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.
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)