Interventions in Children and Adolescent Offenders - Research Paper Example

Interventions in children and adolescent offenders Insert Name Insert Institution Introduction The paper aims to discuss the meaning and function of intervention in child and adolescent offenders. The paper seeks to understand the effect of intervention applied to children and adolescents that might have undergone several, severe traumatic conditions in life. The paper explores several different approaches to interventions and seeks to highlight the procedures undertaken in each. The research integrates the works of three authors who seek solutions to youths, and adolescents who undergo interventions. The research further aims at assessing the characteristics displayed by young people who engage in risky and violent behaviors whilst seeking to understand the various intervention strategies that can be used to manage such behaviors. Hodge (2006) identified a number of prevalent behaviors including underage drinking, vandalism, cheating, or participating in physical fights and harassments. Since the adolescent who engage in crimes are minor and yet commit some serious crimes, they warrant attention from the police and other judicial systems. The police and the judicial system have played a major role in implementing and enforcing the interventions programs. Meaning of intervention Intervention is a desired attempt by a group of people mostly family and friends trying to compel a friend to seek professional help with addiction or a traumatic event or other related serious problems(Charles, 2005). Intervention can also refer to the use of a similar technique during therapy sessions. Interventions may be direct or indirect. Direct intervention involves meeting the affected people directly and trying to compel or influence them to seek professional help while indirect interventions involve use of other people such as friends and family to help the affected people. However, direct intervention does not include the family. Interventions originated in 1960 with Dr. Vernon Johnson(Johnson, 2008). There are two models of intervention that dominate the literature; the ARISE model and the Systemic family model. The ARISE model is an indirect approach while the Systematic family model largely draws on a direct approach. Elements of invitational approach can be observed mostly through family and friends. Planning for intervention requires consultation amongst the family members and the therapists and does not include the affected party. Although intervention is perceived as the best prescription to alcoholism and sexual offences, a lot of controversy surrounds the therapy. A recent survey conducted showed that most of the patients and clients that underwent Johnson’s intervention showed effects of worse relapse than those that sought alternative measures. In some cases, intervention will require the use of force and many therapists argue that this is illegal and it deprives the clients and patients of their legal rights(McCord, 2006). Under some circumstance, intervention may lead to separation from family members when a patient is referred to psychiatric facilities for better treatment. Children and adolescents who are at risk of future offending are children that come from backgrounds that have faced or are facing related offenses. Children that have faced traumatic experiences while still young can also be vulnerable to offending at later stages of their life. Reports indicate that children who have faced abuse while still developing are at greater risk of offending in their later stages of life(Flores, 2003). It is for this purpose that serious interventions have been used as a preventive treatment in children and adolescents to support cognitive behavioral change. Child and Adolescent offenders According to the office of the juvenile justice and delinquency prevention, childrendelinquents falling under the age of 12 face an increased risk of becoming serious and violent offenders in future(Flores, 2003). Further psychopathology suggests that these children must have exhibited the same persistent disruptive behaviors while still very young or while in early childhood. This risk can however be minimized if early intervention measures are taken. Although this is possible, only a few integrated intervention programs are working to assist these young people. Research conducted between 1950- 1995 indicates that effective interventions for serious juvenile offenders include interpersonal skills training, individual counseling, and behavioral programs(Angold, 1999). Other programs that have been effective in the treatment of child offenders are through the parent-child program for pre-scholars and problem solving skill program for school going children. Some of those successful intervention programs include the parent-training program set out in Patterson and Gullion’s living with children in 1968 which is a book meant to teach adults how to identify and treat children behavior(Gullion, 1968). The mechanism works through reward and punishment where the parent is encouraged to reward behavior incompatible with problem behavior and ignore or apply negative consequences to problem behavior. Webster-Stratton and Hammond conducted another successful intervention in 1997. The success relates to the fact that the teachings and intervention procedures. The program involved parent training which involved groups of parents undergoing videotaped lessons and discussions(Hammond, 1997). A recent survey conducted on inpatient and multisystem therapy proved that the community-based therapy was more efficient at the fourth month follow up than other methods of treatment(Lock, 1994). Services used while conducting interventions Mental health It is important to diagnose the mental health of any adolescent and child who exhibits signs of offenses, while still young. This is important since the mental problems can be diagnosed and treated early. It is for this purpose that juvenile services must be modified into professional health facilities to help these children. Reports indicate that juveniles who have contact with the police are most likely to seek professional assistance for their problems(Flores, 2003). Pediatricians also advocate the use of drugs in combination with counseling and therapy programs which has shown better results as compared to use of counseling and therapy program alone. Education Schools play a major role in the growth and development of any child or adolescents life. Schools can play a big role in identify children’s needs whether physical and mental. The provision of an education-based program in combating future offenses has shown positive results(Flores, 2003). The most advantageous use of school based program and therapies is that the children feel very comfortable because of the age group. Both the children and the adolescent are able to own their problems as a group. Most of the school based therapies and programs have shown fast and rapid change in future behavior of these offenders. Social skills and change in behavior are some of the highly utilized cognitive programs