A boy’s best friend: Using human–animal interaction with at-risk teen boys

Abstract

According to the Office of Juvenile Justice and Delinquency Prevention, the number of juvenile cases handled in a single year has increased nearly 50 % in the past two decades, where cases involving males now represent well over two-thirds of all delinquency cases nationwide (Sickmund 2009). Additionally, once incarcerated, 50–77 % of these young offenders are being identified as having Conduct Disorder (Fazel et al. 2008; Stahlberg et al. 2010), a disorder known for its higher prevalence in males, disregard for others, lacking prosocial emotions and poorer prognosis (American Psychiatric Association 2013). Combined, this steady increase in delinquency cases and high prevalence of serious pathology, demonstrates a real need for innovate proactive interventions to perhaps inhibit escalation into serious crime, by intervening at the emotional level for these boys.