be moderated by existing coping skills and that coping skills would have the greatest capacity to affect treatment outcomes among youths with higher levels of pre-treatment strain.

Results

Our findings offered mixed support for our hypotheses, including evidence that some coping skills mitigated the negative impact of strain whereas others seemed to intensify it. Implications of our findings are discussed and directions for future research are suggested.     

Screening the Mental Health Needs of Youths in Juvenile Detention

There is an increasing number of juveniles coming into the justice system with a variety of mental health and substance abuse concerns. While the actual number of youths with mental health disorders in the juvenile justice system has been difficult to determine, it is estimated to be substantially higher than it is for youths in the general population. In addition, researchers have estimated that a high number of these juveniles experience co‐morbid mental health disorders. The purpose of this study was to examine the number of youths who present symptoms of a mental health disorder at intake into a juvenile detention center in the Midwest. Two hundred‐four youths were assessed with the Massachusetts Youth Screening Instrument‐Second Version (MAYSI‐2; Grisso & Barnum, 2000), a mental health screening instrument. At least 68% of the youths identified symptoms of a mental health disorder at intake. Given the significant number of youths who identified symptoms of a mental health disorder at intake into detention, the need to provide mental health services for juvenile detainees should not be ignored.     

The Relationship Between Partner Abuse and Substance Use Among Women Mandated to Drug Treatment

This study investigates the relationship between substance use and partner abuse among women (N = 1,025) who entered drug-treatment programs through the criminal justice systems in New York City and Portland, Oregon. Self-report data on substance use and partner abuse indicate that although the rate of partner abuse in both cities is well above the national average, the less substance-involved women in Portland reported more abuse than their New York counterparts. Our analyses suggest that the relationship between partner abuse and substance use during conflicts varies within the population of women offenders who are heavily drug-involved, with women in Portland reporting a greater direct link between partner abuse and substance use. The findings indicate that there is a need for drug-treatment providers to understand their clients' victimization histories and the relationship between partner abuse and substance use in order to engage clients in the treatment process and help them learn how to avoid being victimized in the future.     

Experiences of Incarcerated Veterans in an All-Veterans Housing Unit: a Qualitative Study

Many US veterans leave military service with a variety of psychosocial risk factors stemming from readjustment to civilian life, and there is increased public concern about the incarceration of veterans given ongoing conflicts in Iraq and Afghanistan. Prisons are playing instrumental roles in developing interventions to address the problems justice-involved veterans face both psychologically and environmentally in the form of veterans’ service units (VSUs), dormitories developed to assist with community reintegration, and connecting veterans to medical and mental health services. This study uses qualitative data from 87 veterans on a VSU who participated in a program improvement survey asking about their programming and reentry needs, experiences on the unit compared to other units, and any suggestions for improvement. Qualitative analysis of responses identified several themes including veterans’ needs around physical fitness, job training, education, and mental health and substance abuse treatment; positive experiences on the VSU compared to traditional units; the positive partnership role with the State Department of Corrections and the local Veterans Affairs (VA) medical center; and concerns on the unit about VA eligibility, combat status, and “real veterans.” These results are some of the first to capture the experiences of veterans on a VSU and the findings highlight potential benefits and challenges with implementing VSUs. Greater research and evaluation are needed to develop more treatment-oriented, rehabilitative models of justice and to continue to refine the VSU model.     

UNPACKING THE RELATIONSHIP BETWEEN ADOLESCENT EMPLOYMENT AND ANTISOCIAL BEHAVIOR: A MATCHED SAMPLES COMPARISON*

A large body of research has consistently found that intensive employment during the school year is associated with heightened antisocial behavior. These findings have been influential in prompting policy recommendations to establish stricter limits on the number of hours that students can work during the school year. We reexamine the linkage between first‐time work at age 16 during the school year and problem behaviors. Our analysis uses group‐based trajectory modeling to stratify youths based on their developmental history of crime and substance abuse. This stratification serves to control for preexisting differences between workers and nonworkers and permits us to examine whether the effect of work on problem behaviors depends on the developmental history of those behaviors. Contrary to most prior research we find no overall effect of working on either criminal behavior or substance abuse. However, we do find some indication that work may have a salutary effect on these behaviors for some individuals who had followed trajectories of heightened criminal activity or substance abuse prior to their working for the first time.     

