U.S. flag

An official website of the United States government, Department of Justice.

Assessing Youth Perceptions of Staff: A Validational Analysis in Adjudicated Youth

NCJ Number
302257
Journal
Journal of Adolescent Health Volume: 68 Issue: 2 Dated: 2021 Pages: S15-S16
Date Published
2021
Length
2 pages
Annotation

This study sought to validate a comprehensive measure of youth perceptions of staff characteristics (e.g., Pederson et al., 2020) relevant to youth within detention facilities.

Abstract

According to social ecological theory and frameworks of implementation science (Bronfenbrenner, 1977; Damschroder et al., 2009), understanding dynamics that encourage the effective use of evidenced based interventions (EBIs) within juvenile detention centers is important to meeting the current and future demand for adolescent health services. Consistent with research on the therapeutic alliance (Kazdin et al., 2005), developing positive relationships between youth and detention facility staff may enable improvements in youth behavior and allow for the effective implementation of EBIs. Interestingly, research suggests that it is youths’ perceptions of facility staff that are of most importance (e.g., Kupchik & Snyder, 2009); however, no measure has been validated to assess these perceptions, with previous studies relying on self-created measures evaluating a wide variety of staff characteristics. (publisher abstract modified)

Date Published: January 1, 2021