Adolescent Detainees Research Articles

Doing Time in the Garden: Life Lessons through Prison Horticulture

Children, Youth and Environments Vol. 17 No. 4 (2007) ISSN: 1546-2250 Doing Time in the Garden: Life Lessons through Prison Horticulture James, Jiler (2006). Oakland, CA: New Village Press; 176 pages. $24.95. ISBN 0976605422. Few people know as they fly into La Guardia airport in New York City that just beyond their runway, out in the water ofFlushing Bay, sits Rikers Island, the city’s jail for those awaiting trial and those with sentences of less than one year. Rikers hosts the nation’s largest prison system of 415 acres with ten different jails, one of them a facility for adolescent offenders. Even less well-known are the island’s gardens, designed and created by some of the inmates in the GreenHouse project run by the New York Horticulture Society in collaboration with the Department of Corrections. For some of the city’s 14,000 people held in jail every day, the GreenHouse project offers hope and a new life. James Jiler, author of the book and the director of the program since its inception in 1997, describes this prison garden program in the context of the U.S. prison culture. He escorts the reader through planning processes for new gardens and garden features, to curriculum content, to the how-to’s of engaging people with no gardening experience in the steps to becoming proficient and knowledgeable. In the same way a gardener writes down the seeds he planted in one gardening year to track what does well and what does not, we learn how the garden program keeps track of its gardeners with each person’s vital information on how long they must serve, how much education they have so that from day one in the garden, as these people learn new skills, they begin to be prepared for release and possible future employment in the professional horticulture industry. Prisoners’ backgrounds often include diagnosed or undiagnosed learning disabilities, childhood abuse, personal drug use and/or family drug use. A horticultural therapist, also from the New York 409 Horticultural Society, helps with the therapeutic approach to the gardening process. As all gardeners know, just digging in the dirt can be therapeutic, but having a professional on hand to support people’s healing helps too in this garden where so many participants have painful histories. Jiler, in an interview, points out that the program is not a panacea. Many years of therapy will be necessary for most of these inmates to really pull their lives onto track. But the garden offers job training, time in the out-of-doors, access to food grown collectively to be eaten in the garden, a huge sense of accomplishment as plants bloom and new paths or features get built, and the camaraderie of collective engagement in a process that creates food and beauty. Excellent photos throughout the book illustrate the gardeners’ accomplishments. The New York Horticultural Society did begin work on Rikers Island with adolescent detainees in the early 1990s, but now they focus on work with adult prisoners, male and female, because of the constraints of school requirements. The adolescents are required by law to be in school through the age of 18, so their gardening endeavors come as an integrated part of school curriculum and depend on teachers who are keen to use gardening as a learning environment for multiple disciplines (personal interview with Jiler, 10/9/07). The curriculum outline in the book could be used in a high school or after-school gardening program for youth. The metaphors for composting the “waste” can be applied easily to the life challenges any young person faces, the failures seen as the composting debris that will enrich the garden soil for future endeavors. Post-release, the program’s GreenTeam offers job counseling and a placement program for the gardener-inmates once they are released back to their lives in the city. The city Parks Department and local landscaping companies work closely with the program to help place “graduates” into jobs that will allow them work with dignity. One of the big challenges for all those released from jails is that most entry-level jobs offer minimum wage, and if people have families...

Gender differences in the prediction of condom use among incarcerated juvenile offenders: testing the information-motivation-behavior skills (IMB) model

Purpose To validate the predictive value of the Information-Motivation-Behavioral Skills (IMB) model of human immunodeficiency virus (HIV) prevention for sexually active juvenile offenders and to explore gender differences in IMB model constructs for condom-protected vaginal intercourse. Methods Self-report measures of acquired immune deficiency syndrome (AIDS) knowledge, pro-condom peer influence, risk perception, condom attitudes, condom use self-efficacy, frequency of vaginal intercourse, and frequency condom-protected vaginal intercourse were collected from predominantly African-American adolescent detainees. Analysis consisted of structural equation models for the combined sample (N = 523) and for separate gender groups (328 males and 195 females). Results In the combined model, condom use was significantly predicted by male gender, peer influence, positive condom attitudes, and condom self-efficacy. In separate gender analyses, condom use among adolescent males was predicted by peer influence (modestly) and by positive condom attitudes, whereas condom use among females was predicted by peer influence, self-efficacy, and condom attitudes. Compared with males, females reported significantly greater knowledge, less peer influence, higher perceived risk for infection, more positive condom attitudes, and more self-efficacy, but they reported less condom use. Conclusions Females may find it difficult to use condoms consistently despite their awareness of their efficacy. Power imbalances or other dynamics operating in their relationships with males need further exploration. Gender differences in the relationship between condom self-efficacy and condom use were masked in the analysis of the total sample, indicating the value of testing theories of HIV prevention separately by gender.

