Violent offending among juveniles: A 7-year longitudinal study of recidivism, desistance, and associations with mental health

A pilot study regarding the feasibility and efficacy of an outpatient treatment program for young adult high-risk offenders (YAHOP)

This pilot study examines whether the Young Adult Habitual Offender Program (YAHOP), an intensive and outpatient program, is related to a reduction in the general risk of recidivism, common forensic symptomology as well as cognitive distortions. The program integrity (PI) was assessed, with the intent to explore the relationship between the level of PI and any changes in several outcome variables. Additionally, the study examines whether participants with a migration background benefitted equally from YAHOP compared to participants with a native Dutch background. The sample comprised n = 90 high-risk young adult offenders. Results show a decrease in general risk of recidivism. The dynamic risk factors delinquent social network, insufficient impulse control, and dysfunctional problem-solving skills also show a decrease, as well as the forensic symptoms of aggression and anger. Effect sizes are small, except for anger, which has a medium effect size. We found no change in cognitive distortions and problematic substance use. YAHOP shows to be responsive and culturally sensitive, as the participants with a migration background show a significant decrease in general risk of recidivism. No moderator analysis was conducted due to an overall low level of program integrity. After improving program integrity, full-scale quantitative research is needed as YAHOP has the potential as a promising desistance program for high-risk offenders, as in this study the 56 non-completers were also included.

Applying Item Response Theory Analysis to the SAVRY in Justice-Involved Youth

This study investigated item- and test-level functioning of the Structured Assessment of Violence Risk in Youth (SAVRY) and differential item functioning (DIF) across gender and race/ethnicity in justice-involved youth (JIY) using item response theory analysis. Participants were 868 JIY (23.7% female; 26.9% White, 50.9% Black, and 22.2% Hispanic) in pre-trial detention centers in Connecticut. Results obtained from the application of the graded response model showed that the SAVRY items were not equally discriminating JIY with varying levels of the latent trait, with "Poor compliance" as the most discriminating item and "History of self-harm or suicide attempts" as the least discriminating item. At the test level, the SAVRY provided precise (reliable) information about the latent trait for the majority of JIY whose latent trait between two standard deviations below and above the mean. Results of DIF revealed that six items operated inconsistently between White, Black, and Hispanic JIY, among which two items also functioned differentially across gender.

Clinical Markers of Physical Violence in Patients with Bipolar Disorder in Manic States

Purpose

Identifying patients with bipolar disorder (BD) in manic states (BD-M) who are at a high risk of physical violence is a matter of clinical concern. This retrospective institution-based study aimed to identify simple, rapid, and inexpensive clinical markers of physical violence in patients with BD-M.

Patients and Methods

The anonymized sociodemographic variables (sex, age, years of education, marital status) and clinical ones (weight, height, body mass index, blood pressure, the score of BRMS, number of BD episodes, psychotic symptoms, history of violence, biochemical parameters, and blood routine parameters) of 316 BD-M participants were collected, and the risk of physical violence was identified using the Brøset Violence Checklist (BVC). Difference tests, correlation analyses, and multivariate linear regression analysis were performed to identify clinical markers for the risk of physical violence.

Results

The participants were categorized into groups at low (49, 15.51%), medium (129, 40.82%), and high (138, 43.67%) risk of physical violence. The number of BD episodes, serum uric acid (UA), free thyroxine (FT4) levels, history of violence, and monocyte-to-lymphocyte ratio (MLR) differed significantly between groups (all P<0.05). The number of BD episodes (r=0.152), FT3 (r=0.131) and FT4 (r=0.132) levels, history of violence (r=0.206), and MLR (r=-0.132) were significantly correlated with the risk of physical violence (all P<0.05). The existence of history of violence, number of BD episodes, UA, FT4, and MLR were identified as clinical markers of the risk of physical violence in patients with BD-M (all P<0.05).

Conclusion

These identified markers are readily available at initial presentation and may help in the timely assessment and treatment of patients with BD-M.

Maladaptive coping, victimization, and recidivism among Japanese adolescents and emerging adults

BACKGROUND

Substance use and victimization are known to be related to juvenile recidivism. Self-harm, a factor that commonly accompanies substance use and victimization, is not known to be related to said recidivism but may be so in a welfare-oriented juvenile justice system as found in Japan.

OBJECTIVE

We examine the extent to which maladaptive coping, comprising substance use and self-harm, increases the rate of persistence in correctional institutions in light of other well-replicated factors of youth recidivism. The study, too, investigates the role of maladaptive coping in explaining the impact of victimization on correctional recidivism.

METHODS

We draw from a sample of 348 adolescents and emerging adults, between ages 12-19 years, who were initially detained at a Juvenile Classification Home and followed-up for an average of 3.35 years.

RESULTS

Findings indicate that maladaptive coping is significantly related to persistence in the system, although history of probationary supervision and gang membership also were significant explanatory factors. In addition, the direct effect of victimization was larger than the indirect effect of victimization through maladaptive coping.

CONCLUSIONS

Unlike previous studies, self-harm is significantly related to recidivism. This suggests that recidivism reflects a need for help more so than for punishment. The wider implications are that juvenile justice systems characterized as punitive seem outdated in managing detained young people as they lack adequate prevention supports.

