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Abstract
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VioLit summary:
OBJECTIVE:
The aim of this report by McCleary was to examine the issues surrounding the treatment of aggressive and violent youth.
METHODOLOGY:
This was a non-experimental exploratory study of the role of the adult in the treatment of violent adolescents, and why these children came to engage in such behaviors. The author centered his examination upon those adolescents who find themselves as participants in a subculture of violence. The subculture was defined as exhibiting three characteristics: its members consider violence to be a natural form of behavior for which no remorse is necessary; they can distinguish sufficiently between right and wrong to realize that their behavior is not caused by psychopathology; and although sociopathology is present in the development of the personality that finds its home in a violent subculture, it has become so much a part of the subculture that the final behavioral outcome is violent, rather than sociopathic.
FINDINGS/DISCUSSION:
Members of the violent subculture were differentiated by the author from other adolescents in terms of a failure to cope with seven crises of adolescence. These crises involved: (1) learning to accept others' authority as well as to develop one's own internal controls; (2) developing one's own identity and personality; (3) accepting the reality of the social environment; (4) realistically assessing one's assets for present or future use; (5) learning to inhibit violence and use alternative, non-violent responses; (6) assuming an appropriate social and sexual masculine role; and (7) finding sufficient satisfaction in life to avoid suicidal ideation. It is when these maturations occur in a chaotic fashion that the adolescent is at risk for becoming part of the violent subculture.
AUTHOR'S RECOMMENDATIONS:
The author stressed the need for counselors working with these adolescents to accept the individual without moral judgement, and to believe in the power of education to change people. The counselor must be able to relate to the youth, to help the youth develop internal controls and appropriate behavioral responses, to listen and to provide emotional support, and to act as a caring parent-figure. According to the author, it is not only the counselor who bears responsibility for the treatment of these violent adolescents - teachers must also assume some of the responsibility of helping those youth who need extra care and attention if they are to be rehabilitated. If difficult children cannot attend school during regular hours, classes should be provided after hours, or they could work independently to achieve graduation standards.
EVALUATION:
This study provides an interesting glimpse into the problem of the violent youth. However, its lack of theoretical or empirical bases and its superficial examination of the issues of treatment possibilities precludes the generalization of the author's findings to anything other than a preliminary base for future research. (CSPV Abstract - Copyright © 1992-2007 by the Center for the Study and Prevention of Violence, Institute of Behavioral Science, Regents of the University of Colorado)
KW - Juvenile Aggression
KW - Juvenile Offender
KW - Juvenile Treatment
KW - Juvenile Violence
KW - Offender Treatment
KW - Violence Treatment
KW - Violence Causes
KW - Aggression Treatment
KW - Aggression Causes
KW - Subculture of Violence
KW - Treatment Program
KW - Treatment Recommendations
Language: en |