In conversations about youth justice reform it’s necessary to centralize youth healing rather than youth punishment. This matters especially when defining the progress of juveniles already involved with the justice system, or at risk for being so. Keeping in consideration that the human brain only finishes developing in a person’s mid-to-late 20s, many activists, social workers, and lawmakers nationwide have pushed to increase youth mental health services in and out of detention centers. As researchers continue to examine the efficacy of therapeutic services in reducing juvenile crime and violence, two treatments have moved to the forefront: Cognitive behavioral therapy (CBT) and multisystemic therapy (MST).
CBT programs aim to help participants identify, address, and reform the beliefs and emotions that lead to their respective “problem behaviors”. They are conducted in settings such as clinics, private and group therapy sessions, schools, and juvenile detention centers. The CBT cycle generally requires participants to collect information about anxiety or aggression triggers, use learned coping skills to handle the stress-inducing situations, and then reward themselves for doing so; CBT curricula emphasize social skills training, anger management, and moral decision-making.
Meta-analyses conducted over the past two decades and published by the National Institute of Justice indicate that CBT is effective in reducing anger and aggression, and improving social skills and self-control in youth. These studies evaluated the statistical significance of differences in impacts between youth in experimental groups and youth in control groups for five behaviors- aggression, anger experience, self control, problem solving, and social competencies- and found statistically significant mean effects, or improvements, across all five.
MST programs are also targeted towards youth exhibiting antisocial behaviors who have committed serious criminal offenses, but differ by working to keep the youth at home rather than in custody. After identifying the causes of juveniles’ problem behaviors, MST brings together both the youth’s program-assigned therapist and their family using a home-based model in order to make services more easily accessible. Per the National Institute of Justice, “the MST intervention is used on these adolescents in the beginning of their criminal career by treating them within the environment that forms the basis of their problem behavior instead of in custody, removed from their natural ecology.”
Three studies, conducted in 1992, 1995, and 2006, found statistically significant differences in recidivism, rearrest, incarceration length, self-reported delinquency, peer aggression, family cohesion, and other issues- between youth in the MST group and the control group. As an example, juveniles in the 1992 study who had engaged in MST had lower recidivism rates within a 60-week post-referral period, as compared with juveniles who received regular services (42% and 63%, respectively). The 2006 study found recidivism rates at 66.7% and 86.7%, for juveniles engaged and not engaged in MST, respectively, at the 18-month post-referral period. The 1995 study did not examine recidivism. Outcomes across the other categories saw similar consistencies in statistically significant improvements for MST-engaged youth.
In conclusion, mental health services are vital for the protection of at-risk youth and reduction of juvenile antisocial behaviors. Cognitive behavior therapy and multisystemic therapy, among other psychotherapeutic practices, continue to provide effective avenues for healing and emotional growth. More research is necessary to assess post-pandemic youth mental health needs, and more data-informed policies need implementation in order to progress youth development and delinquency reduction.