Optimizing the Rehabilitation of Adolescent Girls and Young Women in Difficulty
The life histories of certain teenaged girls are filled with events that can undermine their long-term well-being and security. When she turns 18, how will an adolescent girl who may have suffered domestic abuse, lived in a youth home or been involved in prostitution be able to fend for herself and adapt to adulthood?
Do the services available to adolescent girls (in youth centres, for example) who experience these kinds of life events give enough consideration to their special needs? What about the services available to them once they become young adults—and, as is often the case, young mothers? Are the outcomes good? More importantly, can we do better?
Dr. Nadine Lanctôt, who holds the Canada Research Chair in Placement and Rehabilitation of Girls in Difficulty, is seeking a better understanding of the various profiles, paths and needs of these highly vulnerable teenage girls and young women, with the aim of reintegrating them into society as quickly as possible. Lanctôt and her research team will catalogue and analyze the pros and cons of the service systems intended for the well-being and successful transition to adulthood of these adolescents and young women.
Based on a series of internationally replicated studies, Lanctôt’s work will help design promising practices that can respond optimally to the needs of adolescent girls in the care of public rehabilitation services, with a view to helping them adapt successfully to adulthood.