Background: Personal characteristics of troubled adolescents are affected by psychological deprivation, which contributes to the manifestation of deviant and delinquent behavior in individuals. Aim: This study comprehensively examines structural units of self-consciousness, higher mental functions, and the emotional sphere of troubled adolescents…

A large proportion of youth in the juvenile justice system have disabilities (U.S. Department of Education, 2014). Research indicates that the prevalence of youth with disabilities in these settings is four to five times greater than the prevalence of youth with disabilities in public schools. Juvenile justice facilities often face challenges for…

Recent studies analyzing juvenile delinquents participating in wilderness therapy programs have reported little statistical effectiveness. Interpretation of these findings may be unjustified due to definitional confusion more than a clear examination of program effectiveness. Using a research methodology similar to Jones, Lowe, and Risler (2004),…

The National Institute for Trauma and Loss in Children (TLC) conducted research on the use of Structured Sensory Interventions for Traumatized Children, Adolescents, and Parents (SITCAP). The use of SITCAP was evaluated in two programs, one working with traumatized children 6-12 years of age called the I Feel Better Now! Program and another called…

This brief summarizes the findings of the larger study, "Just Learning: The Imperative to Transform Juvenile Justice Systems into Effective Educational Systems. A Study of Juvenile Justice Schools in the South and the Nation." With awareness growing that schools are disciplining and suspending minority students at alarming rates, the…

With awareness growing that schools are disciplining and suspending minority students at alarming rates, the report provides powerful evidence that young people placed in the juvenile justice system-predominately minority males incarcerated for minor offenses-are receiving a substandard education. The report, "Just Learning: The Imperative to…

One approach to student behavior that may be particularly useful in exclusionary settings is school-wide positive behavior supports (PBS). Increasingly, evidence shows that PBS is an effective approach to student behavior in regular public schools (Sugai & Horner, 2005). While the data on behavioral systems in exclusionary schools are…

The Teaching Family program is one of the most extensively researched models for residential care. A major meta-analysis found that the Teaching Family Model (TFM) was one of the five most consistently effective treatments for delinquents. However, two recent publications imply that behaviorally based and/or group treatments might be harmful.…

The Pendleton Project residential service is a short term intensive care alternative to the long term, costly, and ineffective non-community based institutional model for treating children and families suffering from behavior problems. The residential services are designed to develop community competency from the vantage point of its unique…

This report summarizes 2007-2008 school year activities and services in Austin Independent School District funded through the federal NCLB Title I Part A and Part D grants to serve eligible students and staff at facilities for neglected youth or delinquent youth located in the AISD attendance zone.

The problem is well known to every parent of a teenager, every high school teacher, every clinical practitioner, and every social policy maker: vulnerable adolescents risk becoming more deviant through association with deviant peers and peer groups. Deviant peer influences are among the most potent factors in the development of antisocial…