Formerly Detained Adolescents' Narratives: On the Interplay between Quality of Life and Desistance.

In recent years, a growing trend to consider strengths and protective factors in studies on desistance from crime has emerged. The present study explores three formerly detained adolescents' narratives, aiming to tease out how Quality of Life (QoL) and desistance interact in pathways towards a "better life." The narratives suggest that the journey towards a better life is highly individual, and may unfold via multiple pathways characterized by an ambivalent relationship between QoL and desistance. Alongside the importance of individual aspects and social support, societal barriers and opportunities play a significant role in creating new chances to re-build a life and prosocial identities. This reflects earlier findings that desistance is not an individual responsibility. It is essential to support young people to overcome societal barriers that impede participation in society and living a good life. This research adds to growing evidence of strengths-based approaches to rehabilitation, such as the Good Lives Model (GLM).

NanI sialidase contributes to toxin expression and host cell binding of Clostridium perfringens type G strain CP56 in vitro.

Necrotic enteritis, caused by NetB producing Clostridium perfringens type G strains, is a globally important poultry disease. An initial step in the pathogenesis of necrotic enteritis is the colonization and degradation of the intestinal mucus layer, a process in which C. perfringens sialidases - such as NanI sialidase - may play an important role. Sialidases cleave terminal sialic acid from complex carbohydrates on glycoconjugates, such as mucins. This study shows that NE-associated C. perfringens strain CP56 is able to use sialic acid (Neu5Ac) as a carbon source for bacterial growth. It is shown that supplementation of Neu5Ac in the growth medium does not only induce the production of extracellular sialidases of strain CP56, but also increases the production of both alpha toxin and NetB toxin. Moreover, it was found that pre-treating avian hepatocellular carcinoma cells (LMH cells) with the recombinant NanI sialidase increases the adherence of C. perfringens type G strain CP56 to these cells. As such, the data suggest an important role for sialidases in the pathogenesis of the disease.

The Role of Personal Resilience and Interpersonal Support in Building Fulfilling and Prosocial Lives: Examining the Good Lives Model among Young Women Four Years after Youth Detention.

Despite growing interest in strength-based rehabilitation frameworks, relevant internal/external resources that are likely to facilitate the rehabilitation of detained female adolescents (DFA) have been understudied. This study aims to fill this gap by studying the role of young women's personal resilience and interpersonal support in building fulfilling and prosocial lives 4 years after youth detention, thereby examining the strength-based good lives model (GLM). Forty-nine former DFA (Mage = 20.75) completed questionnaires about resilience, support, Quality of Life (QoL), and offending. Hierarchical multiple regression analyses showed that young women with more resilience displayed higher QoL and less offending, while more support was associated with higher QoL only. The relationship between resilience and QoL/offending did not depend upon the level of support. Overall, our results support the applicability of the GLM to former DFA, showing evidence for the importance of both internal and external resources in building fulfilling and prosocial lives.

A Qualitative Study on Young Women's Lives Prior to and Four Years after Youth Detention: Examining the Good Lives Model's Aetiological Assumptions.

Detained female adolescents constitute a vulnerable, challenging, and understudied minority. Interventions for DFA are still dominated by risk management approaches with less focus on strength-based approaches such as the Good Lives Model (GLM). This study explored the functionality of DFA's behaviour prior to and four years after release from detention, using the GLM as the guiding theoretical framework. A theory-driven thematic analysis was conducted of 30 in-depth interviews with former DFA (Mage = 20.80), exploring the fulfilment of their basic human needs (e.g., relatedness, independence) before and after detention. Before detention, the young women experienced multiple problems trying to fulfil multiple human needs, often contributing to poor balance in their lives and their antisocial behaviour. Although external and internal obstacles to fulfilling human needs were still present at follow-up, important improvements were noted, e.g., in the scope of their human needs and the resources available to fulfil their needs. The findings provide additional insights into the issues experienced by young women in detention and indicate there are opportunities to assist these young women, through the development of appropriate resources and capacities which provide them with appropriate means for fulfilling their needs and moving towards a personally meaningful and prosocial life.