Adolescent detainees in an adult prison in Geneva

Adolescent detainees in an adult prison in Geneva

Adolescent detainees in an adult prison in Geneva

Despite the Convention on the Rights of the Child, some adolescents are still detained in adult prisons in Europe. Little is known about their health status. This cross-sectional study of 67 teenagers detained in an adult prison in Switzerland shows that morbidity in this group is high. These results highlight the need for developmentally appropriate health services for teenagers in adult prisons. The long-term implications of detention of adolescents in adult detention facilities also need to be discussed.

Universal chlamydia screening cost effective for adolescent detainees

Universal chlamydia screening cost effective for adolescent detainees

Universal chlamydia screening cost effective for adolescent detainees

Universal chlamydia screening cost effective for adolescent detainees

Psychotic symptoms among male adolescent detainees in The Netherlands.

This study investigated the prevalence of psychotic symptoms among incarcerated boys as well as the relationship between these symptoms and violent offending and criminal recidivism. The presence of psychotic symptoms was assessed in a representative sample of 204 incarcerated boys aged 12-18 using the Diagnostic Interview Schedule for Children (DISC-2.3). Seventy-two percent of the study participants had committed a violent index offense and 30 percent were criminal recidivists. Thirty-four percent (95% confidence interval [CI]: 27-41%) were DISC-2.3 psychosis screen positive: 25% (95% CI: 19-31%) reported at least one pathognomonic of schizophrenia symptom and 9% (95% CI: 6-14%) reported at least three non-pathognomonic psychotic symptoms. In addition, 33 percent (95% CI: 26-40%) reported one or two isolated, atypical psychotic symptoms. The presence of psychotic symptoms was not associated with violent offending or criminal recidivism. The high prevalence rate of psychotic symptoms among incarcerated boys calls for increased attention to diagnosis and treatment of psychosis. To obtain conclusive answers regarding the relationship between psychosis and violent offending, additional studies are needed in general population samples.

Child Maltreatment and Recidivism among Adolescent Detainees

Many studies have examined predictors of recidivism among adolescent detainees. A recent meta-analysis of these predictors indicated that child maltreatment is associated with recidivism. This study expanded on prior work on this topic by using a well-validated self-report instrument to assess abuse and neglect experiences. Results revealed that emotional neglect predicted recidivism during a 6-month follow-up period. Implications and limitations of the findings as well as suggestions for future research are discussed.

Risky sexual behavior in relation to marijuana and alcohol use among African–American, male adolescent detainees and their female partners

This study examined substance use and risky sexual behavior (RSB) in a specific incident among 210 African–American, male adolescents who were being held in juvenile detention facilities. The participants completed a questionnaire that included four measures of substance use (i.e. alcohol and marijuana use by the participants and their partners), two measures of RSB (i.e. no prior discussion of sexual risks, condom nonuse) and six measures of potential correlates of sexual risk. Within-subjects analyses indicated participants and their partners were more likely to have used marijuana than alcohol during the sexual incident. Bivariate analyses indicated the participants' marijuana use was associated with no prior discussion of sexual risks and condom nonuse, and the partners' marijuana use was associated with no prior discussion of sexual risks. The association between participant marijuana use and condom nonuse, and the association between partner marijuana use and no prior discussion of sexual risks, also emerged in multivariate analyses that included the substance use variables and potential covariates. These findings suggest that marijuana use should be addressed in interventions that aim to prevent sexually transmitted diseases and unwanted pregnancies among adolescent detainees.

Alcohol and other drug use among adolescent detainees

This paper seeks to describe alcohol and other drug use among a sample of 2280 male and female adolescent detainees at two state juvenile justice facilities. Substance use was explored by age of initiation, race/ethnicity, gender, delinquent behaviours, and recidivism. Results indicated that alcohol and marijuana were the substances of choice, followed by powder cocaine and ecstasy and other designer drugs. Alcohol use also preceded marijuana use for both males and females. Males engaged in more alcohol and other drug use than females, and they engaged in marijuana use at a younger age. White adolescents reported more alcohol use than adolescents in all other racial/ethnic categories, while there were no differences in marijuana use. White adolescents, however, were younger when they began using marijuana. Finally, adolescents who engaged in alcohol and other drug use reported more delinquent activities and were more likely to have been detained previously. The results of this study are discussed in the context of other studies examining substance use in the general adolescent population and in at‐risk and detained adolescents.

