Sex, drugs, and rock 'n' rolling with resistance: Motivational interviewing in juvenile justice settings

(from the chapter) This chapter discusses motivational interviewing in juvenile justice settings. Although a motivational interviewing (MI) session may help catalyze change, the exact nature of the power of MI remains elusive. Moreover, although Miller and Rollnick highlighted styles and strategies that may be helpful in effecting change within this therapeutic style, the factors necessary and sufficient for positive outcomes with this strategy remain unknown and are currently the source of a tremendous amount of process research. Despite the extant empirical research evaluating the efficacy of MI in juvenile justice settings, for many reasons, it appears to be a good match for this setting. First, approximately half of the juvenile justice system clients sampled met diagnostic criteria for at least one DSM diagnosis, indicating a need for mental health services within this setting. Moreover, the most frequent diagnoses within the juvenile justice system took the form of substance use/dependence and disruptive behavior disorders. Although the empirical validation of MI has been demonstrated mostly with late adolescents and adults, the empirical evidence supporting the use of MI in reducing alcohol, marijuana, and polysubstance use in adolescents appears to be emergent. In addition, because the majority of the youth within the juvenile justice setting are older rather than younger adolescents, MI seems to be well suited for this setting. However, despite the importance of intervention efforts within the juvenile justice system, it is essential to continue to evaluate and implement prevention efforts to reduce the involvement of children within the juvenile justice system. The need is for the development of a system of care that addresses the mental health, physical health, and drug and alcohol problems that frequently present in these young people but are traditionally managed by different agencies that do not work easily together. The challenge is to identify a preferred system of holistic care that allows for a seamless transfer of the young person from the detention center to the community in a supported fashion that encourages ongoing mental health follow-up, reduces substance abuse, strengthens family and community support, and decreases the risk of recidivism. (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2010 APA, all rights reserved) (chapter)