Protein Truncating Variants of colA in Clostridium perfringens Type G Strains.

Extracellular matrix (ECM) degrading enzymes produced by Clostridium perfringens may play an important role during the initial phases of avian necrotic enteritis by facilitating toxin entry in the intestinal mucosa and destruction of the tissue. C. perfringens is known to produce several ECM-degrading proteases, such as kappa toxin, an extracellular collagenase that is encoded by the colA gene. In this study, the colA gene sequence of a collection of 48 C. perfringens strains, including pathogenic (i.e. toxinotype G) and commensal (i.e. toxinotype A) chicken derived strains and strains originating from other host species, was analyzed. Although the colA gene showed a high level of conservation (>96% nucleotide sequence identity), several gene variants carrying different nonsense mutations in the colA gene were identified, leading to the definition of four truncated collagenase variant types (I-IV). Collagenase variant types I, III and IV have a (nearly) complete collagenase unit but lack parts of the C-terminal recruitment domains, whereas collagenase variant types II misses the N-terminal part of collagenase unit. Gene fragments encoding a truncated collagenase were mainly linked with necrotic enteritis associated C. perfringens type G strains with collagenase variant types I and II being the most prevalent types. Gelatin zymography revealed that both recombinant full-length and variant type I collagenase have active auto-cleavage products. Moreover, both recombinant fragments were capable of degrading type I as well as type IV collagen, although variant type I collagenase showed a higher relative activity against collagen type IV as compared to full-length collagenase. Consequently, these smaller truncated collagenases might be able to break down collagen type IV in the epithelial basement membrane of the intestinal villi and so contribute to the initiation of the pathological process leading to necrotic enteritis.

C. perfringens challenge reduces matrix metalloproteinase activity in the jejunal mucosa of Eimeria-infected broiler chickens.

Matrix metalloproteinases (MMPs) play an important role in intestinal extracellular matrix homeostasis. An overexpression of MMPs results in tissue destruction and local inflammation and has been associated with multiple inflammatory diseases. These host proteases might also be important in tissue damage caused by infectious agents, such as in intestinal damage in Clostridium perfringens-induced avian necrotic enteritis (NE). The aim of the present study was to elucidate the effect of a C. perfringens infection on the MMP activity in the small intestine of birds with a pre-disposing coccidial infection to obtain a more thorough understanding of the pathogenesis of NE. For this purpose, the gelatinolytic activity present in jejunal tissue of Eimeria infected birds which were challenged with either a pathogenic C. perfringens type G strain or a commensal C. perfringens type A strain was analyzed using substrate zymography. The results show that infection of broilers with Eimeria and different C. perfringens strains, independent of their pathogenicity, decreases the expression of a 40-45 kDa host collagenase in the jejunum, as compared to the expression in Eimeria-infected control birds. It was also shown that the expression of 2 MMPs with molecular weights of approximately 50-60 and 60-70 kDa was significantly lower in necrotic tissue as compared to the activity in macroscopically healthy tissue adjacent to the lesion. These results indicate that host collagenases are not elicited by the C. perfringens infection for permeabilizing the host mucosa to allow penetration of the NetB toxin in Eimeria infected broilers.

The bumpy road to change: a retrospective qualitative study on formerly detained adolescents' trajectories towards better lives.

