How to Accomplish Effective Communication Between Juvenile Delinquents and Health Care Providers

Delinquent adolescents share a number of negative life experiences that may influence behavior during incarceration. By understanding these experiences and the resulting unpleasant behaviors, health care providers can devise appropriate responses while avoiding inappropriate reactions.Most delinquents have experienced one or more of the following: physical and/or sexual abuse, inconsistent parenting, love deprivation, double messages, and poor educational mastery. These precursors contribute to the development of the following behaviors: poor social skills, confrontational attitude, fear of pain and medical procedures, macho behavior, spreading of rumors, concrete thinking, manipulative behavior, answer-seeking, and a low tolerance of frustration. Appropriate responses from health care providers often temporarily suppress the unwanted behavior and allow useful communication between the patient and care provider.