Alcohol and other drug use among adolescent detainees

This paper seeks to describe alcohol and other drug use among a sample of 2280 male and female adolescent detainees at two state juvenile justice facilities. Substance use was explored by age of initiation, race/ethnicity, gender, delinquent behaviours, and recidivism. Results indicated that alcohol and marijuana were the substances of choice, followed by powder cocaine and ecstasy and other designer drugs. Alcohol use also preceded marijuana use for both males and females. Males engaged in more alcohol and other drug use than females, and they engaged in marijuana use at a younger age. White adolescents reported more alcohol use than adolescents in all other racial/ethnic categories, while there were no differences in marijuana use. White adolescents, however, were younger when they began using marijuana. Finally, adolescents who engaged in alcohol and other drug use reported more delinquent activities and were more likely to have been detained previously. The results of this study are discussed in the context of other studies examining substance use in the general adolescent population and in at‐risk and detained adolescents.

Marijuana Use and Unprotected Sexual Intercourse Among Adolescent Detainees

This study examines the association between marijuana use and unprotected sexual intercourse among adolescent detainees. Data were collected through face-to-face interviews in a juvenile court setting as the detainees waited to be released to their parents' custody. Analyses that controlled for relevant covariates indicated that the association between marijuana use and unprotected sexual intercourse in a specific event was moderated by the respondents'age at the time of the event. Marijuana use was associated with a higher occurrence of unprotected sexual intercourse for detainees who were relatively young when the event occurred. These findings provide meaningful information that can be used to inform future research as well as interventions with adolescent detainees.

Tattooing and body piercing among adolescent detainees: relationship to alcohol and other drug use.

The purpose of this preliminary study was to document self-reported tattooing and body piercing behavior among a sample of 860 adolescent detainees. Additionally, the study examined the relationship of alcohol and drug use to tattooing and body piercing--an often overlooked HIV risk behavior. Adolescents (N = 860) participating in a substance use and HIV risk reduction intervention were surveyed upon entrance to a Youth Development Campus (YDC). Twenty-nine percent of the sample (N = 245) had at least one tattoo, and more than half (69%) had at least one body piercing. Fifteen percent had two or more tattoos, while 28% had three or more piercings. Although a small percentage of the youth reported knowingly sharing needles for tattoos or piercings (2% and 1.5%, respectively), 21% had tattoos that had been administered unprofessionally and 20% had unprofessionally administered piercings. Marijuana and alcohol were the highest reported substances used in this sample, 62% and 54%, respectively. Alcohol, marijuana, antidepressants, and sedatives were significant correlates of having tattoos. Alcohol was found to be a marginally significant (P = .052) correlate of body piercing. The popularity of tattooing and piercing and the risk involved with these activities make them an HIV risk behavior worthy of address. Risk reduction messages to youth should consistently address these behaviors and focus on them as they relate to substance use.

Psychosocial and Behavioral Problems in Relation to Recent Experience as a Runaway among Adolescent Detainees

This study examined the occurrence of psychosocial and behavioral problems in relation to recent experience as a runaway among adolescents recruited from two youth detention centers. The sample included 176 males and 132 females who were interviewed approximately 30 days after being initially detained. Results indicated that recent experience as a runaway was common, especially among females and Caucasians. Moreover, detainees who had recently run away reported more psychosocial and behavioral problems than did those who had not recently run away. The implications of these findings are discussed.

Unprotected sex as a function of alcohol and marijuana use among adolescent detainees

Purpose: To examine the relationship between the use of two substances (alcohol and marijuana) and the occurrence of unprotected sexual intercourse among adolescent detainees. Methods: Participants were asked about their use of alcohol, marijuana, and condoms. In addition to comparing levels of alcohol and marijuana use, the study examined relationships among the following variables: (a) the number of days that each substance was used and the number of unprotected episodes of sexual intercourse in the 30 days preceding admission to a youth detention center; (b) the number of times that each substance was used before or during sexual intercourse and the number of unprotected episodes in the same time period; (c) the use of each substance and unprotected intercourse at the last sexual episode; and (d) intentions to use each substance in the context of sex and to have unprotected intercourse in the future. Relationships among these variables were assessed in four regression models, each of which included participants’ demographic characteristics, AIDS knowledge, attitudes toward condoms, and future orientation as covariates. Results: Results of all four regression models indicated that marijuana use was associated with unprotected sexual intercourse. Adolescents who used more marijuana in general as well as specifically in sexual episodes in the 30 days preceding detention reported higher levels of unprotected sex. In addition, marijuana use in the last episode was related to the occurrence of unprotected sex during that episode. Moreover, intentions to use marijuana in future sexual episodes was associated with intentions to have unprotected intercourse in the future. Conclusions: Future studies should use more rigorous research designs to clarify the nature of the relationship between marijuana use and risky sex.

