Donnie W. Watson

HIV prevention among incarcerated male adolescents in an alternative school setting.

This pilot project tested the feasibility of an evidence-based HIV Intervention Program (HIP) program among 64 male youth, most of whom were African American or Hispanic, in Los Angeles County probation camps. Comparisons were made between adolescents who participated in HIP and a control group on changes in (a) condom use, (b) sexual intercourse under the influence of drugs, (c) knowledge of HIV prevention behaviors, and (d) attitudes toward condom use. Compared to the control group, the intervention group demonstrated significant increases in condom use and significant decreases in their endorsement of the attitude, ‘‘If you want to use a condom, your boy-friend or girlfriend might think you don’t trust them.’’ These preliminary findings suggest that the HIP program influences key HIV-related constructs among male juvenile offenders.

I’m Mad and I’m Bad Links Between Self-Identification as a Gangster, Symptoms of Anger, and Alcohol Use Among Minority Juvenile Offenders

This preliminary study examined whether anger and identification with the ‘‘gang member’’ peer group are associated with heavy alcohol use. Participants were 91 (53.8% male) juvenile offenders in four juvenile probation camps in Southern California who completed a self-report survey. More than half (53.4%) indicated that they best fit in with the ‘‘gang member’’ peer group. In a multivariate model, identification with the ‘‘gang member’’ peer group was associated with heavy alcohol use during the past 30 days prior to their incarceration. Identification with peer groups other than gang members may prevent juvenile offenders from engaging in heavy alcohol use.

Preparing Adolescents for Success in School: A School-Based Indicated Prevention Model for Adolescents in the Alternative High School Setting.

Abstract Adolescents enrolled in alternative school settings evidence risk behaviors at a higher rate compared to students attending regular high schools. Histories of substance use, juvenile delinquency, high school expulsion, poor school attendance, and HIV-risk behaviors are typical. These youth are particularly vulnerable to HIV-risk behaviors and substance use. This paper describes a school-based indicated prevention model for adolescents in the alternative high school setting. Preparing Adolescents for Success in School (PASS) combines the indicated programs Reconnecting Youth and Street Smart and adapts them for use in this setting. Program goals include reducing substance use, delinquent behavior, HIV-risk behaviors, school problems, and negative mood states and increasing decision-making skills, coping skills, social support, and knowledge of HIV prevention.

Comprehensive Residential Education, Arts, and Substance Abuse Treatment (Creasat) A Model Treatment Program for Juvenile Offenders

This article describes an alternative treatment model for adolescent substance abusers confined to a residential juvenile correction facility. Substance abuse trends among youth and the connection between substance use and juvenile delinquency are explored. Essential components of effective adolescent substance abuse treatment programs are outlined with particular attention to arts-based delinquency intervention programs. Specifically, this article describes the program philosophy and program components of a model treatment program for juvenile offenders—Comprehensive Residential Education, Arts, and Substance Abuse Treatment (CREASAT). An integral piece of the CREASAT program is The Matrix Institute addictions model for adolescent treatment, which takes into account the developmental factors that initiate and/or maintain substance use. This comprehensive model is based on social learning theory, cognitive behavioral principles, and the adolescents environment and readiness for change. Finally, the importance of cultural skills for substance abuse treatment professionals in the juvenile justice system is discussed.