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Language Skills of Youth Offenders (Lount et al., 2017)
journal contribution
posted on 2022-02-23, 18:45 authored by Sarah A. Lount, Suzanne C. Purdy, Linda HandPurpose: International evidence suggests youth offenders
have greater difficulties with oral language than their
nonoffending peers. This study examined the hearing,
auditory processing, and language skills of male youth
offenders and remandees (YORs) in New Zealand.
Method: Thirty-three male YORs, aged 14–17 years, were
recruited from 2 youth justice residences, plus 39 similarly
aged male students from local schools for comparison.
Testing comprised tympanometry, self-reported hearing,
pure-tone audiometry, 4 auditory processing tests, 2
standardized language tests, and a nonverbal intelligence test.
Results: Twenty-one (64%) of the YORs were identified
as language impaired (LI), compared with 4 (10%) of the
controls. Performance on all language measures was
significantly worse in the YOR group, as were their hearing
thresholds. Nine (27%) of the YOR group versus 7 (18%)
of the control group fulfilled criteria for auditory processing
disorder. Only 1 YOR versus 5 controls had an auditory
processing disorder without LI.
Conclusions: Language was an area of significant
difficulty for YORs. Difficulties with auditory processing
were more likely to be accompanied by LI in this group,
compared with the controls. Provision of speech-language therapy services and awareness of auditory
and language difficulties should be addressed in youth
justice systems.
