Capoeira as a Clinical Intervention: Addressing Adolescent Aggression With Brazilian Martial Arts (original) (raw)
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Facing the Challenge of Aggressive Behaviors in Young Adolescents
Middle School Journal, 1996
Manning ncidents ofaggression and violence are increasing at alarming rates in our schools. The U. S. Department of Justice reports three million crimes-or about 11%of all crimes, occur each year in public schools (Sautter, 1995). Accordingto TurningPoints: Where petty theft from lockers and occasional fightswere once problems, todayassaults, carrying of weapons, drug transactions, and robberies are constant worries in schools (Carnegie Council on Adolescent Development, 1989, p. 65).
Martial Arts as the Therapy of Choice for Youths afflicted with Hostile Aggressive Tendencies
Martial arts should be the therapy of choice over verbal psychotherapy for youths in Southeast Asia afflicted with hostile aggressive tendencies. This is due to martial arts’ legitimacy as a therapeutic approach accounted for by its efficacy in having a holistic impact on the individual, from physical, psycho, social to emotional. Comparatively speaking, martial arts is preferred over verbal psychotherapy as a therapeutic approach because of its cultural appropriateness, developmental appropriateness and superiority in therapeutic delivery. We usually treat youths with behavioural problems by giving them the stick (punishment) or sending them to clinical therapy. Given that, martial arts has proven its legitimacy and suitability as a therapeutic approach because of its efficacy and cultural appropriateness, how about considering martial arts therapy as the intervention of choice next time we meet such youths?
The New Imperative: Reducing Adolescent-Related Violence by Building Resilient Adolescents
2013
Involvement in violence is affected by a variety of risk factors and timing, duration, number of risks, and intensity of risk factors. The earlier the exposure to risk starts, the longer the exposure continues, the number of risks one is exposed to, and intensity of the risk factors experienced are all important. A child who is severely beaten, sexually abused, or both; one who grows up witnessing intimate partner or family violence; one who attends a failing school or is not involved in structured after-school activities; or one who lives in a violent neighborhood is at increased risk of becoming involved in violent behavior. The nature of the violence is worsened by the impact of shifting family structure and other risk factors such as alcohol and drugs. Adolescents who are exposed to positive parenting and supportive individuals, receive relevant education, are literate, possess life skills, and participate in structured, supervised activities become empowered young people who can resist violence.
Assessing children and adolescents for potential violent behavior requires an organized approach that draws on clinical knowledge, a thorough diagnostic interview, and familiarity with relevant risk and protective factors. This article reviews empirical evidence on risk factors, the impact of peers, developmental pathways, physiological markers, subtyping of aggression, and differences in patterns of risk behaviors between sexes. We explore these determinants of violence in children and adolescents with attention to the underlying motivations and etiology of violence to delineate the complexity, unanswered questions, and clinical relevance of the current research. Interventions, including cognitive behavioral therapy, psychopharmacological treatment, and psychosocial treatment, are reviewed with acute recognition of the need to use multiple modalities with, and to expand research to define optimal treatment for, potentially violent children and adolescents. The information considered for this review focuses on violence as defined as physical aggression toward other individuals. Other studies are included with wider definitions of violence because of their relevance to assessing the potential for violent behavior.
Problematic/aggressive behavior in children and adolescents stems from complex interactions between developing self-patterns and contextual influences , but also holds a symbolic and subconscious meaning related to each child's and adolescent's inner reality and experiences. This review presents the theoretical background, the scientific rationale and the practical implications of an innovative multidimensional model for addressing problematic/ aggressive behavior of children and adolescents at school. This model, based on extensive clinical work with children and adolescents and research evidence from its implementation in Greek schools, incorporates the psychody-namic, interpersonal, social, cognitive and multi-systemic perspective, offering a holistic approach intervention. On a practical level, this model translates to the application of a variety of techniques by a multidisciplinary team and involves individual support, psychotherapy, counseling and guidance of children themselves, their families and their teachers. This model moves away from the traditional psychiatric view of children's problematic behaviour, promoting a comprehensive school-based mental health framework that appears to be promising in addressing children's and adolescents' behavior problems and emotional difficulties.
Journal of Education and Training Studies, 2017
The aim of this study is to investigate the views of parents and adolescents who participated in psychoeducation programs for coping with adolescent aggressive behaviors. Parents who participated in the study were provided with a program known as the "Non-Violent Resistance Parent Program," and adolescents participated in the "Coping with Violence and Aggression Psychoeducation Program." Both programs were designed based on systemic family therapy theories. The views of participating parents and adolescents were obtained through a semi-structured interview form developed by the researchers. The interviews were subsequently analyzed using content analysis methods. After the programs' culmination, participants stated that the programs reduced aggressive behaviors seen in adolescents, improved parents' parenting skills and family relationships, and significantly decreased parental inefficacy and stress levels. Results of the analysis of qualitative data obtained from interviews indicated that adolescents and parents generally benefitted from the programs, experienced positive emotions in the process, and gained significant awareness about their interaction styles and those of other family members. It was stated that conducting the two programs simultaneously was very helpful, for the participants reportedly experienced closer familial relationships as well as changes in their approach to problems. On the other hand, the participants noted that the program had some weaknesses: they sometimes had difficulty in expressing themselves and restoring family relationships in the process; fathers' absence in the program was challenging for them; and the process did not have much contribution to spousal relationships. Based on these results, it is recommended that these programs should be conducted with parental cooperation in all institutions providing service to adolescents, particularly in schools. Both the improvement of parenting skills and the establishment of constructive and warm familial ties have the potential for reducing violent and aggressive behaviors in adolescents.
Stability and Change of Adolescents’ Aggressive Behavior in Residential Youth Care
Child & Youth Care Forum
Background Aggression in residential youth care institutions is a frequent problem. Objective The present short-term longitudinal study examined individual and institutional predictors of aggression in a group of 198 adolescents placed in open, semi-secure and secure residential institutions from the perspective of the importation and deprivation model. Methods A total of 198 adolescents in residential youth care filled in questionnaires regarding group climate and aggression with a 3 month interval. Hierarchical multiple regression analyses were performed to test the degree to which individual and contextual factors predict aggression. Results Very limited support was found for the effect of contextual factors; only repression showed a trend, predicting direct aggression, while gender composition of the living groups yielded a small effect. Girls placed in same-gender groups showed lower levels of indirect (relational) aggression compared to adolescents placed in mixed-gender or boys-only groups, even when controlled for gender and initial levels of aggression. Type of institution (i.e., level of security) did not predict differences in aggression. In particular individual characteristics of the adolescents were associated with later aggression, including initial levels of aggression, showing substantial 3 months stability, age and gender of the adolescents. Conclusions These findings are in line with research showing that aggression is relatively stable. Very limited support for environmental effects was found.
Journal of the American Academy of Child and Adolescent Psychiatry, 2017
There is a largely unmet need for evidence-based interventions that reduce future aggression and incarceration in clinically aggressive juvenile offenders serving probation. We addressed this gap using a group randomized controlled trial. Offenders both with and without clinical aggression were included, enabling comparison of intervention effects. Juveniles 13 to 17 years old (N = 310, mean = 16 years, 90% African-American, 66% male) on probation were assigned to a 2-week intervention targeting psychosocial factors implicated in risky behavior (e.g., learning strategies to manage "hot" emotions that prompt risk taking) or to an equally intensive health promotion control. Participants completed aggression measures at baseline, 6-, and 12-month follow-up and reported on incarceration at 12 months. Spline regression tested symptom change. Among clinically aggressive offenders (n = 71), the intervention arm showed significantly greater reductions in aggression over the first ...