aimed at shaping and changing the behavior of these children. Guidance and counseling is offered to the children in a school set up and various activities aimed at changing the course of negative behavior is usually replaced with positive behavior development (Campbell, 1995). Child welfare services Child welfare systems have also proved to be a major breakthrough in rehabilitationwhen used intervention facilities(Kupperstein, 1971). Children under these institutions are providedwith financial support and proper health care. Their behavior is always under constant watch and these factors help in shaping their behavior and preventing future offenses in their lives. Although most of the children and adolescents in these facilities suffer from psychological problems, the institutions have been modified to provide them with the best maximum mental care. Olweus(Olweus, 1991) reports that adolescent sexual offenses are increasing at a high rate for the last 10 years with many therapists and analysts suggesting that removal of sex offenders from their family are the best alternative. In Australia, 70% of sexual offenders are children below the age of 15 years. The majority of adolescent sexual offender’s differ from the adult counterparts in the form of the etiology of theirbehavior. Removal of the offender from the family provides various advantages to both the offender and the victim. The first advantage is that the change of environment is likely to create a desire for change, which is the most important factor at this point. The family members are also able to think and come up with reasonable solutions and methods of counseling and treatment. The distance created between the parents and their children also creates an attachment between the children and their family members that also help in creating the desired behavior thereby preventing future offending chances. Although he relocation of children and adolescent sex offenders from their home is sought as the best alternative, the method has been challenged by (Shcoenward, 2002). Reports thatconducttreatment and therapies in the original offending environment provide faster change and desired behavior. While removal of the offender from the family and relocated to a psychiatric facility has also proved to be advantageous since all the necessary facilities are available and risks of future and further offenses are reduced while in these facilities. Children and adolescents having therapies while at home have been reported to have higher chances of repeating the offense due to negative influence within their environment. Concerns have been raised about the financial implications of relocation of offenders. Research shows that most of the offenders come from poor backgrounds and learn this behavior fromthe social environment surrounding them(Holden, 1995). Under several circumstances, most of the parents are willing but are not able to pay for these services and hence these affect the process of intervention and change. Factors determining the risk of reoffending The following are some of the factors that therapists, friends, and relatives must consider to determine the risk of future offenses and reoffending(Kupperstein, 1971); The most important factor is to determine the age of the victim and the age of the offender. The age of other potential victims in the family is also a necessary factor to consider when dealing with diagnosis of future offenses. The level of fear and intimidation felt by the victim is also another possible factor to consider while seeking chances to avoid future offenses from occurring. The duration of time and the time of concurrence of the offense is important to determine the possibility of future offenses. As mentioned above, most of the children suffering from offensive disorders will show their symptoms at an early stage hence it is important as a parent to note such behaviors. Reports show that most of the offenders are children and adolescent but it is imperative to note that the same age group is also the target of most adult offenders. While dealing with sexual offenses it is important to consider the severity and frequency of sexual contact. For those who undergo the offense only ones have higher chances of treatment but those who have been repeatedly offended, will have a longer duration of treatment. The capacity of the parent to supervise and help the child reform is a factor to be considered while seeking low future occurrences. Most children and adolescents suffering from offending disorders learn them from their parents and it becomes difficult for an offending parent to take care of an offending child. Situation factors such as when and where the abuse occurred are also important factors to determine and prevent future offenses. It is for this reason that relocation of the offender is mostly considered. The ability of the parents to learn fast and new abilities to cope with the changing behaviors of their children is also a factor to be considered while seeking low future occurrence of offenses. Recommendations There is need for creation of more and better health facilities that should be used to prevent future risks of offenses. The police and the judiciary should take keen interests in helping with interventions. Family and friends should be encouraged to participate in learning programs that will help them in guiding and taking care of the offended children and adolescent. Conclusion In conclusion, without interventions the society would be very corrupt with immoral behaviors especially from young children and adolescent. It is for this reason that interventions have been advocated for and has proved productive in preventing future occurrences of offending behaviors. References Angold, A. (1999). Cormobidity. Journal of Child Psychology and Psychaitry, 58-87. Campbell, M. (1995). Psychomarcology in Child and adolescents Psychology. Journal of the American Academy of child and adolescent Psychhology, 1262-1272. Charles, G. (2005). Interventions in adolescent sexual offenders. Adolescent Sexual offenders, 78-82. Flores, R. (2003). Treatment, Services and Programs for Deiquecny Juveniles. Child Deliquency, 14-16. Gullion, P. &. (1968). Living with Children . New methods for parents and teachers, 7-28. Hammond, W.-S. &. (1997). Treatin Children with early onset conduct problems. Journal of Consulting and Clinical Psychology, 93-109. Holden, G. A. (1995). Deinstitutionalizing Status Offenders. Juvenile Progress, 2-10. Johnson, V. (2008). Intervention Models. Intervention Models, 15-16. Kupperstein, L. (1971). Treatment and Rehabilitation of Deliquent health. Acta Crimininologica, 11-111. Lock, J. (1994). Psychiatric Hospitalization of adolescent for conduct disorder. Hospiatal and Community Psychiatry, 925-928. McCord, J. (2006). Interventions from birth through Adolescents. Behaviour , 162-195. Olweus, D. (1991). Bully/Victims among school going children. Development and treatment of Childhood Agression, 411-448. Shcoenward, B. a. (2002). Effective treatment for mental disorders among children. Journal of Youth and Child studies, 238-314. Read More