BACKGROUND: Currently, the risk-oriented focus in forensic youth care is increasingly complemented by a growing interest in strengths-based approaches. Knowledge on how detention and the subsequent period in the community is experienced by adolescents, and which elements are helpful in achieving better lives can contribute to this emerging field. The current study aimed to retrospectively explore adolescents' experiences from the moment they were detained until 6 to 12 months after they left the institution, identifying positive aspects and strengths. METHODS: In-depth interviews were conducted with 25 adolescents (both boys and girls, 15-18 years old) on average 8 months after discharge from a closed institution in Belgium. A thematic analysis was performed using NVivo 11. RESULTS: Five themes and corresponding subthemes were identified: (1) adolescents' own strengths and resilience, (2) re-building personally valued lives, (3) making sense of past experiences, (4) moving away from a harmful lifestyle, and (5) (in-)formal supports. Most adolescents are on their way to finding a new balance in life, however, for a subgroup of them, this is still fragile. Adolescents highly emphasize the importance of feeling closely connected to at least one person; to receive practical help with regard to finances, work and housing; and to be able to experience pleasure and joy in their lives. CONCLUSIONS: Adolescents' narratives suggest that starting a journey towards a normative good life often goes along with an initial difficult period because of a sense of loss with regard to their former life. This stresses the importance of targeting rehabilitation towards prosocial goals and enhancing adolescents' quality of life on those life domains that matter most for them. Furthermore, we stress the importance of helping adolescents in overcoming structural barriers as a first step in supporting them in their trajectories towards better lives.

The prospective usefulness of callous-unemotional traits and conduct disorder in predicting treatment engagement among detained girls.

Although treatment engagement (TE) is crucial for treatment success it is not well known how likely detained girls are to engage in treatment and what features may impede them from doing so. This study is the first to examine the prognostic usefulness of two features of potential interest, being callous-unemotional (CU) traits and conduct disorder (CD), in relation to TE. Detained girls and their parents (n = 75) were interviewed with the Diagnostic Interview Schedule for Children to assess CD, and completed the Antisocial Process Screening Device to assess CU traits dimensionally and categorically as in the new diagnostic and statistical manual of mental disorders, fifth edition (DSM-5) CU-based specifier. One to two months later, the girls reported how much they engaged in treatment. At the zero-order level, self-, but not parent-reported CU traits and CD were predictive of lower levels of TE. The incorporation of CU traits into a diagnosis of CD identified girls with lower levels of future TE, a finding that held across different informants. Of note, the aforementioned findings only became apparent when using a dimensional measure of CU traits, and not when using the categorical measure of CU traits currently included in DSM-5. This study showed that CU traits can help developing an understanding of what factors hinder TE among detained girls. Our findings also support recommendations to incorporate CU traits into the CD diagnosis, and suggest that dimensional approaches to do so may yield relevant information about future levels of TE.

The unique relation of childhood emotional maltreatment with mental health problems among detained male and female adolescents.

Mounting evidence indicates that emotional maltreatment is at least as harmful as physical and sexual abuse. Notwithstanding their high occurrence among detained adolescents, the link between emotional maltreatment and mental health problems in these youths is not well researched. This study, therefore, was designed to examine the unique link between emotional maltreatment and mental health problems, with particular attention to gender differences. Well validated self-report measures of maltreatment experiences (Childhood Trauma Questionnaire) and mental health problems (Youth Self Report) were completed by 341 detained adolescents (156 boys, 185 girls) aged 12 to 18 years. As expected, girls reported higher levels of maltreatment experiences and internalizing and externalizing mental health problems than boys. Blockwise multiple linear regression analyses indicated that in both genders emotional abuse was uniquely and positively associated with internalizing and externalizing mental health problems, over and above the influence of other types of maltreatment. Furthermore, sexual abuse was uniquely related with internalizing problems in girls only, whereas only in boys this type of abuse was uniquely related with externalizing problems. Detained adolescents who have been the victim of emotional abuse in combination with another type of maltreatment may be the worst subgroup in terms of mental health problems. Therefore, emotional maltreatment experiences in adolescents who offend should receive more research and clinical attention.

Quality of life in relation to future mental health problems and offending: Testing the good lives model among detained girls.

