Disentangling Context Effects on Criminal Careers

This chapter examines interventions carried out with late adolescents and young adults that aim to reduce serious antisocial behaviour. It addresses which interventions for young adult offenders are in use in the Netherlands and whether the interventions consist of known effective active ingredients. Effective interventions are grounded in a treatment theory that describes the risk and protective factors to be influenced by the intervention as well as the nonspecific and specific active ingredients to achieve the goals of the intervention. International research on interventions aimed at the reduction of serious antisocial behaviour in young offenders shows that interventions with a cognitive or cognitive-behavioural emphasis reduce recidivism of serious juvenile offenders. The interventions developed in juvenile justice institutions combine group and individual training sessions and can be applied in a very flexible way. The interventions are applied in juvenile justice institutions, locked institutions for child protection cases, and in community settings.