Factors that influence youth offending workers assessment of mental health difficulties in young offenders.

Morris, Laura 2014. Factors that influence youth offending workers assessment of mental health difficulties in young offenders. ClinPsy Thesis, Cardiff University. Item availability restricted.

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Abstract

Introduction. Research has shown that there is a high prevalence of mental health difficulties in young offenders. The Youth Offending Service (YOS) uses a structured assessment tool, ASSET to identify risk factors and inform interventions to address identified risks. Mental health difficulties are one of the known risk factors for offending in young people. Very little is known about the process of mental health assessment and what influences Youth Offending Workers’ approach to assessments. The assessment of mental health difficulties has implications for access to mental health services for young people. Therefore, it was felt to be important to understand the assessment process in order to identify how to improve the quality of the assessment. This study explores the factors that influence Youth Offending Worker’s assessment of mental health difficulties in young offenders. Method. Nine Youth Offending Workers from three Youth Offending Teams in South Wales were interviewed using a semi-structured interview schedule. The content of these interviews were analysed using constructivist grounded theory. Results. Four themes relating to Youth Offending Workers’ assessment of mental health difficulties in young offenders were identified: ‘Organisational context’, ‘The Youth Offending Worker’, ‘The young person’s context’ and ‘Reaching a decision’. Discussion. The four themes interact with one another and impact on the Youth Offending Workers’ assessment of mental health difficulties in young offenders. The findings have a number of clinical and service implications for the Youth Offending Service as well as Clinical Psychology Provision. This includes the need for Youth Offending Workers to; receive more training around mental health difficulties, to have access to clinical supervision and have a better understanding of mental health services. This should help to improve the quality of mental health assessment, ensuring young people’s mental health difficulties are identified so that they receive appropriate support to address these difficulties.

Item Type:	Thesis (DClinPsy)
Status:	Unpublished
Schools:	Psychology
Subjects:	B Philosophy. Psychology. Religion > BF Psychology
Uncontrolled Keywords:	"Youth Offending" "mental health" assessment
Date of First Compliant Deposit:	30 March 2016
Last Modified:	09 Jan 2024 15:50
URI:	https://orca.cardiff.ac.uk/id/eprint/64184

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