Abstract

1. Schools and Family Systems: Important Considerations for Delinquency InterventionsABCT Convention – Orlando, November 2008Janay B. Sander, Ph.D. Jill D. Sharkey, Ph.D.The University of Texas at Austin University of California at Santa Barbara emotional, learning, or behavioral challenges, experienced by adolescents on probation, and (b) how did various systems and individuals within those systems respond to or address those needs, alleviate the strain, or assist in coping with strains? School experiences and teacher relationships were included as specific areas of inquiry, but questions addressed home, school, peer and general experiences. Consensual Qualitative Research (Hill, Thompson & Williams, 1997) was the procedure used for analyzing the interviews. Abstract This poster presents results from a qualitative investigation with adolescents on probation and their mothers to illuminate emotional, learning, and behavioral needs in general and how those challenges were addressed. Semi-structured interviews with 32 participants across two sites were analyzed using Consensual Qualitative Research methods. School experiences were consistently mentioned in terms of resources or strains. The results provide clarity and context to explain how certain background factors are frequently associated with delinquency. Aspects of school experiences that families considered very helpful or stressful and how those components fit with empirically supported interventions for delinquency is discussed. Positive relationships with school staff and teachers was instrumental for success. Method Participants The study included 16 adolescents and their mothers (32 participants total) recruited from juvenile probation departments in Texas and California. Adolescents. A total of 12 males and 4 females between the ages of 13 and 17 years (M = 15.25, SD = 1.18) who were currently serving probation participated. Eight adolescents identified as white (non-Latino), five identified as Mexican-American, two identified as mixed ethnicity or race: one white/Mexican-American, and one as black/Mexican-American. Mothers. The age range of mothers was 33-55 years (M = 43.73, SD = 5.80). Nine women identified as white/non-Latino, and seven women identified as Mexican-American. Maternal education levels included the following: less than high school (n = 1), high school diploma (n = 3), vocational training post high school (n = 7), or college degree or beyond (n = 4). The research team. A total of 13 researchers participated in the CQR coding process, all of whom were affiliated with school psychology training programs. Five researchers were both interviewers and coders (two faculty members, two doctoral students and one master’s student); 5 additional team members participated in coding. The age of team members was 21-35 years, M = 26.6 years. Several cultural groups were represented (white n = 10; Mexican-American n = 2; Japanese-American or Asian n = 2; Jewish/Iranian n = 1). One doctoral student was male, the rest of the team was female. Procedures Fliers inviting adolescents and their caregivers to be in the study were mailed from probation departments to the adolescents’ home addresses or posted in the juvenile justice center lobby. Participants responded to fliers and contacted one of the lead investigators to schedule the interview. All parent-adolescent interviews were conducted simultaneously, one with the lead investigator and the other with the graduate student interviewer. Interviewer pairs alternated roles, switching between parent and adolescent interviews at both sites. All interviews were transcribed verbatim, but all identifying information was disguised by the principal investigator during the proofreading process. Coding followed the CQR method (Hill, et al.1997) via weekly conference phone meetings across both sites. After reaching consensus with five more interviews, the research team agreed that the code map was stable. The team remained open to new categories, but no new coding categories emerged after the ninth interview consensus. The complete code map and results are beyond the scope of this paper, but are available from the first author. Results Auniversal theme was school dissatisfaction or low engagement in school. Ten of the 16 participants in this sample had a history of documented school-related challenges, including ADHD addressed with a 504 plan, specific learning disabilities, and severe emotional disturbance served through special education. Four participants struggled in school, but were never formally assessed. Two participants had no learning-related challenges of any type, yet they mentioned overall lack of interest due to “boring” teaching approaches. A list of school themes, in terms of how helpful or as burdens on the child or family, are presented in Table 1. Introduction Adolescents between the ages of 11 and 17 years comprise less than 15% of the total US population (US Census, 2007), but in 2005 were responsible for 30% of the total number of violent and property crimes in the United States (Office of Juvenile Justice and Delinquency Prevention; OJJDP, 2007). Adolescents involved in juvenile justice systems participate in special education at a rate of 37% (Zabel & Nigro, 1999). This is in stark contrast to a national rate of special education services for the general student population of only around 8% (National Center for Education Statistics, 2002). Across several research studies, juvenile offenders are very likely to experience academic failure and low interest in school. There is a critical need to examine