Staff Intervention and Youth Behaviors in a Child Welfare Residence

Fraser, Sarah; Archambault, Isabelle; Parent, Valérie

doi:10.1007/s10826-015-0312-6

Cited by 18 publications

(19 citation statements)

References 62 publications

Supporting

Mentioning

Contrasting

Unclassified

Order By: Relevance

“…Furthermore, from a perspective that regards aggression as a failure to regulate emotions in the face of threatening or frustrating situations [60,71] and through a trauma-sensitive lens, it might be helpful to create an atmosphere of shared decision-making with youths and thus promote their self-regulation and coping skills [72]. The staff's ability to regulate and contain their own emotions in highly stressful interactions is of equal importance in order to recognise and adapt to the young people's needs [73]. As noted above, client physical aggression is highly prevalent in residential youth welfare institutions and may be seen as an innate and unavoidable occupational hazard [35,73].…”

Section: Discussionmentioning

confidence: 99%

“…The staff's ability to regulate and contain their own emotions in highly stressful interactions is of equal importance in order to recognise and adapt to the young people's needs [73]. As noted above, client physical aggression is highly prevalent in residential youth welfare institutions and may be seen as an innate and unavoidable occupational hazard [35,73]. Therefore, the staff should work within the framework of institutional structures that encourage communication and the sharing of Note.…”

Section: Discussionmentioning

confidence: 99%

See 1 more Smart Citation

Effect of trauma-informed care on hair cortisol concentration in youth welfare staff and client physical aggression towards staff: results of a longitudinal study

et al. 2020

View full text Add to dashboard Cite

Background: Professional caregivers working in child and youth welfare institutions are frequently faced with the complex mental health issues, emotional needs and challenging coping strategies of clients with cumulated traumatic experiences, leaving them prone to developing high levels of stress, burn-out and compassion fatigue. Trauma-informed care (TIC) is a milieu-therapeutic approach that aims to promote the self-efficacy and self-care of youth welfare staff by guiding them to a better understanding of their own and their clients' stress symptoms and countertransference. Despite increasing efforts to implement TIC practices, and more widespread recognition of their value in youth welfare systems, there is a lack of studies evaluating the effectiveness of this approach. The aim of this study was to assess the effects of TIC practices in youth welfare institutions on both the physiological stress of staff members and clients' physical aggression towards their caregivers. . Methods:Data was obtained from a longitudinal study investigating the effectiveness of TIC in 14 residential youth welfare institutions. Our sample consisted of 47 youth welfare employees (66.0% female) aged from 23 to 60 years (M = 37.4, SD = 10.4 years). Hair cortisol concentration (HCC) and occurrences of client physical aggression were assessed at four annual measurement time points (T1 to T4). Results: Participants in five institutions employing TIC practices (intervention group) showed significantly lower HCC at T4 than staff members from institutions who did not receive training in TIC (control group), indicating reduced physiological stress levels. At T4, the intervention group reported significantly less physical aggression than the control group.Conclusions: TIC might be a promising approach for reducing the emotional burden of employees and institutions should invest in training their staff in TIC practices. More research is necessary, to investigate the benefits and efficacy of TIC, both to youths and staff members, and to foster a better understanding of which specific factors may contribute to stress reduction.

show abstract

Section: Discussionmentioning

confidence: 99%

Section: Discussionmentioning

confidence: 99%

Effect of trauma-informed care on hair cortisol concentration in youth welfare staff and client physical aggression towards staff: results of a longitudinal study

et al. 2020

View full text Add to dashboard Cite

show abstract

“…Aggression can be understood as any behavior that is destructive to self, others, or property. Extensive research on different youth facilities over the past decade has shown that aggression is a result of a complex interaction among youth characteristics and environmental factors, such as ward milieu and staff behavior (Fraser et al, 2016). According to interviews with staff members working within a child and adolescent psychiatric inpatient unit, episodes of physical aggression were common and linked to problems with work attendance and other professional, as well as emotional, sequelae (Dean et al, 2010).…”