Utilization of Alcohol, Drug, and Mental Health Treatment Services Among American Indian Adolescent Detainees

To describe the relationship between psychiatric status and the use of alcohol, drug, and mental health (ADM) services among a sample of American Indian (AI) juvenile detainees. A structured diagnostic and service use interview was administered to 150 AI youths detained in a juvenile detention center located on a Northern Plains reservation. Forty percent of AI youths with a diagnosed substance use disorder and 34.1% with a diagnosed anxiety, mood, or disruptive behavior disorder reported lifetime use of services for substance use and emotional problems, respectively. While services for substance use problems were most commonly provided in residential settings, services for emotional problems were most commonly provided in outpatient settings. Traditional healers and pastoral counselors provided services to 23.7% and 29.6% of youths who received services for substance use and emotional problems, respectively. Detained youths were more likely to receive ADM services than AI adolescents living at--large in another, comparable Northern Plains reservation community. Still, the vast majority of youths in detention who suffered from psychiatric disorders did not report use of ADM services. Detention facilities serving AI adolescents need to screen carefully for the presence of psychiatric disorders and facilitate the use of ADM services.

Using self-collected vaginal introital specimens to screen for sexually transmitted diseases in adolescent detainees

Using self-collected vaginal introital specimens to screen for sexually transmitted diseases in adolescent detainees

Prevalence of Common Psychiatric Disorders Among American Indian Adolescent Detainees

To examine the prevalence of common psychiatric disorders among adolescents detained on a Northern Plains reservation. Prevalence data were gathered using lay interviewers administering structured diagnostic instruments based on DSM-III-R criteria to 150 youths booked into a reservation-based juvenile detention center from July 1995 through April 1996. Approximately 49% of the sample had at least one alcohol, drug, or mental health disorder; 12.7% had two disorders; and 8.7% had three or more disorders. The most common diagnoses were substance abuse/dependence (38%), conduct disorder (16.7%), and major depression (10%). Females were significantly more likely than males to have major depression and/or anxiety disorders and were significantly more likely to have three or more disorders. These rates were higher in comparison with general and Indian adolescent community samples. These American Indian adolescent detainees had a high prevalence of psychiatric disorders. Local juvenile justice systems should be vigilant for the presence of psychiatric disorders and appropriately connected with psychiatric services to address this considerable need. Careful psychiatric assessment is necessary to ensure a more coordinated community service response to juvenile delinquency.

Urine-based screening of adolescents in detention to guide treatment for gonococcal and chlamydial infections. Translating research into intervention.

To determine the utility of urine-based ligase chain reaction assays for Neisseria gonorrhoeae and Chlamydia trachomatis in (1) the acceptability of such testing to adolescent detainees, (2) the potential use of these tests for identifying asymptomatic infections, and (3) the effectiveness of this approach for ensuring treatment of infected adolescents. Cross-sectional screening and verification of treatment for infected cases. Adolescents admitted to a short-term juvenile detention center. Neisseria gonorrhoeae and C trachomatis infection rates, and timing and location of treatment for infected patients. Refusal rate was 1.5%. Of 263 participants, 46 (17.5%) were female subjects. Chlamydia trachomatis infections were identified in 28.3% of the female and 8.8% of the male subjects. Neisseria gonorrhoeae infections were present in 13.1% of the female and 2.8% of the male subjects. Overall, 37 participants (14%) were positive for N gonorrhoeae, C trachomatis, or both, only one of whom had symptoms. Almost 70% (25/36) of asymptomatic infected subjects were treated within 28 days of screening. A treatment was documented in 36 of the 37 infected youth, including 20 who were followed up and treated after release from the detention center, by 6 months after testing. Urine ligase chain reaction tests were effective for identifying and guiding treatment of unsuspected N gonorrhoeae and C trachomatis infections in teenagers admitted to a short-term detention center where traditional swab specimens may be difficult to obtain.

Penicillinase-producing Neisseria gonorrhoeae infection in adolescent prostitutes in detention

In the first quarter of 1983, four (17%) of 24 cases of Neisseria gonorrhoeae infection diagnosed in female adolescent detainees in King County, Washington were caused by penicillinase-producing (PPNG) strains. Twelve (3%) of 397 reported cases of female gonorrhea in the rest of King County during this time were caused by PPNG strains (p less than 0.01). All the detainees with PPNG infection were prostitutes. Their case histories are presented here. Three had signs and symptoms suggestive of pelvic inflammatory disease. In areas with endemic PPNG, all isolates of N. gonorrhoeae from female adolescent detainees should be tested for pencillinase production, and all prostitutes with genitourinary symptoms suggestive of gonorrhea should be treated with an antimicrobial resistant to pencillinase.