The Nature of Adolescence: Working with Young People in Custody

By Juliet and John Coleman.

Available from: TSA Publishing Ltd., 23 New Road, Brighton, East
Sussex BN1 1WZ

This training pack is designed specifically for staff who work
with young people in custody and is intended to facilitate positive
working practices.

Key areas addressed include demonstrating an understanding of
the complexities of juvenility, theoretical explanations of
adolescent behaviour and working with individuals, groups and
families from within an institutional setting.

It is clear from the list of acknowledged contributors that
specialist advice was sought from a wide number of individuals and
agencies, which included a prison governor and contributions from
the probation service and the prison psychological department.

The pack is presented in six modules and is designed to be
flexible. Modules one, two and three include an intro duction to
adolescence, health and welfare matters, adolescent development and
the importance of family support.

The pack highlights the unfortunate reality that in some
situations, inconsistent parenting and lack of supervision can be
detrimental to some adolescents.

The remaining three modules concentrate primarily on issues of
peer group pressure and the dynamics of offending behaviour, and
are supported by a useful video which highlights issues ranging
from family conflict and perceived parental constraints, to peer
group pressure.

The concluding section contains a worthy resources component
which includes a useful pre-reading pack, aimed at preparing
participants in advance for the course.

This training pack is presented in clear, user-friendly language
and is a welcome additional training tool for staff who work with
young people in custody.

Nevil Wyatt is senior lecturer, Staffordshire
University.