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Interactions among peers in residential youth care are an important dynamic factor affecting behavioral adjustment and treatment success. Assessment and monitoring of the quality of peer interactions are potentially important for promoting a positive peer culture at the living group, contributing to a positive social climate. However, currently, there are no measures available to assess peer interactions in residential youth care. The present study describes the development, construct validity, and reliability of the Peer Interactions in Residential Youth Care questionnaire (PIRY) in a sample of 345 adolescents (age M = 15.45, SD = 1.59, 44.9% male) in the Netherlands. Confirmatory factor analysis of a two-factor model (peer support and acceptance, and relational aggression) showed a good fit to the data, and internal consistency reliabilities were good for both scales. Partial strict measurement invariance for gender was established, and no significant differences were found between boys and girls on latent factor means. The PIRY can be used in practice to assess and monitor both positive and negative peer interactions in residential youth care at the group level. Implications for research and practice are discussed.

Contains fulltext : 231833.pdf (Publisher’s version ) (Closed access) Background: This study focused on the cultural and gender differences in the perception of living group climate quality between native Dutch youth and Dutch youth with a Turkish and Moroccan cultural background placed in Dutch residential youth care. Method: Living group climate was examined by means of a self-report measure in a sample of 437 youth of whom were 178/173 native Dutch boys and girls, and 40/46 Turkish/Moroccan boys and girls. Living group climate was measured with the Group Climate Instrument that consists of four subscales (i.e. Support, Growth, Repression, and Atmosphere). Result: Results indicated that Turkish/Moroccan boys experienced significantly less support and growth in comparison to native Dutch boys. Conclusion: We conclude that a cultural sensitive approach in residential youth care is important by acknowledging the cultural values, specifically the collectivistic masculine identity of Turkish/Moroccan boys, to better meet basic psychological needs of these boys in residential care and improve treatment efficacy. Implications for future research and clinical practice are discussed. 10 p.

Repression in residential youth care institutions can manifest itself openly in coercive measures or may be concealed in staff behavior that is endemic to residential youth care, such as soft power and strict behavioral control (i.e., structure), which threatens rehabilitative goals and might even violate children’s rights. To increase awareness of particularly the more hidden aspects of repression, this qualitative study follows the framework method to examine processes that cause adolescents to experience repression. Semistructured interviews were conducted with an ethnic diverse sample of 32 adolescents from open, secure, and forensic (i.e., youth prisons) residential youth care institutions in the Netherlands. Results indicated that adolescents tend to accept structure, rules, coercion, and punishments, and that they expect staff to use their power to create order and safety. However, results also showed that restrictive measures may be approved by adolescents to cope with repression, taking the form of rationalization. Staff behavior perceived as unfair or excessive by the adolescents was conceived of as repressive. Respect for autonomy and providing treatment that is experienced as meaningful by the adolescents seem to decrease experienced repression.

The present study examines the relation between classroom climate in schools for secondary special education and students' perceived social exclusion. A total of 401 Dutch adolescents (70.3% males) with conduct problems, attending schools for special education, filled out questionnaires on classroom climate, problems in social information processing, externalizing behavior and perceived social exclusion. Results showed that a positive classroom climate was associated with a reduction of students' externalizing behavior problems and perceived social exclusion, which was associated with improvements in social information processing. However, these relations were only found at the within group level of analysis (between students) and not at the between group level (between classes); thus contextual (class level) effects could not be demonstrated. It can be carefully stated that a positive classroom climate in secondary special education may protect against perceived social exclusion. Future research is required to examine whether our findings can be replicated in other schools for secondary special education or can be generalized to secondary education in general.

Background: This study examined the psychometric properties of the Group Climate Instrument (GCI) in a sample of N = 189 adults (79% men) with mild intellectual disability or borderline intellectual functioning who were residents of a treatment facility in the Netherlands. Method: Construct validity of the GCI was examined by means of confirmatory factor analysis. Also, reliability and convergent validity of the GCI were examined. We also examined the variability in perception of the living group climate between and within living groups by computing intraclass correlation coefficients. Results: The model contained four first-order factors (support, growth, group atmosphere and repression) and a second-order factor overall climate, providing preliminary support for construct validity of the GCI. Reliability coefficients were good for all factors. Preliminary evidence for convergent validity was found in significant moderate associations between subscales and single item ratings for the factors of group climate. The intraclass correlation coefficients indicated that a considerate proportion of variance can be attributed to between-group differences. Conclusions: The GCI might be used to assess perception of the living group climate for individuals with mild intellectual disability or borderline intellectual functioning in psychiatric and forensic care settings, although further development of the GCI and replication of our findings seem necessary.

Repression in residential youth care institutions threatens youth’s positive development. When youth experience arbitrary use of power, structure, or coercion, this may cause demotivation, reactance or aggression, and diminished chances of rehabilitation in youth. Because institutional repression may be hard to recognize, a valid and reliable measurement instrument is necessary to signal repression in residential institutions. This article outlines the conceptualization, development and validation of the Institutional Repression Questionnaire in a sample of 180 youth (aged 12–24, 32% female) staying in open, secure, and forensic residential youth care institutions. The Institutional Repression Questionnaire is a self-report questionnaire, designed to measure five dimensions of repression: abuse of power, injustice, lack of autonomy, lack of meaning, and dehumanization. The multicomponent structure was confirmed in a confirmatory factor analysis, resulting in 24 items in five subscales: Abuse of Power, Justice, Lack of Autonomy, Meaning, and Humanization. One open-ended question is part of the questionnaire to invite youth to disclose more extreme cases of repression. Convergent validity was established via correlations between the Institutional Repression Questionnaire and the Prison Group Climate Inventory—as a measure of living group climate in residential institutions—and the Basic Psychological Need Satisfaction and Frustration Scale-Intellectual Disability—as a measure of self-determination. The five Institutional Repression Questionnaire subscales demonstrated good internal consistency. The study provides preliminary evidence to support validity and reliability of an adolescent self-report questionnaire of perceived institutional repression as a multidimensional construct. Residential youth care institutions can use outcomes of the Institutional Repression Questionnaire to improve their living group climate.

