Sexual Offense of Young People - Essay Example

Young People Who Sexually Offend The Main Concepts and Theoretical Frameworks Underpinning the Work Carried Out with Young People Who Sexually Offend A lot of the work that has been performed regarding young people who sexually offend has been contributed by a distinguished panel of experts. Their work is best used by those professionals who work with these young people, or by those people who are directly affected by them (Calder, 2009; Hagel and Jeyarajah-Dent, 2009; and O’Reilly, Marshall, Carr, and Beckett). There are concepts and theoretical frameworks that underpin the work carried out by professionals who are dealing with young people who sexually offend. The concepts include theory, techniques, practical guidelines, assessment, and treatment. This particular group of young people is particularly challenging to deal with (Calder, 2009; Patricelli, 2009; and Rich, 2009). In order to identify and treat youth who sexually offend, certain actions must be carried out. There are approaches, techniques, research, and a theoretical overview that must be followed. The following must be taken into consideration: Controversies Definitions Characteristics Factors Up-to-date theories Whether or not model(s) applied to adult sexual offenders can also be applied to youth sexual offenders Challenging assessments and assessment tools Addressing denial Subtypes Recidivism Interviewing Family therapy and multi-family group therapy Cognitive-behavioral treatment models A holistic experimental approach to treatment Residential treatment if needed (Franey, 2009) Furthermore, a comprehensive overview will include quite a bit of work on the part of those affected. This includes surveying literature on recidivism, evaluating the effectiveness of treatment, theoretical issues, characteristics, comparing male offenders against female offenders using an etiological model, assessing sexually abusive youth, using a multidimensional framework to treat subtypes after differentiating youth who sexually abuse, risk assessment, emerging strategies, treatment, working with parents, cognitive-behavioral treatment, an integrated experiential approach to treatment, multi-family group therapy, residential therapy and current practices therein, effectiveness of treatment, recidivism, resilience, and investigating successfully treated youth sexual offenders (Franey, 2009). An Investigation of the Main Theories of Explanation Social Learning Theory “Social learning theory focuses on the learning that occurs within a social context. It considers that people learn from one another, including such concepts as observational learning, imitation, and modeling. Among others Albert Bandura is considered the leading proponent of this theory.” (Ormrod, 1999). There are certain general principles that social learning theory follows, and these are: People can learn by observing other people Learning can occur without behavior changing Learning involves cognition Social learning theory connects behaviorist learning theories to cognitive learning theories (Ormond, 1999) Cognitive factors in social learning include learning without performance, learning while processing cognitively, expectations about the consequences of certain actions, reciprocal causation, and modeling. Social learning theory offers a vast array of implications for its use. “Students often learn a great deal simply by observing other people. Describing the consequences of behavior is can effectively increase the appropriate behaviors and decrease inappropriate ones. This can involve discussing with learners about the rewards and consequences of various behaviors. 3. Modeling provides an alternative to shaping for teaching new behaviors. Instead of using shaping, which is operant conditioning, modeling can provide a faster, more efficient means for teaching new behavior. To promote effective modeling a teacher must make sure that the four essential conditions exist; attention, retention , motor reproduction, and motivation. Teachers and parents must model appropriate behaviors and take care that they do not model inappropriate behaviors. Teachers should expose students to a variety of other models. This technique is especially important to break down traditional stereotypes. Students must believe that they are capable of accomplishing school tasks. Thus it is very important to develop a sense of self-efficacy for students. Teachers can promote such self-efficacy by having students receive confidence-building messages, watch others be successful, and experience success on their own. Teachers should help students set realistic expectations for their academic accomplishments. In general in my class that means making sure that expectations are not set too low. I want to realistically challenge my students. However, sometimes the task is beyond a students ability, example would be the cancer