Browsing by Subject "juvenile offenders"

Now showing 1 - 4 of 4
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    The Experience, Impact, and Management of Professional Burnout Among Probation Officers in Juvenile Justice Settings
    (Taylor and Francis, 2015) Salyers, Michelle P.; Hood, Brittany J.; Schwartz, Katherine; Alexander, Andrew O.; Aalsma, Matthew C.; Department of Psychology, IU School of Science
    Little is known about the experience of professional burnout among juvenile probation officers. Following a statewide survey, 26 officers were randomly selected for qualitative interviews. Using emergent, consensus-based methods, we identified key aspects of the burnout experience. Officers described burnout in ways consistent with research definitions. Most probation officers identified negative effects of burnout, including spending less time getting to know the clients and becoming more directive. Probation officers tended to have limited strategies for managing burnout. Given the important role probation officers play in the lives of juvenile justice involved youth, more work is needed to help ameliorate burnout.
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    Improving police officer and justice personnel attitudes and de-escalation skills: A pilot study of Policing the Teen Brain
    (Taylor & Francis, 2018) Aalsma, Matthew C.; Schwartz, Katherine; Tu, Wanzhu; Pediatrics, School of Medicine
    This pilot study assessed whether police officers and juvenile justice personnel reported improved attitudes toward youth and knowledge about de-escalation skills after attending Policing the Teen Brain, a training created to prevent arrests by improving officer-youth interactions. Pre- and post-intervention surveys asked about participant attitudes toward adolescents, adolescence as a stressful stage, and punishing youth in the justice system. Among the 232 participants, paired sample t-tests indicated significant differences between mean pre- and post-survey responses on nearly all survey subscales. A hierarchical regression model significantly predicted improvement in knowledge, with educated, female participants most likely to improve knowledge of de-escalation skills.
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    Motivating compliance: Juvenile probation officer strategies and skills
    (Taylor & Francis, 2017) Schwartz, Katherine; Alexander, Andrew O.; Lau, Katherine S. L.; Holloway, Evan D.; Aalsma, Matthew C.; Department of Pediatrics, School of Medicine
    Juvenile probation officers aim to improve youth compliance with probation conditions, but questions remain about how officers motivate youth. The study’s purpose was to determine which officer-reported probation strategies (client-centered vs. confrontational) were associated with their use of evidence-based motivational interviewing skills. Officers (N = 221) from 18 Indiana counties demonstrated motivational interviewing skills by responding to scenarios depicting issues common to youth probationers. Results of a hierarchical multiple regression analysis indicated that, while officer endorsement of client-centered strategies was not associated with differential use of motivational interviewing skills, officers endorsing confrontational strategies were less likely to demonstrate motivational interviewing skills.
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    Social Support as a Buffer Between Discrimination and Cigarette Use in Juvenile Offenders
    (Elsevier, 2016-08) Hershberger, Alexandra; Zapolski, Tamika; Aalsma, Matthew C.; Department of Psychology, School of Science
    Cigarette use is a prominent problem in juvenile offenders, leading to negative health outcomes and substance use. One interesting precipitator of cigarette use in this population is discrimination. Social support could potentially buffer the positive relationship between cigarette use and discrimination in juvenile offenders, which could be dependent on the context in which the discrimination is experienced, such as peer, institutional (e.g., stores, restaurants), or educational contexts. The present study explored the relationship between three types of discrimination, social support, and smoking outcomes among 112 detained and probated juvenile offenders (mean age = 16.24, SD = 2.11, 29.2% female, 54.9% Caucasian, 40.4% detention, 53.8% smokers). Results indicated that the relationship between institutional discrimination (OR = − 0.10, p = 0.005) and peer discrimination (OR = − 0.11, p = 0.01) were significantly moderated by social support, with a higher likelihood of being a smoker, compared to a non-smoker at higher levels of peer and institutional discrimination. Further, based on a moderated regression analysis, results indicated that youth who experienced greater educational discrimination and lower levels of social support, they were at higher risk of nicotine addiction (b = − 0.09, p = 0.03). Overall, results indicate that varying avenues of social support, such as parent, peer, and teacher support, can mitigate negative effects of discrimination on juvenile offenders, particularly cigarette use. Addressing discrimination in smoking treatment and prevention in juvenile offenders may be of great utility. Future studies should examine the potential mechanisms underlying the discrimination and cigarette use connection in juvenile offenders.