Quality of life, delinquency and psychosocial functioning of adolescents in secure residential care: testing two assumptions of the Good Lives Model

Predictors of psychosocial functioning in people diagnosed with schizophrenia spectrum disorders that committed violent offences and in those that did not: Results of the Recoviwel study

Psychosocial functioning represents a core treatment target of Schizophrenia Spectrum Disorders (SSD), and several clinical and cognitive factors contribute to its impairment. However, determinants of psychosocial functioning in people living with SSD that committed violent offences remain to be more thoroughly explored. This study aims to separately assess and compare predictors of psychosocial functioning in people with SSD that did and that did not commit violent offences considering several clinical, cognitive and violence-related parameters. Fifty inmates convicted for violent crimes in a forensic psychiatry setting diagnosed with SSD (OP group) and fifty participants matched for age, gender, education, and diagnosis (Non-OP group) were included in the study. A higher risk of violent relapse as measured by HCR-20 clinical subscale scores (p < 0.002) and greater global clinical severity as measured by CGI-S scores (p = 0.023) emerged as individual predictors of worse psychosocial functioning, as measured by PSP scores, in the OP group. Greater global clinical severity (p < 0.001), worse performance in the processing speed domain as measured by the BACS Symbol Coding (p = 0.002) and TMT-A tests (p = 0.016) and higher levels of non-planning impulsivity as measured by BIS-11 scores (p < 0.001) emerged as individual predictors of worse psychosocial functioning in the Non-OP group. These results confirm that clinical severity impacts psychosocial functioning in all individuals diagnosed with SSD and suggest that while cognitive impairment clearly represents a determinant of worse functional outcomes in most patients, the risk of violent relapse is a specific predictor of worse psychosocial functioning in people with SSD that committed criminal offences.

Self-perceived views on offender rehabilitation in detained adolescent boys: a qualitative analysis in the context of the good lives model

Introduction

An upcoming offender rehabilitation model, the Good Lives Model (GLM), proposes that effective offender rehabilitation should adopt a dual focus: reducing recidivism risk as well as enhancing the offender's well-being. To achieve this, the GLM suggests rehabilitation should include the prosocial fulfilment of a universal set of human needs termed "primary goods." A focus on primary goods attainment and well-being is hypothesized to improve treatment motivation and achieve more sustainable desistance from future offending. Although this model sounds promising, empirical evidence for these assumptions is limited, especially among youth.

Methods

Twenty Flemish and Dutch detained adolescent boys (14 to 17 years old at the time of their arrest) were interviewed during their detention using a semi-structured interview. They were asked about their well-being, needs and goals during rehabilitation, their treatment motivation, and their views on recidivism and rehabilitation.

Results

The results show that a match between the boys' well-being needs, and the treatment goals set in collaboration with the institution could improve treatment motivation and rehabilitation efforts. The boys also mentioned other factors with a positive impact on their treatment motivation: increased levels of freedom and autonomy; having a future (prosocial) perspective; investing in a therapeutic alliance; and, working on individual factors (i.e., improving coping skills, school or work skills, and relationships with prosocial friends and family).

Discussion

These factors closely align with working on the GLM primary goods of "excellence in work and play," "excellence in agency," and "relatedness," which can be helpful in enhancing well-being and treatment motivation in offender rehabilitation.

Formerly Detained Adolescents' Narratives: On the Interplay between Quality of Life and Desistance

In recent years, a growing trend to consider strengths and protective factors in studies on desistance from crime has emerged. The present study explores three formerly detained adolescents' narratives, aiming to tease out how Quality of Life (QoL) and desistance interact in pathways towards a "better life." The narratives suggest that the journey towards a better life is highly individual, and may unfold via multiple pathways characterized by an ambivalent relationship between QoL and desistance. Alongside the importance of individual aspects and social support, societal barriers and opportunities play a significant role in creating new chances to re-build a life and prosocial identities. This reflects earlier findings that desistance is not an individual responsibility. It is essential to support young people to overcome societal barriers that impede participation in society and living a good life. This research adds to growing evidence of strengths-based approaches to rehabilitation, such as the Good Lives Model (GLM).

The bumpy road to change: a retrospective qualitative study on formerly detained adolescents' trajectories towards better lives

BACKGROUND

Currently, the risk-oriented focus in forensic youth care is increasingly complemented by a growing interest in strengths-based approaches. Knowledge on how detention and the subsequent period in the community is experienced by adolescents, and which elements are helpful in achieving better lives can contribute to this emerging field. The current study aimed to retrospectively explore adolescents' experiences from the moment they were detained until 6 to 12 months after they left the institution, identifying positive aspects and strengths.

METHODS

In-depth interviews were conducted with 25 adolescents (both boys and girls, 15-18 years old) on average 8 months after discharge from a closed institution in Belgium. A thematic analysis was performed using NVivo 11.

RESULTS

Five themes and corresponding subthemes were identified: (1) adolescents' own strengths and resilience, (2) re-building personally valued lives, (3) making sense of past experiences, (4) moving away from a harmful lifestyle, and (5) (in-)formal supports. Most adolescents are on their way to finding a new balance in life, however, for a subgroup of them, this is still fragile. Adolescents highly emphasize the importance of feeling closely connected to at least one person; to receive practical help with regard to finances, work and housing; and to be able to experience pleasure and joy in their lives.

CONCLUSIONS

Adolescents' narratives suggest that starting a journey towards a normative good life often goes along with an initial difficult period because of a sense of loss with regard to their former life. This stresses the importance of targeting rehabilitation towards prosocial goals and enhancing adolescents' quality of life on those life domains that matter most for them. Furthermore, we stress the importance of helping adolescents in overcoming structural barriers as a first step in supporting them in their trajectories towards better lives.