The Right Sentence? Examining the communication skills and experiences of male youth offenders in youth justice residences in New Zealand

Abstract

This thesis aimed to: 1) investigate the hearing, auditory processing and language skills of male youth offenders in youth justice (YJ) residences in New Zealand (NZ); 2) describe the perceptions of male youth offenders of communicating in NZ’s YJ system; and, 3) describe the perceptions of key YJ professionals of communicating with young people in NZ’s YJ setting. Study 1 included 33 male youth offenders from two YJ residences, and 39 controls, aged 14-17 years old. Testing consisted of tympanometry, self-reported hearing, pure-tone audiometry, four auditory processing tests, two standardised language tests, and a nonverbal intelligence test. The two qualitative studies used semi-structured interviews of 8 youth offenders and 15 YJ professionals. Data analysis used latent thematic analysis. In study 1, hearing thresholds and performance on all language measures were significantly worse for the youth offenders than the controls. Sixty-four percent of youth offenders and 10% of controls fulfilled the criteria for language impairment; 27% versus 18% had auditory processing disorder, respectively. Study 2 showed that the youth offenders found communicating in court an area of significant difficulty; they reported feeling unable to say what they wanted or understand what was going on. Trust and familiarity with YJ professionals were considered important to facilitate communication; most young people could identify strategies that helped communication, but not all reported using them. In study 3, the YJ professionals identified several challenges for communication, including factors relating to the young people, the YJ environment, and to themselves and their role. All desired to communicate effectively and mentioned strategies they use, but also wanted additional training. They acknowledged that many youth offenders struggle with communication, but some professionals expressed mixed feelings about the consequences of labelling those young people language impaired. Language may be an area of significant difficulty for the young people in New Zealand’s YJ system. These difficulties may be accompanied by poorer hearing or auditory processing. Courtroom language and environments appear especially challenging. The findings highlight a need for speech-language therapy services to improve communication for the young people and those working with them to maximise participation in the YJ system. iii