Promoting Rehabilitation Among Youth on Probation: An Examination of Strengths as Specific Responsivity Factors

Despite calls for strength-focused approaches in juvenile justice, there is little research on the role of strengths in probation case management. This is one of the first studies to examine whether strengths function as specific responsivity factors as proposed by the risk–need–responsivity model, through mediating and moderating effects, and findings lend preliminary support to this conceptualization. In a sample of 261 justice-involved youth, the relationship between strengths and recidivism was found to be partially mediated by the service-to-needs match rate, even while controlling for risk—suggesting that strengths have an important indirect effect on recidivism through their impact on youth’s engagement in and completion of services. Strengths, however, did not moderate the relationship between service-to-needs match and reoffending, suggesting that appropriately matched services are essential irrespective of a youth’s strength profile. Research corroborating these findings and examining the feasibility of front-line use of strengths information is warranted.