Course Description
This course will explore the practitioner’s role in examining their own attitudes and working in a multidisciplinary framework. In this course students will examine the factors that may lead an adolescent to commit a sexual offence. The course will prepare Youth Justice Workers for working with adolescent offenders in various professional settings. Topics covered will include exploring frameworks for assessing risk, intervention strategies and relapse prevention.
Course Content
- Identifying ones own personal and professional values as they relate to children, youth, relationships, sexuality, boundaries and sexual offending.
- Exploring how our attitudes and values affect our work with adolescents.
- Stages of sexual development.
- Normal sexual expression in adolescence.
- Topology of sexual offences.
- The causal factors of adolescent sexual offending:
- Cultural factors
- Family characteristics
- Social factors
- Psychological factors.
- Exploring the question of the connection between a history of victimization and sexual offending.
- Exploring the nature of sibling sexual abuse and family dynamics.
- Identifying and practicing how to set clear boundaries and role modelling respectful behaviour in working with youth who have committed sexual offences.
- Exploring and evaluating various intervention strategies used with adolescent offenders:
- Behavioural intervention strategies
- Medical intervention strategies
- Cognitive intervention strategies
- Sexual history and victimization strategies
- Methods for developing recognition of victim empathy.
- Factors that affect an adolescent’s risk of re-offending:
- Taking responsibility for the offence
- Family support and accountability
- Victim empathy
- History of offending
- Use of alcohol or drugs
- Other factors.
- Key elements of a relapse prevention plan including dealing with high risk thoughts, feelings and situations as well as identifying specific behavioural plans for at risk situations.
Learning Activities
- Lecture/discussion
- Small group discussion
- Role playing
Means of Assessment
This course will conform to Douglas College policy regarding the number and weighting of evaluations. Typical means of evaluation will include a combination of written research assignments, case evaluation testing and group presentations.
Learning Outcomes
Upon successful completion of this course, the student will be able to:
- Identify how our personal and professional attitudes, values and experiences affect our perceptions and judgments when working with an adolescent sexual offender.
- Identify normal sexual expression and appropriate boundaries in the adolescent stage of development.
- Identify the range of sexual offences that youth may commit.
- Identify the psychological, social and cultural causal factors of sexual offending.
- Demonstrate the skills and knowledge required to effectively work directly with youth who have committed sexual offences.
- Identify intervention strategies that the professional community may utilize in working with youth who have committed sexual offences.
- Describe the key factors in assessing an adolescent’s risk of re-offending.
- Describe the key factors in relapse prevention planning with youth who have committed sexual offences.
Textbook Materials
Current text on Adolescent Sexual Offenders to be determined