Qualitative Study Exploring the Life-Course Experiences of Young Offenders with Symptoms and Signs of ADHD Who Were Detained in a Residential Care Setting

• NCJ Number: 227412
• Journal: Criminal Behavior and Mental Health Volume: 19 Issue: 1 Dated: 2009 Pages: 54-63
• Author(s): Susan Young; Simon Chesney; David Sperlinger; Peter Misch; Philip Collins
• Date Published: 2009
• Length: 10 pages
• Publication Format: Article
• Publication Type: Report (Study/Research)
• Language: English
• Country: United Kingdom

Annotation

This study explored the internal worlds of five boys with ADHD-like symptoms.

Abstract

Results identified main themes which suggest that being held in a secure residential unit for adolescents who displayed difficult/challenging behaviors might to some extent fulfill a self-identified need for belonging and reattachment after major losses. Although they all spoke of history of abuse, bereavement, and conflict one of the most important losses that these young offenders faced was a lack of a male role model. This is in keeping with previous findings that insecure attachments have been strongly associated with an increased risk of behavioral and emotional problems in children. Most of the boys had, at least in part, a positive response to the structured environment of the unit. This setting provided them with clear boundaries, recognition of their educational needs, and management of behavioral problems, such as anger and hyperactivity. The boys found the school program more manageable and less demanding than mainstream education; however, young offenders in the community might have significantly more unmet needs than those in secure care, and the apparent gains of residing in secure accommodations might be unsustainable once young people leave this environment. The importance that the boys gave to the losses in their lives and to their search for ways to belong suggested a value in providing services that might help to meet such needs. That the boys volunteered recognition of some of the ways that they benefited from being in a secure environment is, in itself, a form of validation of that unit. However, therapeutic interventions may need to take into account the possibility that this confinement may validate for these young men a tendency to attribute the course of their lives to external factors. Data were collected from five boys using a semistructured interview schedule. References and appendix