Developing autonomy is a pre-requisite for meaningful participation in society. However, youth leaving secure residential youth care (SRYC) relate that treatment does not prepare them well enough to stand on their own feet. Too often these youth are not involved in decisions regarding their own life …

The Short-Term Assessment of Risk and Treatability: Adolescent Version (START:AV) is a risk assessment instrument for adolescents that estimates the risk of multiple adverse outcomes. Prior research into its predictive validity is limited to a handful of studies conducted with the START:AV pilot version …

Risk assessment instruments are widely used to predict risk of adverse outcomes, such as violence or victimization, and to allocate resources for managing these risks among individuals involved in criminal justice and forensic mental health services. For risk assessment instruments to reach their full …

The aim of the present study was to examine differences in perceived living group climate between boys and girls in a sample of 344 youth (68.6% male, M age =16, SD =1.58) receiving residential youth care in the Netherlands. Participants filled out self-report measures on living group climate. …

Youth departing from secure youth care are often not well prepared for living on their own. This study aims to provide more insight into youth’s perspectives on what they need to improve their chances for successful return to and participation in Dutch society. The study is a first necessary step on a …

Treatment motivation in secure residential youth care is assumed to be a necessary condition for effective treatment, and is therefore a key element in the reduction of problem behavior and criminal recidivism. According to Self-Determination Theory (SDT) three basic psychological needs (autonomy, competence …

The present study evaluates the Youth Initiated Mentoring (YIM) approach in which families and youth care professionals collaborate with an informal mentor, who is someone adolescents (aged twelve to twenty-three) nominate from their own social network. The informal mentor can be a relative, neighbour …

Violence is a common problem in secure residential units for young people. Group workers often think that young people have to learn to behave by means of punishment. The purpose of this paper is to investigate whether this approach is effective in these settings, and, if so, under what circumstances. …