group. Self-regulation techniques provide an effective method for improving student behavior.” (Ormond, 1999, pg. 1) Cognitive Behaviour Theory “While the underlying theory of cognitive behavioral management is related to social learning theory, there are many theoretical constructs which concern us in delineating a full understanding of how it is used. While it is relatively easy to suggest that thought controls behavior, meaning of course, that if you believe that you are superman, you will try to fly, this simple construct is not easy. It requires much more, because in many senses it is self reflective. Not only do we need to help people with problems in living learn to attend to their internal dialogue as a means to making choices about change, but we must understand that as theorists and clinicians, we must also attend and make choices. The simple becomes difficult when we attempt to break through our own belief systems and deal with the dichotomies of our own internal realities and those of a broader world perspective.” (Behavioral Therapy, 2009) Freud’s Psychodynamic Theory “Psychodynamic psychotherapy is derived from psychoanalysis and is based on a number of key analytical concepts. These include Freuds ideas about psychosexual development, defense mechanisms, free association as the method of recall, and the therapeutic techniques of interpretation, including that of transference, defenses and dreams. Such therapy usually involves once-weekly 50-minute sessions, the length of treatment varying between 3 months and 2 years. The long-term aim of such therapy is twofold: symptom relief and personality change. Psychodynamic psychotherapy is classically indicated in the treatment of unresolved conflicts in early life, as might be found in non-psychotic and personality disorders, but to date there is a lack of convincing evidence concerning its superiority over other forms of treatment. Psychodynamic Theory is based on the premise that human behavior and relationships are shaped by conscious and unconscious influences. Psychodynamic therapies, which are sometimes used to treat depressed persons, focus on resolving the patients conflicted feelings. These therapies are often reserved until the depressive symptoms are significantly improved.” (Depression Guide, 2009). Why Young People Sexually Offend History of Abuse Above, we saw that modeling fell under one of the theoretical approaches to why young people choose to sexually offend. They may choose to do so because they were sexually offended themselves. They may choose to do so because they saw other children being sexually offended. They may choose to do so in order to act out or receive some sort of compensation for what they experienced as a child. The most frightening fact is that most children who are abused will grow up only to repeat the cycle themselves. There are many effects of abuse on children, such as the following: Guilt feelings Violation Loss of control Self-esteem problems Fear of it happening again Feeling as if they did something wrong Fear that future relationships may be abusive Emotional problems Behavioral problems Poor school performance Even more abuse (Safe Child, 2009) Opportunity It is more likely that young people will choose to sexually offend when the opportunity is right. This is simply because they have less of a chance of being caught or getting into trouble. Situational/Circumstantial Certain situations may prompt a young person to sexually offend. This is simply because an action he or she observes or takes part in sparks a memory and causes the young person to offend. Certain circumstances can also prompt opportunities for the young person to sexually offend. References Calder, MC, ed. (2009). Children and young people who sexually abuse: New theory, research and practice developments. Cognitive Behavior Theory. (2009). Cognitive Behavior. Retrieved May 10, 2009, from http://www.cognitivebehavior.com/theory/index_p.html Franey, KC. (2009). Identifying and treating youth who sexually offend: Current approaches, techniques and research. Hagell, A and R Jeyarajah-Dent, eds. (2009). Children who commit acts of serious interpersonal violence: Message for best practice. O’Reilly, G; WL Marshall, A Carr, and RC Beckett, eds. (2009). The handbook of clinical intervention with young people who sexually abuse. Ormrod, J.E. (1999). Human learning (3rd ed.). Upper Saddle River, NJ: Prentice-Hall. Patricelli, K (2009). Effects of abuse. Mental Help. Retrieved May 10, 2009, from http://www.mentalhelp.net/poc/view_doc.php?type=doc&id=8480&cn=2 Psychodynamic theory. (2009). Depression-Guide. Retrieved May 10, 2009, from http://www.depression-guide.com/psychodynamic-theory.htm Rich, P. (2009). Understanding, assessing and rehabilitating juvenile sexual offenders. Who are abusers? (2009). Safe Child. Retrieved May 10, 2009, from http://www.safechild.org/childabuse5.htm Read More