Background: The prevalence of language disorder in youth offenders far exceeds rates reported in community samples. Youth involved in the justice system are also at increased risk of a range of psychiatric disorders, including internalizing mental health problems (i.e., anxiety, depression). However, the frequency with which these co-occur in this…

Reviews briefly traditional psychotherapeutic and behavioral approaches toward intervention and prevention among juvenile offenders. Outlines important problems common to both methods and sketches likely directions of future research and practice, predicting a shift in emphasis from intervention to prevention. (CMG)

Reviews theoretical and programmatic issues in the development of a social skills training program for court-adjudicated youths. Discusses the relationship between a youth's social competence and his or her likelihood of engaging in inappropriate or illegal activity. (Author/AOS)

Addresses a paradigm shift taking place in the field of substance-abuse prevention for youth. Introduces the youth development and empowerment (YD&E) approach, an innovative program for treating substance abuse and other problem behavior. Discusses the process of implementing the YD&E program. (MKA)

Programs serving troubled youth continuously struggle with the issue of using physical restraints and other coercive interventions. This paper revisits the issues and motivations surrounding restraint use. It offers an analytic perspective on the physical restraint cycle and the factors that tend to support its recurrence. (JDM)

A recent approach to dealing with adolescent problems is social skills training, which emphasizes specific prosocial alternative responses for problematic situational interactions. Research has shown that social skills training has positive outcomes. However, it is not known whether an emphasis on the cognitive might enhance maintenance and…

Describes guiding theory behind cognitive-behavioral interventions with youth, such as therapeutic posture, an important cognitive distinction, and specific treatment goal. On basis of review of literature, nature of cognitive functioning, treatments, and outcome of treatment studies are described and examined for aggression, anxiety, depression,…

The lack of rigorous evaluations and variations in operation of adolescent diversion programs has led to a state of confusion concerning the effects of diversion. In a program at Michigan State University, youths referred to the project from the juvenile court are randomly assigned to undergraduates who are trained and supervised by project…

In response to increasing demands that Canadian school boards provide behavior adaptation programs to counter the effects of disruptive home environments, school violence, and victimization, this paper explores definitions and diagnostic criteria for the following behavior disorders: attention-deficit hyperactivity disorder, oppositional defiant…