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Essay Subject:
Discusses challenges confronted by social workers and other counseling professionals who provide intervention and prevention services.... More...
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Paper Abstract:
Discusses challenges confronted by social workers and other counseling professinals who provide intervention and prevention services. Acting-out or delinquent behavior as a feature of adolescent depression disorders. Need for a working alliance between rehabilitation system caregivers, justice system professionals and parents. Theoretical causes of delinquency. Achieving desirable attitudinal change.
Paper Introduction:
Counseling and Juvenile Rehabilitation
Social workers and other counseling professionals are confronted with the myriad challenges of providing effective intervention and prevention services to juvenile delinquents and other adolescents referred to juvenile rehabilitation centers (Miser, 1996). In the mental health literature, acting-out or delinquent behavior is recognized as an associated feature of adolescent depression disorders. These concerns, however, are seldom addressed in the delinquency literature, which tends to position delinquency and acting-out behaviors as independent of other potentially co-morbid conditions or disorders (miser, 1996). For professionals who work with this population, the literature indicates that working alliances between disparate rehabilitation system caregivers, justice system professionals, and parents a
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Specializations and clinical judgments of socialworkers in cases involving acting-out female adolescents. One instrument that has proven to be particularly useful inidentifying psychological disorders among juvenile delinquents and olderoffenders is the Minnesota Multiphasic Personality Inventory (MMPI) (Boggs,1993). The MMPI was developed in the early 194 s as an inexpensive device tosimplify the differential diagnosis of mental patients (Davison & Neale,1989). (1987). Boggs (1993) stated that the MMPI proved useful at this facility inidentifying the relative efficacy of the different treatment programsoffered by staff. Specifically, the results generated by the MMPI appearedto suggest that counseling and behavior reinforcement systems were mostefficacious in: 1) reducing length of stay; 2) inhibiting recidivism; and3) eliminating anti-social attitudes and behaviors. The MMPI is one of the most widely used personality tests foroffender classification, and is particularly popular in correctionalsettings because of its reliability in identifying important psychologicaldisturbances. Additionally, Henggeler, et al (1997), found that adherence totreatment - and frequency of parental or familial participation in MST -were also positively associated with lower levels of recidivism amongyouth. A positive workingalliance is similar to a behavioral contract in that together, the clientand the counselor/therapist create a plan of action for change, identifybenchmarks and a time frame, and develop a system of intrinsic andextrinsic rewards corresponding to changes. Across 2 public sector mental healthsites, 155 youths and their families were randomly assigned to MST versustraditional juvenile justice services. A study was conducted at theWoodland Hills Youth Development Center in Nashville, Tennessee; this studydemonstrated that the MMPI can also be used to assess the success oftreatment programs when it is used as a pre- and post-test. From a theoretical perspective, Florsheim, et al (2 ), believe thatthere is a definitive relationship between therapeutic process andbehavioral change. B., Brondino, M. Davison, G. Journal of Clinical ChildPsychiatry, 29 (1), 94 - 1 8. For professionals who workwith this population, the literature indicates that working alliancesbetween disparate rehabilitation system caregivers, justice systemprofessionals, and parents are the most effective means of achievingdesirable behavioral and attitudinal change (Florsheim, Shotobani, Guest-Warnick, Barratt, & Hwang, 2 ). Florsheim, P., Shotobani, S., Guest-Warnick, G., Barratt, T., &Hwang, W. Given that the literature suggests that delinquency may be asymptom of an underlying psychological disorder (Miser, 1996), the MMPI isa valuable tool in assisting caseworkers, social workers, and counselors indeveloping effective treatment regimens for members of this population. (1993). Family andCommunity Health, 19 (3), 1 - 14. J., Scherer, D. C. Florsheim, et al (2 ), haveargued that for some delinquent youth in the residential rehabilitationcenter, empowerment and autonomy are critically important issues which mustbe included in the intervention process. M. (1989). The issue of testing and assessment is critical, says Miser (1996),in that it is becoming more and more apparent that a large number of anti-social or delinquent adolescents suffer from some underlying and perhapscausative psychopathology. The MMPI is sensitive tosuch pathological problems, and is therefore an extremely useful tool forclinicians. Abnormal Psychology. "Correctional centers" that are, in essence, littlemore than prisons for youthful offenders are less likely to achievepositive behavioral or attitudinal changes than residential treatmentcenters that emphasize skill building, enhancement of self-concept, and thedevelopment of appropriate social skills and coping mechanisms. Boggs (1993) recommended that the MMPI should be employed inassessment/diagnosis/screening of youthful offenders to determine