A psychological and educational intervention program for incarcerated youth

Purpose The purpose of this study was to examine the results of a deliberate psychological and educational intervention with at-risk youth (placed in a detention center) that have been identified as having the potential to benefit from a behavioral program. Design/methodology/approach The program provided systemic behavioral health assessments using trauma-informed care guidelines and then linked the participants to mental health and substance services to increase the children’s access to key health services and reduce the risk of recidivism. The program also provided psychoeducational resources to stakeholders including parents, judges and corrections officers. Comparisons were made between participants receiving the intervention to determine pre and post results. Findings Recidivism rates were also examined. Study participants included 395 at-risk youth between the ages of 13 and 17. In summary, the findings supported the use of this multi-pronged program with juveniles residing in detention centers. Originality/value All work on this research project was completed by the listed authors.

Reducing suicide risk in parentally bereaved youth through promoting effective parenting: testing a developmental cascade model

Children who experience parental death are at increased risk for suicide. The Family Bereavement Program (FBP) is an upstream preventive intervention for parentally bereaved families that was found to reduce suicide risk in parentally bereaved youth up to 6 and 15 years later. We tested whether FBP-induced improvements in effective parenting led to changes in multiple proximal factors that prior theory and research implicated in the cascading pathway to suicide risk, namely, aversive self-views, caregiver connectedness, peer connectedness, complicated grief, depressive symptoms, and emotion suppression. The sample was 244 bereaved youth and their surviving caregiver from 156 families. Families were randomized into the FBP (12 group-based sessions for parents, youth, and two joint sessions) or a literature control condition. Multimethod and multiinformant data were collected at baseline, posttest, 6-year and 15-year follow-up assessments. Results showed that program-induced improvements in effective parenting at posttest were associated with reduced aversive self-views and increased caregiver connectedness at the 6-year follow-up, and each mediator was in turn associated with reduced suicide risk at the 6- and 15-year follow-up. The mediated pathways via aversive self-views remained significant while controlling for caregiver connectedness. Self-related concepts may be important targets in upstream suicide prevention for at-risk youth.

Building Relationships in a Youth Justice Residence in Aotearoa New Zealand: Experiences of a Music Therapy Student

<p>Using Action Research, I explored my experience as a music therapy student in the process of developing relationships in a Youth Justice Residence in Aotearoa New Zealand. I reviewed a body of literature on therapeutic relationships within arts therapies and broader therapeutic traditions, music therapy with at-risk-youth, and social-justice perspectives in music therapy. Data was generated by means of journals and supervision notes and was analysed using thematic analysis through three cycles of action research. All names of the young people were changed to protect their anonymity. Findings showed that building relationships in this context involved having knowledge about the context and the population, self-knowledge and reflexivity, an ability to work across difference, and shared music-making. While the research was primarily being undertaken to improve practice, student research can offer a valuable addition to the field of music therapy, which is a relatively new field that requires more research to fully understand its benefits and challenges in various contexts and with different populations. This study may support other practitioners in their own process of relationships building with youth-at-risk within the local context of Aotearoa New Zealand, and may illustrate strategies that support this within the context of youth justice residence, as well as barriers and challenges involved.</p>

Building Relationships in a Youth Justice Residence in Aotearoa New Zealand: Experiences of a Music Therapy Student

<p>Using Action Research, I explored my experience as a music therapy student in the process of developing relationships in a Youth Justice Residence in Aotearoa New Zealand. I reviewed a body of literature on therapeutic relationships within arts therapies and broader therapeutic traditions, music therapy with at-risk-youth, and social-justice perspectives in music therapy. Data was generated by means of journals and supervision notes and was analysed using thematic analysis through three cycles of action research. All names of the young people were changed to protect their anonymity. Findings showed that building relationships in this context involved having knowledge about the context and the population, self-knowledge and reflexivity, an ability to work across difference, and shared music-making. While the research was primarily being undertaken to improve practice, student research can offer a valuable addition to the field of music therapy, which is a relatively new field that requires more research to fully understand its benefits and challenges in various contexts and with different populations. This study may support other practitioners in their own process of relationships building with youth-at-risk within the local context of Aotearoa New Zealand, and may illustrate strategies that support this within the context of youth justice residence, as well as barriers and challenges involved.</p>