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

Safety in Residential Youth Facilities: Staff Perceptions of Safety and Experiences of the “Basic Training Program in Safety and Security”

Slaatto

Mellblom

Kleppe

et al. 2021

Residential Treatment for Children & Youth

View full text Add to dashboard Cite

In inpatient and residential youth facilities, staff concerns over actual and potential aggression and conflict frequently affect both the quality of care and staff wellbeing. This study investigated 1) staff perceptions of safety at the residential facilities where they work, and 2) staff experiences with the Basic Training Program in Safety and Security, initiated by the Norwegian Directorate of Children, Youth and Family Affairs (Bufdir), to enhance prevention and management of aggression and conflict. We conducted three focus-group interviews at three different public residential facilities with a total of 18 staff members who work daily with youth. Findings show that staff regard safety as essential and perceive enhanced safety as linked to predictability, stability, team coordination, education and training, organizational support, and trusting and supportive relationships. They also indicate that staff regard the training program as having improved their feelings of safety, enhancing awareness of conflict situations before, during and after they occur, and contributing to more systematic work processes and cooperative and coordinated teamwork. These findings have implications for all facilities providing care and treatment to youth.

show abstract

“…Most of these approaches addressed aggression and unacceptable behavior as an individual problem of the youth (Blake and Hamrin 2007;Connor 2012;Foltz 2004;Fonagy et al 2002;Kazdin 1987;Lyons and Schaefer 2000;Masters and Bellonci 2002). There is, however, a growing body of evidence showing that aggression can be understood as an interpersonal problem, a complex interaction between patient characteristics, conditions on the ward, and the relationships with staff and parental figures outside the ward (Foltz 2004;Fonagy et al 2002;Fraser et al 2016;Nijman et al 1999).…”

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

Development and Preliminary Evaluation of the Reaction to Unacceptable Behavior Inventory: A Questionnaire to Measure Progress in Implementation of Non-violent Resistance

Visser

Gink

Thissen

et al. 2019

Child Youth Care Forum

View full text Add to dashboard Cite

Background Monitoring the implementation of new interventions, as in this study Nonviolent Resistance (NVR) for the use in residential youth care settings, is mandatory in order to evaluate, adjust and refine the implementation process where necessary. Objective As there is no instrument for such monitoring of NVR available, the authors developed a new questionnaire, named Reaction to Unacceptable Behavior Inventory, (in short: RUBI). Method This questionnaire was completed by staff of four different residential settings in the Netherlands, at different stages of the NVR implementation process. The staff members reported on the practice of their colleagues. Results The results are promising, as they show good reliability, inter-item correlations and other psychometric features for the included items. Furthermore, the results show that the RUBI seems to discriminate between trained and untrained teams, defending its use in future implementation processes and implementation research. Conclusions The RUBI is the first attempt to create an instrument which can be used for monitoring change during implementation of NVR, and for evaluating the degree of difference or compatibility between NVR and existing practice before implementation. Longitudinal research is needed to strengthen the documentation of validity and reliability of the RUBI in different settings, countries, and cultures. This should also be extended to the final and follow-up stages of implementation. In the future, redundant and insensitive items should be removed and standards for interpreting scale scores should be developed. Keywords Residential youth settings • Questionnaire development • Implementation fidelity • Coping with aggressive behavior K. M. Visser and K. van Gink have shared first authorship.

show abstract

Staff Intervention and Youth Behaviors in a Child Welfare Residence

Cited by 18 publications

References 62 publications

Effect of trauma-informed care on hair cortisol concentration in youth welfare staff and client physical aggression towards staff: results of a longitudinal study

Effect of trauma-informed care on hair cortisol concentration in youth welfare staff and client physical aggression towards staff: results of a longitudinal study

Safety in Residential Youth Facilities: Staff Perceptions of Safety and Experiences of the “Basic Training Program in Safety and Security”

Development and Preliminary Evaluation of the Reaction to Unacceptable Behavior Inventory: A Questionnaire to Measure Progress in Implementation of Non-violent Resistance

Contact Info

Product

Resources

About