Date Presented 04/03/2025
We developed a growth mindset intervention protocol for youth in custody authority settings that focuses on daily functional skills to enhance self-regulation and problem-solving and reduce recidivism.
Primary Author and Speaker: Sharon Zlotnik
Additional Authors and Speakers: Miri Tal-Saban
PURPOSE: To develop an intervention protocol promoting a growth mindset for daily functioning among adolescents in Youth Custody Authority settings, to bridge the gap between general perceptions and apply it to complex daily activities. A growth mindset is the belief that abilities can be developed through effort. However, there is a lack of research on fostering a growth mindset focused on daily functional skills among youth in custodial settings.
METHODS: A mixed-methods approach was employed. Focus groups were conducted with the staff (n=6), adolescents (n=4), and graduates (n=3) from a custody setting to assess needs, using semi-structured interviews and content analysis of focus groups that identified common themes and differing perspectives. An expert panel (n=4 occupational therapists) provided recommendations for addressing ongoing trauma.
RESULTS: Qualitative analysis revealed strengths like encouraging competence and self-regulation, but gaps in focusing on complex functional goals, reflective discourse, and staff training. This resulted in guidelines for an intervention protocol based on the Cognitive Orientation to Daily Occupational Performance (CO-OP) principles, through group intervention and staff training, providing tools for reflection and metacognitive strategies, independent functional goal setting, and sensory-motor regulation.
CONCLUSIONS: The study highlights the process of translating growth mindset concepts into specific functional domains through structured intervention. The resulting protocol integrates evidence-based approaches like CO-OP and motivational theories to promote adolescents’ daily independence and participation.
IMPACT STATEMENT: Implementing this protocol in custody settings may enhance adolescents’ self-regulation, problem-solving skills, and successful community reintegration, ultimately improving their quality of life and reducing recidivism.
References
Burnette, J. L., O’Boyle, E. H., VanEpps, E. M., Pollack, J. M., & Finkel, E. J. (2013). Mind-sets matter: A meta-analytic review of implicit theories and self-regulation. Psychological Bulletin, 139(3), 655–701. https://doi.org/10.1037/A0029531
Houldin, A., McEwen, S. E., Howell, M. W., & Polatajko, H. J. (2018). The cognitive orientation to daily occupational performance approach and transfer: A scoping review. OTJR: occupation, participation and health, 38(3), 157–172. https://doi.org/10.1177/1539449217736059
Rosenberg, L. (2022). Persistence on Task, Executive Functions, and the Perceived Meaning of Occupations Among Children. The American Journal of Occupational Therapy : Official Publication of the American Occupational Therapy Association, 76(4). https://doi.org/10.5014/AJOT.2022.049022
Shapira, H., Bachar, H., & Arazi, T. (2023). Youth Protection Authority Residential Care Facilities: Summary of T-0 Measurement. RR-948-23. Myers-JDC-Brookdale Institute.
