Tkaczyk S1
1Bond University
Biography:
Sarah-Louise Tkaczyk is currently a PhD Candidate at Bond University in Queensland. She has extensive experience working with adult and youth offenders in New Zealand and Australia, with the New Zealand Department of Corrections, Queensland Corrective Services, and more recently the Department of Children, Youth Justice and Multicultural Affairs. Her research interests include youth offending trajectories and intervention, with a focus on youth offenders concurrently involved with child safety systems presenting with dysfunctional attachment backgrounds. She is also interested in cross cultural experiences of attachment and how they interface with youth justice systems.
With an increase in coverage of youth offending in the media, there is an greater pressure for Youth Justice systems to mitigate youth recidivism through behavioural interventions during reporting sessions. A particularly challenging cohort of youth offender, known as dual order youth, are those subject to both supervision provided by Youth Justice and Child Protection. In addition to higher rates of recidivism, research indicates that dual order youth are at a heightened risk of adverse life outcomes, including adult imprisonment, poor mental health, and limited employment opportunities. Dual order youth in residential care placements present with additional complexities and are often reluctant to build rapport, initiate rehabilitation discussion, and reach desired treatment outcomes. Such components are critical in establishing therapeutic alliance, considered to underpin successful treatment outcomes. Despite a significant body of research investigating therapeutic alliance across various treatment contexts, there is a paucity of empirical research that investigates the mandated circumstances of dual order youth in residential care placements. Associated with this cohort of offenders are behaviours that are typical of dysfunctional attachment styles and experiences, which may be considered responsivity factors affecting therapeutic alliance formation, and ultimately, long-term outcomes. This paper aims to investigate the relationship between attachment experience and therapeutic alliance formation of dual order youth residing in residential out of home care utilising a qualitative research methodology. The research will explore the experiences of both Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander and non-Indigenous dual order youth, to identify potential cultural aspects affecting attachment experiences and therapeutic alliance formation. Findings are anticipated to influence policy and frameworks related to administering youth justice intervention to increase the likelihood of improved outcomes for this vulnerable cohort.