Detained girls bear high levels of criminal behavior and mental health problems that are likely to persist into young adulthood. Research with these girls began primarily from a risk management perspective, whereas a strength-based empowering perspective may increase knowledge that could improve rehabilitation. This study examines detained girls' quality of life (QoL) in relation to future mental health problems and offending, thereby testing the strength-based good lives model of offender rehabilitation (GLM). At baseline, 95 girls (Mage = 16.25) completed the World Health Organization QoL instrument to assess their QoL prior to detention in the domains of physical health, psychological health, social relationships, and environment. Six months after discharge, mental health problems and offending were assessed by self-report measures. Structural equation models were conducted to test GLM's proposed (in)direct pathways from QoL (via mental health problems) toward offending. Although we could not find support for GLM's direct negative pathway from QoL to offending, our findings did provide support for GLM's indirect negative pathway via mental health problems to future offending. In addition, we found a direct positive pathway from detained girls' satisfaction with their social relationships to offending after discharge. The current findings support the potential relevance of addressing detained girls' QoL, pursuing the development of new skills, and supporting them to build constructive social contacts. Our findings, however, also show that clinicians should not only focus on strengths but that detecting and modifying mental health problems in this vulnerable group is also warranted. (PsycINFO Database Record

Girls' quality of life prior to detention in relation to psychiatric disorders, trauma exposure and socioeconomic status.

PURPOSE: Practice and research on detained girls has mainly been problem oriented, overlooking these minors' own perspective on and satisfaction with life. The aim of this study was to examine how girls evaluate multiple domains of quality of life (QoL) and how each domain is affected by psychiatric (co)morbidity, trauma, and socioeconomic status (SES). METHODS: An abbreviated version of the World Health Organization (WHO) QoL Instrument was used to assess the girls' (N = 121; M(age) = 16.28) QoL prior to detention. This self-report questionnaire consists of two benchmark items referring to their overall QoL and health, and 24 remaining items measuring their QoL regarding four domains (physical health, psychological health, social relationships, and environment). The Diagnostic Interview Schedule for Children-IV was used to assess the past-year prevalence of psychiatric disorders and life-time trauma exposure. RESULTS: Detained girls perceived their QoL almost as good as the 12- to 20-year-olds from the WHO's international field trial on all but one domain (i.e., psychological health). They were most satisfied with their social relationships and least satisfied with their psychological health. Psychiatric disorders, trauma, and low SES were distinctively and negatively related to various domains of QoL. The girls' psychological health was most adversely affected by psychosocial and socioeconomic problems, while these variables had an almost negligible impact on their satisfaction with their social relationships. CONCLUSIONS: The particularity of each domain of QoL supports a multidimensional conceptualization of QoL. Regarding treatment, psychological health appears as a domain of major concern, while social relationships might serve as a source of resilience.

Gender differences in psychiatric disorders and clusters of self-esteem among detained adolescents.

Detained minors display substantial mental health needs. This study focused on two features (psychopathology and self-esteem) that have received considerable attention in the literature and clinical work, but have rarely been studied simultaneously in detained youths. The aims of this study were to examine gender differences in psychiatric disorders and clusters of self-esteem, and to test the hypothesis that the cluster of adolescents with lower (versus higher) levels of self-esteem have higher rates of psychiatric disorders. The prevalence of psychiatric disorders was assessed in 440 Belgian, detained adolescents using the Diagnostic Interview Schedule for Children-IV. Self-esteem was assessed using the Self-perception Profile for Adolescents. Model-based cluster analyses were performed to identify youths with lower and/or higher levels of self-esteem across several domains. Girls have higher rates for most psychiatric disorders and lower levels of self-esteem than boys. A higher number of clusters was identified in boys (four) than girls (three). Generally, the cluster of adolescents with lower (versus higher) levels of self-esteem had a higher prevalence of psychiatric disorders. These results suggest that the detection of low levels of self-esteem in adolescents, especially girls, might help clinicians to identify a subgroup of detained adolescents with the highest prevalence of psychopathology.