Predicting the effect of substance abuse treatment on probationer recidivism

Support for the effectiveness of substance abuse treatment to reduce substance use and recidivism among populations supervised by the criminal justice system continues to grow in substance abuse and criminal justice literature. Recent studies show that a variety of programs including the Breaking the Cycle program and drug courts appear to result in improved outcomes for offenders. In this paper, we examine the effect of non-residential substance abuse treatment on arrest. Our data are for almost 134,000 ‘drug-involved’ individuals sentenced to probation in Florida between July 1995 and June 2000. Nearly 52,000 of these individuals received non-residential substance abuse treatment, while 81,797 did not. Our approach is a methodologically simple one that entails stratifying our data by treatment status, estimating logit and negative binomial models of arrest for each of the two datasets, and then applying each model to both datasets. This approach, which requires that both groups include subjects for whom treatment is appropriate, is analogous to using regression models to predict outcomes for new values of independent variables. For each observation in the dataset, we use the models to predict the expected outcomes for each individual under two scenarios – receiving non-residential treatment and receiving no treatment. Summing over these individual estimates provides an estimate of the total numbers of arrests that would be expected under different levels of population exposure to treatment. Results suggest that non-residential treatment reduced both the expected numbers of individuals who recidivated (i.e., were arrested) and the expected total numbers of arrests in the 12 and 24 months following placement on supervision.**RTI is an independent organization dedicated to conducting innovative, multidisciplinary research that improves the human condition.     

Who completes batterer's treatment groups? An empirical investigation

The purpose of this study was to investigate differences that could discriminate among batterers who completed a violence treatment program and batterers who dropped out after intake, but prior to or during treatment. A discriminant analysis of a variety of demographic and psychological variables showed a significant difference between the completers group and the other two groups of batterers. Men who completed treatment reported fewer indirect threats of violence, had a higher level of education, were more likely to be employed full time, witnessed abuse more often in their family of origin, were less likely to be victims of child abuse, scored higher on the FIRO-B subscale of expressed control and had more children. Further research needs to be done to assess how these variables influence the batterers during treatment and to help dropouts successfully complete treatment.     

Parent Perceptions of Participating in a Program for Adolescents Who Are Violent at Home

Child-to-parent abuse (CPA) is an under-addressed form of family violence and relatively few resources are available for families experiencing CPA. The Step-Up program is a CPA-specific, family-level, group format intervention program in King County, Washington. Qualitative and long-term research on CPA intervention programs is lacking, and it is unknown how parents perceive the effects of participating in Step-Up after program completion. Fifteen parents who completed Step-Up with their adolescent child participated in individual semi-structured telephone or in-person interviews. Participants were asked about their perceptions of the effects of Step-Up participation, how they and their child have used skills taught in the program, and which program features were most and least effective. Participants expressed largely positive effects of participating in Step-Up, including decreased violent behavior by their adolescents and improved parent-child relationships. Recommendations for improving Step-Up included the inclusion of follow-up sessions to further reinforce behavior change and increased program accessibility.     

Reclaiming Futures: A Model for Judicial Leadership in Community Responses to Juvenile Substance Abuse

Juvenile courts across the country have become the leading service delivery system for youths with substance abuse problems, not by choice, but by necessity. At 10 communities around the nation, judges and project staff are in their fifth year of pioneering changes to the way the juvenile justice system helps teens in trouble with drugs, alcohol, and crime. These judges are part of Reclaiming Futures, an initiative of the Robert Wood Johnson Foundation, and they are working with local leaders to re‐invent the way law enforcement, courts, probation, detention facilities, treatment providers, families, schools, and the community work together to help troubled youths succeed. Together, they have written a guide for judges, court administrators, government entities, community leaders, and interested citizens to share the knowledge and experience they have gained from the nationwide Reclaiming Futures initiative. Their goal is to encourage and motivate others to launch similar projects in their communities, and to provide a blueprint for judges and others striving to undertake this level of collaboration.     

Social support and one-year outcomes for women participating in prison-based substance abuse treatment programming

In recent decades, the number of women under criminal justice supervision has increased considerably, many of whom are serving time for drug offenses. Furthermore, women in prison are more likely than their non-institutionalized counterparts to suffer from a substance abuse disorder. While there is a growing body of research concerning women offenders’ drug abuse and treatment needs, few studies have examined the substance abuse treatment outcomes of women in the criminal justice system. Using data from Outcome Evaluation of the Forever Free Substance Abuse Treatment Program, this study compared women’s self-reported drug use twelve months after participation in high-intensity (n = 101) and low-intensity (n = 81) prison-based substance abuse treatment programming (N = 182). Women who perceived high levels of emotional social support were less likely to report substance use at 12-month follow-up. Furthermore, perceptions of emotional social support and treatment intensity interacted in their association with relapse, such that the protective effect of social support was strongest for women who participated in high-intensity programming. The results of the analyses highlight the importance of perceived social support for women with substance abuse disorders who are transitioning from prison-based substance abuse treatment programming to the community.     

