Page 61 - Age of onset of disruptive behavior of residentially treated adolescents -Sjoukje de Boer

Methods
Setting
The present study was conducted at a specialized residential treatment facility
in Rotterdam (the urban area) in The Netherlands, for youth with severe disruptive behavior (i.e., aggressive, oppositional defiant, delinquent, and/or rule breaking behavior), and comorbid psychiatric disorders. Inclusion criteria for treatment were as 4 follows: aged between 16 and 20 years and displaying a combination of disruptive behavior, comprising aggressive behavior (e.g., physical abuse, sexual offences), oppositional behavior (e.g., disobedience), status offences (e.g., truancy, substance
abuse), and property violations (e.g., stealing, vandalism) that is severe enough to
require treatment.
In addition, a (combination of) psychiatric disorder(s) (e.g., schizophrenia, mood disorder, anxiety disorder, autism spectrum disorder), and previous (a history of) treatment by child welfare institutions or child and adolescent psychiatric institutions were required. Patients functioning below borderline intellectual level (IQ<70), with predominant addiction problems, or with severe recurrent criminal conduct for which specialized, individual forensic treatment is indicated, were not eligible for treatment. All youngsters that met the inclusion criteria and have been admitted to the treatment were included in this survey.
Because of the heterogeneous composition of the target group, every subject had a personalized treatment program. The treatment itself was mainly offered in a group context. A cognitive-behavioral treatment model was applied with an emphasis on enhancement of social competence (Bartels, 2001), extended with elements of the schema-based therapy (Young, 1990; Young et al., 2004). Because many of the youngsters come from disharmonious parenting situations, therapists also focused on a good, functional working relationship with the family system (Boon & Haijer, 2008). Following new insights, the treatment program evolved during the 14-year period that it was provided, and inevitably some changes in therapists did occur. The treatment program was conducted by qualified therapists and consisted of a variety of verbal and nonverbal therapies and training activities, e.g., cognitive behavioral therapy, psycho- motor therapy, art therapy, drama therapy, family therapy, social skills training, aggression regulation training, pharmacological treatment, job training, and education
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