Effectiveness, working mechanisms, and implementation of youth-initiated mentoring for juvenile delinquents: a multiple-methods study protocol
Abstract Background The societal costs associated with juvenile delinquency and reoffending are high, emphasising the need for effective prevention strategies. A promising approach is Youth-Initiated Mentoring (YIM). In YIM, professionals support youths in selecting a non-parental adult from within...
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| Format: | Article |
| Language: | English |
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BMC
2024-02-01
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| Series: | Health & Justice |
| Subjects: | |
| Online Access: | https://doi.org/10.1186/s40352-024-00258-9 |
| _version_ | 1797275468755369984 |
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| author | Angelique Boering Annabeth P. Groenman Levi van Dam Geertjan Overbeek |
| author_facet | Angelique Boering Annabeth P. Groenman Levi van Dam Geertjan Overbeek |
| author_sort | Angelique Boering |
| collection | DOAJ |
| description | Abstract Background The societal costs associated with juvenile delinquency and reoffending are high, emphasising the need for effective prevention strategies. A promising approach is Youth-Initiated Mentoring (YIM). In YIM, professionals support youths in selecting a non-parental adult from within their social network as their mentor. However, until now, little (quasi-)experimental research has been conducted on YIM in the field of juvenile delinquency. We will examine the effectiveness, working mechanisms, and implementation of YIM as a selective prevention strategy for juvenile delinquents. Methods This multiple-methods study consists of a quasi-experimental trial and a qualitative study. In the quasi-experimental trial, we aim to include 300 juvenile offenders referred to Halt, a Dutch juvenile justice system organisation which offers youths a diversion program. In the Netherlands, all juvenile offenders between 12 and 18 years old are referred to Halt, where they must complete the Halt intervention. Youths will be non-randomly assigned to region-matched non-YIM-trained and YIM-trained Halt professionals implementing Care as Usual (CAU, i.e., the Halt intervention) or CAU plus YIM, respectively. Despite non-random allocation, this approach may yield comparable conditions regarding (1) the characteristics of professionals delivering the intervention and (2) case type and severity. Youth and caregiver(s) self-report data will be collected at pre-and post-test and a 6-month follow-up and complemented with official Halt records data. Multilevel analyses will test whether youths following CAU plus YIM show a stronger increase in resilience factors and a stronger decline in the need for formal support and delinquency than youths following CAU. In the qualitative study, we will organise focus group interviews with YIM-trained professionals to explore boosters and barriers experienced by professionals during the implementation of YIM. Discussion The proposed study will help identify the effectiveness of YIM in strengthening resilience factors and possibly decreasing juvenile delinquency. In addition, it may offer insights into how and for whom YIM works. Finally, this study can help strengthen the implementation of YIM in the future. Trial Registration ClinicalTrials.Gov (# NCT05555472). Registered 7 September 2022. https://www.clinicaltrials.gov/ct2/show/NCT05555472?cond=Youth+Initiated+Mentoring&draw=2&rank=1 . |
| first_indexed | 2024-03-07T15:14:49Z |
| format | Article |
| id | doaj.art-33753667f7554d3fae5431dac9d704e6 |
| institution | Directory Open Access Journal |
| issn | 2194-7899 |
| language | English |
| last_indexed | 2024-03-07T15:14:49Z |
| publishDate | 2024-02-01 |
| publisher | BMC |
| record_format | Article |
| series | Health & Justice |