Child Labor and Sex Trafficking

Regardless of their practice setting or subspecialty, pediatricians are likely to encounter children who have experienced sex or labor trafficking or who are at risk for exploitation. Only 24.1% of health professionals in one study reported receiving previous training on human trafficking; after a brief presentation on the topic, 39.6% indicated that they knew or suspected they had cared for a trafficked person in the past 3 months. Trafficked and exploited children can present with myriad physical or mental health conditions; most have experienced repeated, significant trauma; and few are likely to spontaneously disclose their exploitative situation. As a result, clinicians face challenges in recognizing and appropriately responding to potential human trafficking. Knowledge of common risk factors and potential indicators of exploitation can assist the pediatrician in recognizing affected and at-risk youth. However, health professionals report that existing training tends to focus on general information about trafficking, with relatively little time spent discussing the specifics of the trauma-informed approach to patient interactions. Given the critical importance of building patient trust, empowering patients to share their concerns, and engaging them in their own care and safety planning, this article focuses on the practical aspects of working with trafficked and exploited children. A brief overview of human trafficking is followed by an extensive discussion of rights-based, culturally sensitive, trauma-informed strategies for interacting with vulnerable patients.

Life Skills Education for Urban Youth in Honduras and Guatemala: A Capability Analysis of the Sports-Based Job Training Program A Ganar

Drawing upon an extensive case study of a sports-based, life skills job training program for at-risk youth in Honduras and Guatemala, this chapter examines how program participants described the process of building skills, and how, if at all, this skill-building led to greater well-being. Second, it asks, to what extent are these experiences of program participants aligned with theories of education within the capability approach? These questions are addressed through a qualitative case study that was embedded within an experimental design (a randomized control trial) that took place over 5 years in urban areas of Honduras and Guatemala. The analysis suggests that the combination of exposure to new ideas and information in the three phases of the A Ganar program, coupled with concrete opportunities to test out such ideas, enabled youth to experience changes in their attitudes and behaviors around work, around themselves, and to develop new relationships and friendships. Based on these empirical results, the chapter identifies several elements that might better inform life skills education research and practice in s in the future. These include: (1) conceptualizing life skills as preconditions of capabilities (some of which might be better classified as values); (2) conceptualizing life skills as both ends and means of interventions, and (3) giving more consideration to the conversion factors, meaning the ability to convert resources into functionings, that limit the robustness of capabilities that life skills programs develop.

Compost, Social Sustainability, and Circular Economy in Guatemala

The research presented in this chapter explores a variety of objectives: first, what are the dynamics and associated requirements for initiating a new start-up composting business that would embrace the principles of Circular Economy? Secondly, is there a market for compost both in an urban environment and for farmers regionally in a development world economy such as Guatemala? With this, how can employment opportunities for at-risk youth from the most impoverished neighborhood in Guatemala City be created while adhering to the tenants of social sustainability? And finally, what were the requirements involved in making compost in the challenging high altitude climatic conditions of Guatemala City?

The management of infants, children, and youth at risk for hepatitis C virus infection

Hepatitis C virus (HCV) infection affects 0.5% to 1.0% of the Canadian population. Most paediatric HCV infections are a consequence of vertical transmission or, among youth and young adults, the result of engaging in high-risk behaviours, such as injection drug use and unprotected sexual activity. It is now recommended that all infants, children, and youth with one or more risk factors be screened for HCV infection. Treating chronic HCV infection with direct-acting antivirals has been shown to achieve sustained virologic suppression in 97% to 100% of children as young as 3 years old. Paediatricians and family physicians have an important role in educating youth regarding HCV infection risks and prevention, and in advocating to government and public health authorities for comprehensive harm reduction interventions targeting at-risk youth, accessible treatments, and routine prenatal screening for HCV.