An examination of a juvenile justice diversion program for youth with mental health needs and traumatic stress symptoms: a strengths-based approach

Mental health and traumatic stress symptoms are prevalent in juvenile offenders, yet research on diversion programs rarely examine these important outcomes. Program duration and the role of protective factors are also understudied in this literature. This study examined the impact of program duratio...

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VerfasserInnen: Summersett Williams, Faith (Verfasst von) ; Sax, Rachel M. (Verfasst von) ; Slesinger, Noel C. (Verfasst von) ; Jordan, Neil (Verfasst von) ; Sharp, Doug (Verfasst von) ; Yazin, Noshwerwan (Verfasst von) ; Martinovich, Zoran (Verfasst von) ; Fehrenbach, Tracy 19XX- (Verfasst von)
Medienart: Elektronisch Aufsatz
Sprache:Englisch
Veröffentlicht: 2024
In: Psychology, crime & law
Jahr: 2024, Band: 30, Heft: 7, Seiten: 653–675
Online-Zugang: Volltext (lizenzpflichtig)
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Schlagwörter:
Protective factors
Trauma
Mental Illness
Juvenile Offenders
Adolescence
Beschreibung
Zusammenfassung:Mental health and traumatic stress symptoms are prevalent in juvenile offenders, yet research on diversion programs rarely examine these important outcomes. Program duration and the role of protective factors are also understudied in this literature. This study examined the impact of program duration and youth protective factors on mental health and traumatic stress symptoms of 713 youth participating in an Illinois diversion program. Overall, the more time youth spent in the diversion program, the more improvement they demonstrated in mental health and trauma symptoms. Both program duration and number of youth strengths at program entry were significantly associated with improvement in mental health and traumatic stress symptoms. Findings highlight the importance of program duration and suggest that youth protective factors should be identified early on and targeted to maximize the impact of juvenile justice diversion programs on mental health and trauma symptoms.
ISSN:1477-2744
DOI:10.1080/1068316X.2022.2109632