The Value of a Safe, Connected Social Climate for Adolescent Girls in Residential Care

ABSTRACT

This article described adolescent girls’ (n = 153) perceptions of the social climate that prevailed in their residential care unit and explored to what extent these perceptions related to their pre-treatment individual characteristics. Social climate was examined with a gender-responsive approach and through empathetic interactions with practitioners, healthy connections with the peer group, and just and collaborative practices within the residential care setting. Results indicated that adolescent girls’ configuration of risks and needs impact how they perceive their program environment. We conclude the article with specific recommendations for enhancing gender-responsive programs in residential care setting in regard to non-programmatic features.

KEYWORDS:

• residential care
• social climate
• gender-responsive
• adolescent girls

Funding

This research has been supported by the Canadian National Strategy on Crime Prevention in collaboration with the Ministère de la Sécurité publique du Québec and the Canada Research Chair on Adolescent Delinquency.

Notes

^1. A complete description of the measures is available upon request.

Additional information

Funding

This research has been supported by the Canadian National Strategy on Crime Prevention in collaboration with the Ministère de la Sécurité publique du Québec and the Canada Research Chair on Adolescent Delinquency.