Contract program for veterans with alcohol and drug dependence disorders--VA. Final rule

This document amends 38 CFR part 17 by adopting as a final rule the proposal to modify eligibility criteria for veterans participating by contract in the Department of Veterans Affairs' programs of alcohol and drug dependence or abuse treatment and rehabilitation in residential and nonresidential facilities. Previous regulations stipulated that, prior to participation in contract care under this programs, veterans were to be provided hospital care in facilities over which the Secretary has direct jurisdiction. It was proposed to change the regulations to stipulate that, prior to participation in contract care, veterans must have been or must be receiving care (regardless of whether it was or is hospital care) by professional staff over whom the Secretary has jurisdiction (regardless of whether it is direct jurisdiction). The elimination of the requirement of "hospital care" is necessary to address changed clinical practices and continue the intended program. In the past, substance abuse treatment generally was provided in a hospital setting. Now, much substance abuse treatment also is provided in an ambulatory care or residential setting. Further, this document changes "direct jurisdiction of the Secretary" to "jurisdiction of the Secretary" to allow for continuation of any cases in which the VA has had involvement (including, among other things, fee basic care) and thereby help ensure that a complete course of treatment is provided.     

The effects of an experimental intensive juvenile probation program on self-reported delinquency and drug use

In the late 1990s Ventura County, California, USA, implemented the South Oxnard Challenge Project (SOCP), designed to provide intensive, multi-agency services to youth on probation. SOCP built their program guided by Clear’s “corrections of place” model, which argued that community corrections could decrease offender risk by focusing on restorative principles rather than on coercion. SOCP was designed as a randomized experiment, comparing youths in the experimental group with those on routine probation. Researchers interviewed youths in both the experimental and control groups 1 year after random assignment. This article reports on self-reported crime and drug use, finding few significant differences across groups. Specifically, we find that SOCP youths were significantly more likely to indicate that they had committed a violent crime generally, although a majority of both groups indicated they had done so. We found that those in SOCP who robbed people also did so significantly more often than did the comparison group. In the control group, youths reported committing homicide significantly more often, but this was a rare event. Among those youths who reported taking part in gang or posse fights, those in the control group did so significantly more often. Finally, youths in the control group were significantly more likely to have used ecstasy on more days during the previous month than were those in the SOCP.

Advisability of substance abuse testing in parents who severely maltreat their children: the issue of drug testing before the juvenile/family courts

The authors discuss the advisability of juvenile courts requiring urine testing for parents who severely maltreat (abuse and/or neglect) their children. While urine testing for substance abuse is not sufficient to ensure adequate treatment, it is important as part of the overall substance abuse treatment in a selected group of parents. An objective of this article is to offer specific urine testing guidelines in the context of child maltreatment cases in which the court considers removing children from parental custody to state custody. Although potentially useful, urinalysis to detect abused substances has limitations and is appropriate only in well-defined situations. Effective treatment of the substance-abusing, child-maltreating parent must be multimodal, with treatment of substance abuse as the first and most important step.     

Incarcerated clients' perceptions of therapeutic change in substance abuse treatment: a 4-year case study

Therapeutic communities (TCs) are a primary approach for treating substance abusers in the criminal justice system. The transformation from residential treatment to a TC marked a significant change in the service delivery and organizational culture for one in-prison substance abuse treatment program. This longitudinal case study examines how clients perceived their treatment as a result of treatment and organizational changes. This is important because the scientific literature shows that client perceptions of their treatment impacts treatment retention and the benefit they gain from treatment. Data that were collected over 5 years are presented. Implications, including how the program's interim therapeutic milieu eased the transition to a therapeutic community, are discussed.     

Social Support Choices for Help with Abusive Relationships: Perceptions of African American Women

A recent national telephone study of the African American community found that over 90% of respondents would feel comfortable talking to a family member or friend who was being abused about the abuse, with the majority advising she get help from a domestic violence program. The purpose of this study was to understand how comfortable abused women would feel talking to members of her support system about the abuse and how comfortable women who have not experienced partner abuse would feel if they were abused. Over 70% of women who have experienced abuse reported at least some comfort getting assistance for abuse from a friend, clergy/spiritual leader, Black community member, family member their age, or physician. Women who reported never experiencing physical or sexual partner violence were less likely to perceive feeling comfortable getting assistance from their social support systems (both formal and informal) if they were abused. Implications of these findings are discussed.     