Role of optimism in adolescent mental health: a protocol for a systematic review

INTRODUCTION

Adolescence is a critical period of human development, where adaptive or maladaptive experiences can happen. These experiences are associated with psychological, social, biological and health factors. Previous empirical evidence suggests that mental health is associated with individual assets and positive states, whose presence may become a factor of protection and resistance to mental disorders. Among these, optimism could play a fundamental role in sustaining physical and mental well-being and in dealing with threats potentially harmful to health. Given the rise of research on optimism and its importance in the various health outcomes, it is necessary to initiate processes of compilation and synthesis of this evidence to facilitate the understanding of the importance of this variable on the mental health of adolescents.

METHODS AND ANALYSIS

The included studies will be experimental, observational, cross-sectional and longitudinal focussed on the role of optimism on mental health in adolescents, regardless of whether they belong to clinical or non-clinical populations. This systematic review protocol will be carried out following the Cochrane Manual for systematic reviews and will follow the statement on systematic reviews and meta-analysis of PRISMA-P (Preferred Reporting Items for Systematic Reviews and Meta-Analyses Protocols). Searches will run from October 2019 to March 2020, and will be carried out from the following electronic databases: APA PsycNet, BVS (Biblioteca Virtual em Saúde), Web of Science, PubMed Central and Scopus. Two reviewers will obtain the eligible articles, published from January 2009 onward, to assess the quality of each study and extract the data. For the presentation of the results, a narrative and quantitative synthesis will be carried out that groups the data found.

ETHICS AND DISSEMINATION

The approval of an ethics committee is not required for a systematic review protocol. The results will be presented at congresses in social sciences and psychology and will be published in a peer-reviewed social or health science journal.

PROSPERO REGISTRATION NUMBER

PROSPERO CRD42019142616.

An exploration of individual differences in a sample of youth charged with violent sexual and non-sexual crimes

Youth who engage in violent crime, including sexual offences, remain understudied. Research conducted on adults suggests that factors linked to antisocial and violent behaviour may enhance the current understanding of sexual offences. These factors include a consideration of how dark personality traits (such as psychopathy) and childhood maltreatment may inform the likelihood of sexual offending. Utilizing a sample of juvenile alleged violent offenders (n = 113), the present study examines the construct of adolescent psychopathy, with abuse as a potential moderator, in relation to offence perpetration. Contrary to some of the literature on adults, the findings indicate that neither psychopathy nor experience of abuse differentiates sexual from non-sexual violent offenders. They also suggest that scoring higher on psychopathy relates to violence more broadly. The importance of tailored programming for youth who may be at risk of offending or who require treatment in the justice system is explored.

Criminal Behavior and School Discipline in Juvenile Justice-Involved Youth with Autism

The objective was to delineate the prevalence of criminal behavior and school discipline in juvenile justice-involved youth (JJY) with autism. A sample of 143 JJY with autism was matched to comparison groups of JJY without a special education classification, JJY with learning disabilities, and JJY with other special educational needs (N = 572). Results showed that JJY with autism committed significantly fewer property crimes. With regard to school discipline, JJY with autism were least likely to receive policy violations, out-of-school suspensions, and in-school suspensions. Finally, regardless of special education classification, JJY who had a history of fighting in school were more likely to recidivate. Our results suggest that JJY with autism are not more likely to commit crimes compared to JJY without SEN.

Improved Educational Achievement as a Path to Desistance

In this article we present a summary of the literature on the associations between learning difficulties/disabilities and juvenile delinquency. This literature is almost a hundred years old, but, although reportedly demonstrating the low academic achievement-delinquency connection, contains numerous unanswered questions regarding the frequency, strength, direction, stability, and causality of these associations. We then use this literature to contextualize the research taking place at the Houston Learning Disabilities (LD) Hub, a member of the LD Centers and Hubs Network, supported by National Institute of Child Health and Human Development (NICHD). In doing so, we present our previous studies and our current research. We conclude by discussing a number of shortcomings in the literature, some-but far from all-of which we hope to address in our ongoing work.

Integrating Faith-based and Community-based Participatory Research Approaches to Adapt the Korean Parent Training Program

PURPOSE

Faith and community based inquiry approaches are rarely used to develop research interventions. The purpose of this article is to present how a research team worked with six Korean American Christian churches to revise the prototype Korean Parent Training Program (KPTP), based upon the Bright Futures Parenting Program. The collaboration was sought to better integrate and align the KPTP with Korean culture and faith. The KPTP was developed to promote positive parenting practices and decrease mental health disparities of Korean American children.

DESIGN AND METHODS

Sixteen church participants completed a Delphi survey, a workshop series, Community Theaters, and focus groups.

RESULTS

The participants suggested adding Korean traditional parenting virtues, Christian parenting principles, and revising the standardized parent training and program philosophy.

CONCLUSIONS

Revisions made KPTP sensitive to Korean culture and faith, and promoted program acceptability.

IMPLICATIONS

The process demonstrated the importance of working with church volunteers to develop faith-based and community-based health promotion interventions targeting Korean American faith communities. This research presents significant and meaningful implications for working with other faith communities from minority backgrounds.