The bumpy road to change: a retrospective qualitative study on formerly detained adolescents’ trajectories towards better lives

Abstract

Background Currently, the risk-oriented focus in forensic youth care is increasingly complemented by a growing interest in strengths-based approaches. Knowledge on how detention and the subsequent period in the community is experienced by adolescents, and which elements are helpful in achieving better lives can contribute to this emerging field. The current study aimed to retrospectively explore adolescents’ experiences from the moment they were detained until 6 to 12 months after they left the institution, identifying positive aspects and strengths. Methods In-depth interviews were conducted with 25 adolescents (both boys and girls, 15–18 years old) on average 8 months after discharge from a closed institution in Belgium. A thematic analysis was performed using NVivo 11. Results Five themes and corresponding subthemes were identified: (1) adolescents’ own strengths and resilience, (2) re-building personally valued lives, (3) making sense of past experiences, (4) moving away from a harmful lifestyle, and (5) (in-)formal supports. Most adolescents are on their way to finding a new balance in life, however, for a subgroup of them, this is still fragile. Adolescents highly emphasize the importance of feeling closely connected to at least one person; to receive practical help with regard to finances, work and housing; and to be able to experience pleasure and joy in their lives. Conclusions Adolescents’ narratives suggest that starting a journey towards a normative good life often goes along with an initial difficult period because of a sense of loss with regard to their former life. This stresses the importance of targeting rehabilitation towards prosocial goals and enhancing adolescents’ quality of life on those life domains that matter most for them. Furthermore, we stress the importance of helping adolescents in overcoming structural barriers as a first step in supporting them in their trajectories towards better lives.

Looking into the crystal ball: quality of life, delinquency, and problems experienced by young male adults after discharge from a secure residential care setting in the Netherlands

“…In Project Life [33], based on a recovery-oriented peer run course for adults [34], young vulnerable people are challenged to discover their own strengths, possibilities, and future perspectives. Having a clear future perspective seemed to be an important motivation for adolescents to change their former harmful lifestyle [35]. In addition, for peer-rejected young adults with an autism spectrum disorder (Class 3) who have few risk factors before admission and appear to have a lower risk for problems in their young adulthood than young adults in the other classes, treatment should focus primarily on their psychopathology.…”

“…For young adults in this class, the innovative communication and reflection tool Brain Blocks [36] can be used to improve social-emotional skills by restoring communication between adolescents and their environment. The importance of good communication during treatment, or feeling closely connected to and supported by staff members and other adolescents, is highlighted in a qualitative study from a client-centred perspective in which adolescents described warm human contact as the most important aspect during stay to achieving a better life [35]. Overall, the findings of this exploratory follow-up study indicate that residential care should, for every person, focus (more) on (the prevention of) financial problems, since debt is a substantial problem after discharge and young adults felt less satisfied with their financial situation.…”

Adolescents’ Quality of Life and Mental Health Needs during the Initial Phase in a Closed Institution

“…It might be that adolescents interpreted the global wellbeing items as the short-term emotional evaluation of their current situation ("how satisfied are you with your life as a whole at the moment?"). As admission to a closed institution can be considered a stressful life event (Kroll et al, 2002;Van Hecke et al, 2019), it is likely to influence adolescents' general feeling of wellbeing in the initial phase of detention, whereas one's satisfaction on different life domains might be less susceptible to a general feeling of discomfort. Moreover, studies have indicated that QoL is mainly determined by one's subjective appraisal of his/her life, rather than by objective conditions or circumstances (Buitenweg et al, 2018;Jasovic-Gasic et al, 2010).…”

Formerly Detained Adolescents’ Narratives: On the Interplay between Quality of Life and Desistance

“…This is in line with findings by Harder et al (2011) who demonstrated high prevalence figures of problems in the year following discharge from secure residential care, especially with regard to finances, school and employment, and living arrangements. In the same vein, studies indicate that the process of moving away from a criminal lifestyle, and towards a more prosocial life, is often characterized by a difficult period, in which loss—either with regard to one’s previous identity, daily activities or social networks—plays a central role, and sometimes leads to relapses in old harmful behavior (Van Hecke et al, 2019; Halsey et al, 2017; Nugent & Schinkel, 2016).…”

“…Available studies on desistance in adolescence refer to the importance of young people’s agency (rational choice); structural aspects (external factors); and the interaction between both (McMahon & Jump, 2018). According to Van Hecke et al (2019, p. 2), desistance can be “operationalized as a certain form of “improvement” or “sense of progress in life” (Aga et al, 2017) as perceived and experienced by adolescents themselves in their daily lives and in relation to their context and the broader society.”…”