Are Parental Attitudes Related to Adolescent Juvenile Offenders’ Readiness to Change?

Abstract

Contemporary research suggests that many factors contribute to adolescent problematic and delinquent behaviors; however, there is little discussion in the literature related to factors that contribute to an adolescent’s willingness to change these maladaptive behaviors. The current study examines the role parental attitudes play in the adolescent juvenile offender’s readiness to change. Ninety-five adjudicated adolescents and their parent or legal guardian completed the University of Rhode Island Change Assessment (URICA) and the Juvenile Offender Parent Questionnaire (JOPQ), respectively. Participants fell into one of two URICA groups: Precontemplative or Contemplative. Parental attitudes (JOPQ) of Exasperation in Regard to the Child and Fear of the Child significantly predicted membership in two of the URICA stages of change groups (Precontemplative and Contemplative) when gender was included in the model. This study has important implications for practitioners developing effective treatments for adjudicated adolescents.