Children and adolescents who are at risk of future offending are children that come from backgrounds that have faced or are facing related offenses. Children that have faced traumatic experiences while still young can also be vulnerable to offending at later stages of their life. Reports indicate that children who have faced abuse while still developing are at greater risk of offending in their later stages of life(Flores, 2003). It is for this purpose that serious interventions have been used as a preventive treatment in children and adolescents to support cognitive behavioral change.

Child and Adolescent offenders According to the office of the juvenile justice and delinquency prevention, childrendelinquents falling under the age of 12 face an increased risk of becoming serious and violent offenders in future(Flores, 2003). Further psychopathology suggests that these children must have exhibited the same persistent disruptive behaviors while still very young or while in early childhood. This risk can however be minimized if early intervention measures are taken. Although this is possible, only a few integrated intervention programs are working to assist these young people.

Research conducted between 1950- 1995 indicates that effective interventions for serious juvenile offenders include interpersonal skills training, individual counseling, and behavioral programs(Angold, 1999). Other programs that have been effective in the treatment of child offenders are through the parent-child program for pre-scholars and problem solving skill program for school going children. Some of those successful intervention programs include the parent-training program set out in Patterson and Gullion’s living with children in 1968 which is a book meant to teach adults how to identify and treat children behavior(Gullion, 1968).

The mechanism works through reward and punishment where the parent is encouraged to reward behavior incompatible with problem behavior and ignore or apply negative consequences to problem behavior. Webster-Stratton and Hammond conducted another successful intervention in 1997. The success relates to the fact that the teachings and intervention procedures. The program involved parent training which involved groups of parents undergoing videotaped lessons and discussions(Hammond, 1997). A recent survey conducted on inpatient and multisystem therapy proved that the community-based therapy was more efficient at the fourth month follow up than other methods of treatment(Lock, 1994).

Services used while conducting interventions Mental health It is important to diagnose the mental health of any adolescent and child who exhibits signs of offenses, while still young. This is important since the mental problems can be diagnosed and treated early. It is for this purpose that juvenile services must be modified into professional health facilities to help these children. Reports indicate that juveniles who have contact with the police are most likely to seek professional assistance for their problems(Flores, 2003).

Pediatricians also advocate the use of drugs in combination with counseling and therapy programs which has shown better results as compared to use of counseling and therapy program alone. Education Schools play a major role in the growth and development of any child or adolescents life. Schools can play a big role in identify children’s needs whether physical and mental. The provision of an education-based program in combating future offenses has shown positive results(Flores, 2003). The most advantageous use of school based program and therapies is that the children feel very comfortable because of the age group.

Both the children and the adolescent are able to own their problems as a group. Most of the school based therapies and programs have shown fast and rapid change in future behavior of these offenders. Social skills and change in behavior are some of the highly utilized cognitive programs aimed at shaping and changing the behavior of these children.

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