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Can Systemic Interventions Designed to Reduce Reoffending by Youth also Reduce Their Victimization?

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Abstract

Previous research indicates considerable overlap between populations of boys who are victimized and boys who victimize others. This study was concerned with whether a systems-focused treatment program designed to address individual and systemic risk factors associated with the perpetration of sexual and violent crimes might also be successful in reducing boys’ victimization by others. Boys adjudicated for sexual offences who received ‘treatment as usual’ (TAU; n = 335) were compared with similarly adjudicated boys who completed the treatment program (n = 200) on their histories of contact with police either as offenders or victims. Despite their higher rates of pre-intervention victimization, the treatment group were victimized less frequently post-intervention than the TAU group. Continued offending was the strongest predictor of victimization post-intervention. These findings suggest that offending and victimization share common risk factors that may be addressed simultaneously within offence-focused treatment.

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Notes

  1. Percentages do not add up to 100% due to some participants being a victim of both violent and sexual offences

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Acknowledgements

This study is supported under the Australian Research Council’s Discovery Projects Funding Scheme (Project: DP110102126) awarded to Professor Smallbone and Dr. Allard. We would also like to acknowledge the support and assistance of the Department of Attorney-General and the Queensland Police Service. The views expressed herein are solely those of the authors, and do not necessarily reflect the views or policies of these organizations.

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Correspondence to Sarah Brown.

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McKillop, N., Brown, S., Johnson, I. et al. Can Systemic Interventions Designed to Reduce Reoffending by Youth also Reduce Their Victimization?. Journ Child Adol Trauma 10, 41–50 (2017). https://doi.org/10.1007/s40653-016-0123-y

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