assessment and treatment of young offenders lecture notes

Chapter 12 Juvenile Offenders

1. Outline

History

Assessment of Young Offenders

Theories of Antisocial Behavior

Risk and Protective Factors

Prevention and Treatment

Video

History

o Legal Act – Initially, all young offenders were treated exactly like adults

7 year olds could be tried as a 21 year old

Over time, young offenders were distinguished from older offenders

o 1908 – Juvenile Delinquents Act

o 1984 – Young Offenders Act

o 2003 – Youth Criminal Justice Act

1. Juvenile Delinquents Act (JDA)

a. Youth between 7 and 16 (A minimum age was set)

b. Separate court system

i. Treated differently

ii. More informal proceedings

1. A separate court system for youth was established, and it was suggestd

that court proceedings be as informal as possible in that delinquents

were seen as misguided children in need of guidance and support

iii. Used different language (terminology)

1. Youth could not be charged with theft but delinquency

2. Called delinquents rather than offenders

c. Sentencing options increased (i.e foster care, fines, and institutionalization)

i. No real rules at this time; no set and stone

d. Parents encouraged to participate

e. In serious cases, the JDA made it possible for delinquents to be transferred to adult

court.

f. Punishments for delinquents were to be consistent with how a parent would discipline a

child

g. Problems?

i. Given the informal proceedings, children were denied their rights, such as the

right to counsel and the right to appeal, and judges could impose open-ended

sentences

ii. Not all service were available for youth (i.e rehabilitation programs for youth)

iii. No set and stone rules

iv. Not punitive enough, because they have their own separate system

v. Acts not legal for adults but legal for youth

1. i.e even if a youth is deemed innocent they are still required to go to

habilitation program.

2. Young Offenders Act (YOA)

a. Accountability for actions (however not to the full extent that adults are)

i. Tried to make sentencing match the crime better, but did not do a very good job

b. Protection of the public

c. Legal rights

i. Children have rights to appeal and counsel

d. Minimum age for criminal offence is 12

i. Children younger than 12 would be dealt with through child and family services

e. Problems?

i. Serious violent offence were short sentencing

1. i.e a crime that could give life sentencing were only 3 years

ii. not punitive enough

iii. disagreement over raising the minimum age of responsibility from age 7 to 12

iv. discrepencies in the factors leading to ransfer to adult court that suggested an

arbitrariness in how cases were handled

3. Youth Criminal Justice Act (YCJA)

a. Less serious crime out of the court

b. Extrajudicialmeasures increase

i. anything other than court as a form of punishment

ii. term applied to measures taken to keep young offenders out of court and out of

custody (i.e giving a warning or making a referral for treatment)

iii. Q: we want to make the punishment stronger for youth, yet we try to find more

alternatives for them. Aren’t these goals opposites of eachother?

c. Prevention and reintegration

i. Only under special circumstances, are the offender made public

d. No transfers*

i. Youth court can include adult punishments

e. Victims’ needs recognized

i. Could be notified if offender is released

ii. Victim is more informed

4. Objectives

a. Prevention youth crime

i. Prevent crime in general

b. By giving more meaningful consequences and encourages responsibly of behavior

i. Children and youth could be held for more than 3 years if necessary

c. To improve rehabilitation and reintegration of youth into the community

Youth Crime Rates

o All criminal code violations (excluding traffic)

Y axis: all causes that have been reported for youth

Rates are going down for both violent and non-violent crimes

But traffic and federal violation have been increasing

Federal

Trafficking of drugs

Traffic

Impaired driving and traffic violations

1. Youth Crime Rates and the YCJA

a. Has the YCJA been effective?

i. Yes

Assessment of Young Offenders (those under 12)

Issue of consent

Consent

Assent : not necessary by law but consent is

1. Behavioral Problems

a. Two categories

i. Internalizing problems

1. Emotional problem (i.e anxiety, depression, obsessions)

2. Easier to treat than externalizing problems

3. More typically displayed by females

ii. Externalizing

1. Behavioral problems (i.e fighting, bullying, lying)

2. More difficult to treat and persistent than internalizing

3. Symptoms peaks in teens

4. More common in males

5. Multiple informants

2. Common Diagnoses in Young Offenders

a. Attention Deficit Hyperactivity Disorder (ADHD)

b. Oppositional Defiant Disorder (ODD)

c. Conduct Disorder (CD)

3. ADHD

a. Inattention features

i. Lack of attention to detail, failure to listen, loses items, forgetful

b. Hyperactivity features

i. Fidgets, leaves seat, talks excessively

c. Impulsivity features

i. Difficulty waiting, interrupts, blurts out responses

d. Inattention features is more like internalizing symptoms while hyperactivity and

impulsivity are more externalizing.

