Noncompulsory versus legally mandated placement, perceived choice, and response to treatment among adolescents.

Abstract

The study explores the hypotheses that positive responses to social rehabilitation interventions are associated more with noncompulsory than with court-referred placement and that degree of compulsory referral is significantly related to degree of perceived choice. Treatment progress and attitudes, especially perceptions of choice, were assessed for 55 adolescents in a residential facility. A significant relationship was found between perceived choice regarding initial placement and "informed consent" procedures. Treatment attitudes and progress did not differ with regard to initial placement conditions. However, progress was significantly related to perceived choice about remaining in treatment. The findings are interpreted as suggesting that subjective reports of choice are (a) initially influenced more by informal consent processes than by source of referral, (b) subsequentially mediated by experiences in treatment, and (c) better indicators of response to a program than are objective categorizations of degree of choice.Parents and juvenile courts are confronted with the question of whether to mandate institutional placement for adolescents whose devious and deviant behaviors might be responsive to rehabilitative efforts. This question raises a variety of legal and ethical concerns

Motivation and Autonomy in Counseling, Psychotherapy, and Behavior Change: A Look at Theory and Practice 1ψ7

“…For example, Bastien and Adelman (1984) found that adolescents who perceived having a choice for staying at a private social rehabilitation facility made more treatment progress compared to adolescents who did not perceive having such a choice. Thus, moving clients to a place where they can volitionally engage effective techniques may be the most important movements of all.…”

Perceptions of Control at School Among Students In Special Education Programs

“…In contrast, we found the majority reluctant to participate when they were not involved in the decision-making process, such as referral to therapy (Adelman, Kaser-Boyd, Adelman & Taylor, 1986a;,1985b. Among adolescents residing in a social rehabilitation facility, we found progress in treatment significantly related to their perceived choice about remaining in treatment (Bastien & Adelman, 1984). In general, the findings support other studies showing that youngsters have strong perceptions and attitudes about participating in processes affecting their lives and that the impact on their actions is profound.…”

Capacity and Competence in Child and Adolescent Psychiatry

“…This not only prevents them from coming to physical harm but also addresses the emotional security of the child and allows him or her to learn to exert self-control. In such cases, structure and even coercion in containing children and adolescents who feel out of control of themselves, can be experienced by the patients as positive and caring acts (Fegert et al, 2001;Cascardi and Poythress, 1997;Hoge et al, 1993;Roth and Roth, 1984;Tates and Meeuwesen, 2000;Bastien and Adelman, 1984).…”