educational experiences for this particular group of vulnerable adolescents (Wiesner & Windle, 2006; Todis, Bullis, Waintrup, Schultz & D’Ambrosio, 2001; Bullis & Yovanoff, 2005). Many school level qualities are highly predictive of adolescent risk for delinquency. In general, high retention rates, frequent use of expulsion or suspension in discipline policies, infrequent use of positive behavior strategies, ineffective classroom management (Christle, Jolivette & Nelson, 2005), and poor teacher-student relationships (Pianta, 1999; Baker, Grant & Morlock, 2008) are linked to risk for delinquency. Sugai and Horner (1999) note several factors that promote disruptive behavior in school, but not in specific relation to juvenile justice, (a) ineffective instruction, (b) inconsistent and punitive discipline, (c) few opportunities to learn and practice social skills, (d) unclear rules and expectations, (e) rules not enforced, and (f) instruction not differentiated by individual needs. An integrated theoretical perspective on juvenile delinquency, general strain theory, incorporates the myriad of stress-inducing situations across individual, community and school experiences (Agnew, 2003). Essentially, “strain” is any set of circumstances or experiences that create negative emotion. Those negative emotions may be exacerbated when coping strategies (cognitive, behavioral, emotional) are not used, are ineffective, or if social support is lacking or inadequate. Under conditions of increased strain, and if personally determined costs of delinquency are low and benefits are high, such that the person has “nothing to lose,” delinquency becomes increasingly likely. Forms of strain can be complex, but they relate to challenges in achieving social acceptance, success, privileges, or fulfilling relationships (Agnew, 2003). General strain theory includes three types of strain related to delinquency. The first is failure to achieve desired outcomes, such as good grades, status, thrill/excitement, or autonomy. Although that component is a core strand of strain, there is little in-depth research about how those background factors relate to the real life experiences and life stories of vulnerable teenagers. Given the substantial literature base on risks, what is now needed is more detailed case study to better address the complex interactions across levels of the ecosystem (Agnew, 2005). Special attention to processes within schools seems highly relevant, and in-depth study of cases, rather than broad sociological trends, would provide clarity to the literature (Agnew, 2006). The current study Drawing on existing literature summarizing risks and theories of delinquency, with emphasis on general strain theory (Agnew, 2005) investigators focused on two research questions for the current study: (a) what were the strains, such as Discussion The current study summarized perspectives of parents and adolescents currently on probation to clarify how certain known background factors are associated with delinquency. The results illuminate several important considerations. First, the experience of a positive relationship with teachers was striking as a resource to buffer other strains for both adolescents and parents. This is consistent with the principles that Pianta (1999) describes in relation to elementary students, and appears relevant to older students as well. Next, school engagement was clearly a problem for these adolescents, and they conveyed that they wished it were different. Students frequently mentioned that they felt academically lost, and that they appreciated it when teachers made the personal effort to help them. This is highly consistent with what Sugai and Horner (1999) discussed in terms of positive behavior support. This study clarifies several additional avenues by which students may become disengaged. They felt judged or stereotyped for past behaviors, and this seemed to undermine both their sense of connection to school and also their motivation to change their behaviors. Parents also experienced a sense of discrimination for their child’s behavior when interacting with school personnel. This discouraged some parents from working collaboratively, but others were very persistent in spite of the difficult relationship. Our study suggests that schools may need to pay more attention to their own bias related to parents of adjudicated adolescents already want to work closely with schools but then are discouraged from participation. What is clear in our study is how immensely powerful it was for these adolescents to have an experience of a caring adult accept them as a person in spite of their poor behavior choices. This is consistent with other research on student motivation (Davis, 2006), with what Dishion and Andrews (1995) initially articulated about the importance of home-school partnerships and what Furlong and Christensen (2008) discussed in terms of student engagement. Teachers who made connections, either with “being nice” to the adolescent or teachers who appeared committed to helping the student learn academic subjects that were challenging were both appreciated by the adolescents, even in high school. These findings highlight the role of individual relationships and collaboration across home and school as central to the success of behavioral approaches, discipline strategies, and student engagement. Author note: This study was funded by the Society for the Study of School Psychology and was initiated in a work session at the School Psychology Research Collaboration Conference. The authors are grateful for both of these opportunities.