e. http://www.youtube.com/watch?NR=1&v=hC0idyBnMaM

4. ODD

a. Loses temper

b. Argues with adults

c. Deliberately annoys others

d. Angry and resentful

e. Vindictive

5. Rates of Behavior Disorders

a. 5-15% have severe behavior problems

b. 2-50% have both ADHD and ODD or CD

c. Children with ODD, 40% will develop CD

d. Children with CD, 50% develop AP(antisocial personality disorder) as adults

6. CD

a. Lots of people being diagnosed with this

b. Has to persist for atleast 12 months*

c. 4 main categories

i. Aggression (cruelty to animals, forced sexual acts)

ii. Property damage

1. Arson, breaking into homes

iii. Deceit and theft

1. Cons, breaking into homes

iv. Serious violations

1. Breaking rules set by parents or laws

d. ODD-> CD -> AP

7. AP

a. Consistently irresponsible (not showing up to court)

b. Not likely to be label as a psychopath

c. Psychopaths are intelligent whereas AP tends to act on impulse

d. If you saw a crime scene, a psychopath less likely to be caught

Trajectories of Youth Offenders

o Critical factor = Age of Onset

o Child Onset Trajectory

More serious and persistent *

Many other difficulties

ADHA, learning disabilities, academic trouble

Most do not become offenders

o Adolescent onset trajectory

Many commit social transgressions

Most desist committing antisocial acts in adulthood

More so than those with childhood onset

1. Brame, Nagin & Tremblay (2001)

a. Followed boys from kindergarten to age 20

b. Measured levels of aggression

c. Categorized boys as low, medium and high levels of aggression (based on initial

measurement)

d. Results:

i. All levels decreased

ii. All levels decreased to about the same level of aggression

iii. Few of the high remains high

Theories of antisocial behavior

Biological Theories

1. Biological – Neurological

a. Frontal lobe

i. Key role in planning and inhibiting behavior

ii. Lower activation in frontal lobe

iii. Increased likelihood of antisocial acts

2. Biological – Physiological

a. Lower heart rate

i. Antisocial shows level heart rate even when stress were present

ii. If you have a slower heart rate as a child, you are more likely to become

antisocial in the future

3. Biological - genetic

a. Paternal antisocial behavior related to offspring antisocial behavior

b. Twin studies

Cognitive Theories

o Attention in social interactions (2 problems)

Attending to social cues

Use cues/thoughts about cues to choose behavior

o Process fewer cues (environment)

o Misattribute hostile intent (thoughts)

o Produce fewer more aggressive solutions (thoughts/behavior choices)

o Cognitive deficits

o Reactive and Proactive aggression

Reactive: response to perceived threat

Cognitive deficiency in processing/attending to social cues

Proactive: directed at achieving a goal

Deficiency in generating alternative solutions

o Reactive tend to have earlier onset

Social Theories

1. Social

a. Social Learning Theory

i. Learn behavior from others

ii. Imitate

iii. Antisocial children have antisocial examples

Risk Factors

1. Individual Risk Factors

a. Individual

i. Genetic/biological (i.e., ADHD)

ii. Uterine environment (i.e., fetal alcohol syndrome)

iii. Temperament

2. Familial Risk Factors

a. Familial

i. Neglect

ii. Family conflict

iii. Parenting style (some parents can be very inconsistent and confuse the child)

iv. Child Abuse

3. School and Social Risk Factors

a. School and social

i. Lower IQ

ii. Aggressive play with peers

iii. Deviant peers

Protective Factors

1. Protective Factors

a. Similar children have different outcomes

1. Resilience (not being affected in the face of the risk)

1. Characteristics of a child who has multiple risk factors but who does not

develop problem behaviors or negative symptoms

b. Protective factors…

1. Change the level of risk associated with a risk factor

2. Change the negative chain reaction

1. I.e if a mother was abused as a child, that will remind the parent not to

abuse their child because they understand how it feels like.

3. Help develop and maintain self-esteem

1. Children with higher self-esteem less likely to engage with deviant peer

4. Provide opportunities

2. Can be divided into three kinds: Individual, familial, and social/external factors

a. Individual Protective factors

1. Individual

Resilient temperaments include exceptional social skills, child

competencies, confident perceptions, values, attitudes, and beliefs

within the child

b. Familial

1. Positive and supportive environment

2. Good parent-child relationship

c. School and Social Protective Factors

1. School and Social

1. Associating with prosocial children

Prevention and Treatment

1. Prevention and Treatment

a. Primary

1. Prior to violence

2. Decrease likelihood of future violence

3. i.e family oriented, school oriented, community wide

b. Secondary

1. Directed at young offenders

2. Reduce frequency of violence

3. i.e diversion programs

c. Tertiary

1. For youth who have gone through formal court proceedings

2. Prevent violence from reoccurring

3. i.e, in patient treatment

2. Primary Intevention Strategies

a. Family Oriented Strategies

1. Parent-Focused Interventions: interventions directed at assisting parents to

recognize warning signs for later youth violence and/or training parents to

effectively manage any behavioral problems that arise.

2. Faimily-suportive interventions: interventions that connect at-risk families to

various support services

b. School Oriented Strategies

c. Community-wide strategies

3. Secondary Intevention Strategies

4. Tertiary Intervention Strategies