| spelling | doaj.art-33753667f7554d3fae5431dac9d704e62024-03-05T17:59:13ZengBMCHealth & Justice2194-78992024-02-0112111410.1186/s40352-024-00258-9Effectiveness, working mechanisms, and implementation of youth-initiated mentoring for juvenile delinquents: a multiple-methods study protocolAngelique Boering0Annabeth P. Groenman1Levi van Dam2Geertjan Overbeek3Research Institute Child Development and Education, Preventive Youth Care Programme Group, University of AmsterdamResearch Institute Child Development and Education, Preventive Youth Care Programme Group, University of AmsterdamResearch Institute Child Development and Education, Preventive Youth Care Programme Group, University of AmsterdamResearch Institute Child Development and Education, Preventive Youth Care Programme Group, University of AmsterdamAbstract Background The societal costs associated with juvenile delinquency and reoffending are high, emphasising the need for effective prevention strategies. A promising approach is Youth-Initiated Mentoring (YIM). In YIM, professionals support youths in selecting a non-parental adult from within their social network as their mentor. However, until now, little (quasi-)experimental research has been conducted on YIM in the field of juvenile delinquency. We will examine the effectiveness, working mechanisms, and implementation of YIM as a selective prevention strategy for juvenile delinquents. Methods This multiple-methods study consists of a quasi-experimental trial and a qualitative study. In the quasi-experimental trial, we aim to include 300 juvenile offenders referred to Halt, a Dutch juvenile justice system organisation which offers youths a diversion program. In the Netherlands, all juvenile offenders between 12 and 18 years old are referred to Halt, where they must complete the Halt intervention. Youths will be non-randomly assigned to region-matched non-YIM-trained and YIM-trained Halt professionals implementing Care as Usual (CAU, i.e., the Halt intervention) or CAU plus YIM, respectively. Despite non-random allocation, this approach may yield comparable conditions regarding (1) the characteristics of professionals delivering the intervention and (2) case type and severity. Youth and caregiver(s) self-report data will be collected at pre-and post-test and a 6-month follow-up and complemented with official Halt records data. Multilevel analyses will test whether youths following CAU plus YIM show a stronger increase in resilience factors and a stronger decline in the need for formal support and delinquency than youths following CAU. In the qualitative study, we will organise focus group interviews with YIM-trained professionals to explore boosters and barriers experienced by professionals during the implementation of YIM. Discussion The proposed study will help identify the effectiveness of YIM in strengthening resilience factors and possibly decreasing juvenile delinquency. In addition, it may offer insights into how and for whom YIM works. Finally, this study can help strengthen the implementation of YIM in the future. Trial Registration ClinicalTrials.Gov (# NCT05555472). Registered 7 September 2022. https://www.clinicaltrials.gov/ct2/show/NCT05555472?cond=Youth+Initiated+Mentoring&draw=2&rank=1 .https://doi.org/10.1186/s40352-024-00258-9Youth-initiated mentoringInformal mentoringJuvenile delinquencySelective preventionResilience |
| spellingShingle | Angelique Boering Annabeth P. Groenman Levi van Dam Geertjan Overbeek Effectiveness, working mechanisms, and implementation of youth-initiated mentoring for juvenile delinquents: a multiple-methods study protocol Health & Justice Youth-initiated mentoring Informal mentoring Juvenile delinquency Selective prevention Resilience |
| title | Effectiveness, working mechanisms, and implementation of youth-initiated mentoring for juvenile delinquents: a multiple-methods study protocol |
| title_full | Effectiveness, working mechanisms, and implementation of youth-initiated mentoring for juvenile delinquents: a multiple-methods study protocol |
| title_fullStr | Effectiveness, working mechanisms, and implementation of youth-initiated mentoring for juvenile delinquents: a multiple-methods study protocol |
| title_full_unstemmed | Effectiveness, working mechanisms, and implementation of youth-initiated mentoring for juvenile delinquents: a multiple-methods study protocol |
| title_short | Effectiveness, working mechanisms, and implementation of youth-initiated mentoring for juvenile delinquents: a multiple-methods study protocol |
| title_sort | effectiveness working mechanisms and implementation of youth initiated mentoring for juvenile delinquents a multiple methods study protocol |
| topic | Youth-initiated mentoring Informal mentoring Juvenile delinquency Selective prevention Resilience |
| url | https://doi.org/10.1186/s40352-024-00258-9 |
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