Acknowledging Child Effects and Reciprocal Relationships in Intervention
The strongest empirical data for reciprocal effects of parenting and adolescent
aggressive behavior comes from Patterson's work on coercive cycles in families.
Because this work suggests that coercive interactions tend to escalate
and the cycles are maintained by reinforcement and are strengthened over
time, the clearest implication is for early intervention. Early intervention
refers to targeting young children and their families and, secondly, to
preventing or short-circuiting coercive cycles.
In the first instance, longitudinal findings indicate that aggression may
be crystallized by early adolescence and, therefore, less amenable to intervention
than conduct problems of younger children. [118] In the second instance,
escalating aggression can be interrupted by teaching family members and
adolescents to identify triggers of aggression and to implement strategies
to prevent or interrupt the coercive cycle. To this end, anger management
interventions may augment other family interventions. For example, Susan
Stern found that adding anger management interventions to communication
and problem-solving training for families of adolescents decreased discussion
intensity and negative communication significantly more than communication
training alone. [119]
The effect of adolescent behavior on parents is understudied even though
it has implications for engaging and maintaining parents in treatment directed
at strengthening parental management of antisocial behavior. Acknowledging
the disruptive effects of antisocial behavior on parents and other family
members helps the social worker respond congruently with parents' experiences.
Because intervention with families of delinquents often focuses on changing
parent behavior, it is uncommon for parents to feel that helping professionals
are blaming them for the existing difficulties. As well as exacerbating
parents' already existing worries about what they did wrong, this may also
anger and alienate them. Moreover, families entering an intervention program
as a result of their children's delinquency often do so by a mandate of
the juvenile justice system. These consequences of their children's behavior
may fuel humiliation and resentment, which should be addressed so that
reluctance can be overcome and an effective partnership can begin. [120]
For example, Howard Liddle emphasizes that listening to a partner's story
and being sensitive to the range of parents' emotions is critical to engaging
parents and often necessary prior to other interventions. [121] Supporting
parents with crisis intervention strategies can help them prepare for behavioral
extremes and also demonstrate that the social worker recognizes the seriousness
and potential danger of their adolescent's behavior.
Another effect of delinquent behavior on parents is exhaustion and feeling
overwhelmed or depressed. Helping parents to partialize may lessen these
feelings and strengthen their commitment to the helping process. Increased
emotional support may come from extended family members or from a group
of similarly situated parents. [122] Concrete support services vary from
the types of services associated with family preservation programs to respite.
Respite may range from parents just taking some time to themselves, to
temporary placement of the adolescent, or to a more intensive therapeutic
foster care program when behavior is extreme and family resources low.
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