The present study examined the relation between juvenile delinquents’ responses to social problem situations and empathy in secure juvenile institutions. The sample consisted of 79 delinquent boys (62%) and 49 delinquent girls (38%), aged 12 to 19 years. Results showed problems with accepting authority to be negatively related to both affective and cognitive empathy. Inadequate coping with competition was negatively related to cognitive empathy, whereas problems with receiving or giving help were negatively related to affective empathy. The central role of authority problems suggests that group workers could influence adolescents’ empathy development by helping them to learn to cope with social problem situations.

Residential youth care settings should provide youth with safe environments where they are supported and treated. However, there are aspects of residential youth care that threaten its effectiveness, and which may also violate children’s rights. Staff members exercise power over the youth, which can be abused to coerce, punish, or limit the autonomy of youth. Currently, the harmful behavior of staff includes repression through such acts as harsh and unfair control, punishment, and lack of autonomy granting. However, research on the exact nature of repression is lacking, which hampers empirical research on repression in residential youth care, and makes it difficult for residential settings to recognize repression and take the right corrective measures. A scoping review of the available literature is conducted from a humanistic, social psychological, and organizational perspective to examine the nature of repression and to provide a valid definition and its antecedents. This article offers implications for preventing, recognizing, and diminishing repression in residential youth care.

Lack of empathy is related to aggression, delinquency, and criminaloffense recidivism. The present study examined construct validityand reliability of the German version of the Basic Empathy Scale(BES) in a sample of 94 detained German male juvenile offenders(aged 14–26). A confirmatory factor analysis with a two-factormodel of affective and cognitive empathy showed a good fit tothe data. The factor structure of the original 20-item scale, however,could not be fully replicated in the German juvenile prison sample.Therefore, the scale was reduced to 12 items. Cronbach’s alphareliability coefficients were good for both affective and cognitiveempathy. Concurrent validity of the BES was demonstrated only forcognitive empathy,which was significantly associated with callousunemotionaltraits. Although results are promising, a replicationstudy is needed to test concurrent, convergent, divergent, andpredictive validity of the German version of the BES as well astest–retest reliability.

Purpose– 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. Furthermore, it aims to provide alternatives to punishment when dealing with violence.Design/methodology/approach– Recent evidence on the effectiveness of punishment in secure residential units is reviewed. In addition, methods which are promising in dealing with violence are described.Findings– The review shows that punishment is often used to regain control by group workers or, alternatively, is a result of professional helplessness in the face of escalating problems. Only when the living group climate is marked by trust and cooperation can punishment be effective.Originality/value– Punishment in secure residential settings can have severe negative consequences. Nevertheless, group workers are tempted to use it as a response to violence in an attempt to gain control.

Contains fulltext : 167605.pdf (Publisher’s version ) (Open Access) The present study is a replication in Germany of a study originally performed in the Netherlands regarding the association between a positive living group climate and self-reported empathy in incarcerated adolescent male offenders (n = 49). A structural equation model was fitted to the data and showed a relation between a positive living group climate and increased empathy after six months. The discussion focuses on group dynamics in youth prisons. The present results open the way to further research into the importance of group processes in residential youth care. A positive living group climate could turn out to be an important factor contributing to the effectiveness of secure institutional treatment. 10 p.

Purpose: This study describes the development and validation of the Group Climate Instrument for Children aged 8 to 15 years (GCIC 8-15), which purports to measure the quality of group climate in residential care. Methods: A confirmatory factor analysis was performed on data of 117 children in Dutch residential youth care. Reliability analysis was performed and concurrent validity was tested. Results: An adequate fit of a two-factor model indicated construct validity of the GCIC 8-15. Reliability coefficients were good, and a significant correlation between perceived group climate and treatment motivation supported concurrent validity. Discussion: The GCIC 8-15 can be used to identify positive and negative aspects of group climate in residential youth care and enables further group climate research with children.

The Prison Group Climate Instrument (PGCI) was developed to investigate group climate quality in forensic psychiatric institutions and secure residential treatment facilities for delinquent juveniles. The present study examined construct validity, convergent validity, and reliability of the German version of the PGCI. A confirmatory factor analysis with four first-order factors—"support," "growth," "group atmosphere," and "repression"—and "overall group climate" as a second-order factor showed a good fit to the data and indicated construct validity of the German version of the PGCI. Preliminary support was found for convergent validity. Cronbach's alpha reliability coefficients were sufficient for all scales. The instrument can be used to improve service quality and gives inmates a voice.

This study examined the influence of group climate on empathy in a Dutch youth correctional facility in a sample of 59 incarcerated delinquent boys. Higher levels of empathy have been shown to be associated with less delinquent and more prosocial behaviour and may therefore be vital for successful rehabilitation and recidivism reduction. Although empathy was originally considered to be a trait, recent neurobiological research has shown that empathy has state-like properties in that levels of empathy change in response to the social environment. This study showed that differences in group climate were associated with cognitive empathy in juvenile delinquents but not with affective empathy. It is speculated that inmates’ state-depressive feelings and anxiety could diminish the effects of prison group climate on affective empathy. The discussion focuses on group dynamics in youth correctional facilities. A positive prison group climate in a youth correctional facility could turn out to be a major factor contributing to effectiveness of secure institutional treatment.