Date of Award
Summer 8-22-2019
Document Type
Thesis
Degree Name
Master of Arts (MA)
Department/Program
Forensic Psychology
Language
English
First Advisor or Mentor
Rebecca Weiss
Second Reader
Sasha Graham
Third Advisor
Emily Haney-Caron
Abstract
Despite the growing rate of adolescent girls in the criminal justice system, there has been little institutional support for empirically supported programs tailored for girls (Matthews & Hubbard, 2008). There is a similar substantial lack of culturally specific programming. Problematically, both constructs have been found to impact treatment (Bright & Jonson-Reid, 2010; Matthews & Hubbard, 2008). This qualitative study utilized grounded theory principals to investigate the impact of gender and culture on the therapeutic relationship for justice-involved youth in seven alternative-to-incarceration agencies in New York City. Elicited themes focused on both recommended strategies and continued challenges. Results indicated that while service providers considered a gender and culture match to be advantageous for therapeutic relationships, a match made it less likely that service providers would discuss the therapeutic relevance of gender or culture, particularly in cases with a culture-match. A substantial portion of service providers indicated that they treated all clients similarly, regardless of cultural background. This is inconsistent with recommended practice. However, the service providers reported far less negativity around working with girls than previous research has found. The results support the need for formal training for service providers in empirically supported strategies for working with diverse youth.
Recommended Citation
Betances, Stephany, "The Impact of Client's Gender and Culture on Service Providers Strategies in Diversion Programs" (2019). CUNY Academic Works.
https://academicworks.cuny.edu/jj_etds/129