Greenbaum, Chloe A. and Javdani, Shabnam (2017). Expressive writing intervention promotes resilience among juvenile justice-involved youth. Children and Youth Services Review, 73(C), 220-229.
Author Affiliations: New York University, New York City
Artforms: expressive writing
Program: WRITE ON (Writing and Reflecting on Identity To Empower Ourselves as Narrators)
Program Description: Started in 2014, “WRITE ON is a writing-based mental health intervention designed for youth in confinement . . . WRITE ON encourages reflection and self-expression within a supportive group setting” (https://wp.nyu.edu/steinhardt-corelab/interventions/intervention-descriptions /). The program involves 12 sessions over six weeks, each session 90 minutes long and each week focusing on a specific theme such as emotions, self-expression, relationships, past self, present self, future self.
Program (Study) Location: short-term, non-secure juvenile detention cities in New York City; program initiated in partnership with the NYC Division of Youth and Family Justice
Participant Type: Incarcerated adolescents aged 12 to 17
Sample Size: 53 (31 girls, 22 boys) total; 30 (18 girls12 boys) in intervention group; 23 (13 girls, 10 boys) in control group
Study Published: 2017
Data Type: quantitative, using Brief Resilience Scale, Connor-Davidson Resilience Scale, Ego Resilience Scale, Positive and Negative Affect Schedule – Short Form, Rosenberg Self-Esteem Scale, State Shame and Guilt Scale-Revised
Evaluation Focus: participant satisfaction and mental-health outcomes of youth, including resiliency
Summary of Impact:
● Participants reported high levels of satisfaction although numbers (roughly 85%) were the same between intervention and control groups.
● Negative mental health outcomes of shame, guilt and negative affect did not significantly change over time across or within groups. Marginally significant increases in shame for WRITE ON participants with authors noting that symptom exacerbation may actually be a part of the recovery process.
● Significant increase in positive mental health attributes, notably resilience KEYWORDS: expressive writing, juvenile, mental health, resilience, youth
KEYWORDS: expressive writing, juvenile, mental health, resilience, youth
Prison Arts Resource Project 