what, ifany, underlying psychological problems or conditions may be causallyassociated with delinquent or acting-out behaviors, and used again todetermine treatment outcome. Counseling and Juvenile Rehabilitation Social workers and other counseling professionals are confronted withthe myriad challenges of providing effective intervention and preventionservices to juvenile delinquents and other adolescents referred to juvenilerehabilitation centers (Miser, 1996). Quay, H. Journal of Consulting and Clinical Psychology, 65(5), 821 - 834. Abnormal behavior is defined in terms of a legal violation andsome type or degree of punitive treatment or response is then required. Role of the working alliance in the treatment ofdelinquent boys in community-based programs. Lower levels of self-concept are associated with deviantlabels. As Miser (1996) noted, several studies indicatethat delinquency is co-morbid with behavioral symptoms, disobedience,depression, anxiety and oppositional tendencies. Themere act of labeling the youthful offender as "delinquent" produces adverseeffects on self-concept, which is believed by some to insulate againstdelinquency. Woodland Hillsis a minimum security regional youth development center serving troubledyouth, both male and female; the center offers individual and groupcounseling services, specialized treatment for chemical dependency andsexual crimes, psychiatric consultation for those who are seriouslyemotionally disturbed, and behavior reinforcement systems (Boggs, 1993).The MMPI is used by staff at the center to determine post-treatmenteffects. Counseling the youthful offender therefore often focuses ondevelopment of a positive self-concept or image. Patterns of Delinquent Behavior.New York: John Wiley & Sons. Although MST improved adolescentsymptom logy at post-treatment and decreased incarceration by 47 percent at1.7-year follow-up, findings for decreased criminal activity were notconsistently favorable on differentiated trials of the method. In this context,Miser (1996) notes that the type of rehabilitation effort undertaken isoften dependent upon the mission, values and goals of the rehabilitationagency or institution. References Boggs, B. The scales of the instrument match well with psychiatric diagnosesof major affective disorders as well as other mental disorders andconditions. Multisystemic therapy with violent and chronicjuvenile offenders and their families: The role of treatment fidelity insuccessful dissemination. Ed. C. (2 ). (1996). What theseresearchers found was that when parental and familial participation in MSTwas present, outcomes for youth adjudicated as delinquent tended toimprove. (1997). Miser, M. C., and & Neale, J. Such personality attributes as guardedness, indifference toauthority or social norms and mores, anxiety, low self-concept and self-esteem, exhibitionism, impulsivity, rigidity, and antisocial attitudes canbe measured by the MMPI (Davison & Neale, 1989). M. Lacking an understanding of thispsychopathology, clinicians can not develop appropriate treatment andintervention strategies. NewYork: John Wiley & Sons. These concerns, however, are seldomaddressed in the delinquency literature, which tends to positiondelinquency and acting-out behaviors as independent of other potentially co-morbid conditions or disorders (miser, 1996). Henggeler, Melton, Brondino, Scherer, and Hanley (1997) examined theeffects of multisystemic therapy (MST) in reading violent and/or chronicjuvenile offenders and their families. W., Melton, G. Personality test measures success of juveniletreatment programming. Corrections Today, 55 (7), 1 6 - 1 8. In this theory, it is posited that any delinquent act, regardlessof underlying causes, is a legal construct that carries a label capable ofinfluencing the clinical judgment of those who assess and then treat suchclients. H. Further, this studyseemed to indicate that younger delinquents (i.e., those under age 16during treatment) were more likely to benefit from any intervention thanoffenders who were older (i.e., 17 or more). Results also suggested that astay of about 8.5 months was most likely to be ideal, with shorter orlonger stays not associated with any greater treatment gains or outcomeimprovements. In the mental health literature,acting-out or delinquent behavior is recognized as an associated feature ofadolescent depression disorders. A working alliance between youth and their caregiverscreates a joint venture in which the youth undertakes significant changesin his/her behavior under the guidance of a counselor. The efficacy of the MMPI in facilitating a thorough-going assessmentof the major presenting problems and accompanying diagnoses of the juvenileoffender has been described by Boggs (1993). G., &Hanley, J. Quay (1987), in an older but still relevant analysis of thetheoretical causes of delinquency, cited family dysfunction, single-parenthouseholds, inadequate or abusive parenting, lack of positive role models,poverty, and learned helplessness as all associated with deviant adolescentbehavior and delinquency. Henggeler, S. Interventions have thus been developed thatattempt to identify at-risk youth early on, and to provide interventionsthat range from family counseling to parent skill courses to organizedgroup activities directed at the acquisition of appropriate behaviors andattitudes as well as social skills and coping ability. Miser (1996) commented that difficulty in the assessment andtreatment of juvenile delinquents can be explained by social labelingtheory.
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