Training Parents Reported for or at Risk for Child Abuse and Neglect to Identify and Treat Their Children's Illnesses

Parents at-risk or reported for child abuse or neglect may demonstrate deficits in infant and child health care skills, placing their children at greater risk for health problems. Research assistants, caseworkers, and a nurse provided health care skills training to parents at risk or reported for child abuse or neglect. A health reference guide and other training materials were validated by health care professionals. Training involved teaching parents to follow a series of steps to identify symptoms, use reference and record-keeping materials, determine the best form of treatment, and either treat the illness at home, consult a physician, or seek emergency treatment. Skill acquisition was assessed through observations of parent behavior in simulated health care scenarios. A series of multiple baselines across parents demonstrated effectiveness of this training in the context of these scenarios. Six out of seven parents met the 100% mastery criterion. All parents provided positive ratings of the content of the training program, the training strategies, and the counselors who provided training.     

Group Treatment for Spouse Abuse: Are Women with PTSD Appropriate Participants?

Eighty four abused women seeking therapy with their husbands were accepted into a group treatment program for spouse abuse. In the current study, we evaluated the treatment outcome of those women (n = 27) diagnosed with Posttraumatic Stress Disorder (PTSD). PTSD diagnosis, itself, did not differentiate those women who dropped out of treatment. Results indicated, however, that across all women, avoidance symptomatology significantly differentiated treatment completers from dropouts. Although women with PTSD began treatment in worse condition (lower marital satisfaction, higher depressive symptomatology, greater fear of spouse), post-assessment revealed they achieved positive treatment gains parallel to those of women without PTSD. Women with PTSD improved on each outcome variable measured, including a reduction in fear of spouse. Women with PTSD also did not differentially drop out of either treatment condition (men's/women's versus conjoint groups) which lends support to the appropriateness of conjoint treatment for spouse abuse.     

The correlation of childhood physical abuse history and later abuse in a group of Turkish population

Domestic violence is passed from one generation to the next, and it affects not only the victim but also the psychological states of the witnesses, and especially the psychosocial development of children. Studies have reported that those who have been the victim of or witnessing violence during their childhood will use violence to a greater extent as adults in their own families. This research examines the relationships between a history of childhood physical abuse, likelihood of psychiatric diagnoses, and potential for being a perpetrator of childhood physical abuse in adulthood among women who received psychiatric treatment and in the healthy population from Turkey. Estimates of the prevalence of childhood physical abuse vary depending on definition and setting. The frequency of witnessing and undergoing physical abuse within the family during childhood is much higher in the psychiatrically disordered group than the healthy controls. Childhood physical abuse history is one of the major risk factors for being an abuser in adulthood. The best indicator of physically abusing one's own children was found to be as physical abuse during the childhood period rather than psychiatric diagnosis. There is a large body of research indicating that adults who have been abused as children are more likely to abuse their own children than adults without this history. This is an important study from the point of view that consequences of violence can span generations. Further studies with different risk factor and populations will help to identify different dimensions of the problem.     

The mental health needs of incarcerated youth in British Columbia, Canada

The purpose of the study was to identify the current prevalence of mental disorders and mental health needs among incarcerated male and female youths in Canada, and to present these data in the context of rates found in other jurisdictions. One hundred forty male and 65 female incarcerated young offenders in British Columbia were screened with the Massachusetts Youth Screening Instrument Version 2 (MAYSI-2); provisional psychiatric diagnoses were assessed with the Diagnostic Interview Schedule for Children Version IV (DISC-IV); abuse history and aggressive symptoms of Conduct Disorder (CD) were coded from file information. Nearly all youths (91.9% of males and 100% of females) met the criteria for at least one mental disorder. Substance abuse and dependence disorders were highly prevalent (85.5% of males and 100% of females). Aggressive forms of CD were common (72.9% of males and 84.3% of females), as were exposure to physical abuse (60.8% of males and 54.3% of females) and sexual abuse (21.2% of males and 42.4% of females). Female youths had significantly higher odds of presenting with: (1) substance abuse/dependence disorders; (2) current suicide ideation; (3) sexual abuse; (4) PTSD; (5) symptoms of depression and anxiety; (6) Oppositional Defiant Disorder; and (7) multiple mental disorder diagnoses. Male youths had significantly higher odds of presenting with aggressive symptoms of CD. Overall, rates of mental disorder among this sample of serious and violent young offenders were higher than rates previously reported for incarcerated youths — both in Canada and in other jurisdictions.