The Troubled Teen Industry & Necessity of Lived Experiences
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Date
2024
Authors
Quist, Paige
Journal Title
Journal ISSN
Volume Title
Publisher
University of Oregon
Abstract
Despite the majority of research around the “troubled teen industry” (TTI) fixating on how it is successful in improving individuals’ well-being, research fails to account for which methods are helpful, and most importantly, those that are harmful. Within the TTI, instances of maltreatment and unnecessary intervention tactics that enforce compliance without deviation increase. Since the rules, regulations, and tactics employed within the TTI follow strict, authoritative regimes that dismiss individuality, youth get forced to submit to societal norms desired by dominant narrative discourses pathologizing youth. Further, when youths attempt to share stories regarding the reality faced within the TTI, facilities immediately work to combat their validity and reliability. Subsequently, parents often get convinced by the TTI’s manipulative strategies, siding with facilities’ suggestions, thus enabling their continuous profit. However, this oversight and disregard of necessary information due to the devaluation of youths’ lived experiences cause the omission of insightful data into the reality behind the TTI, contributing to their unregulated and ignored methods of abuse and harm. Therefore, my thesis aims to underscore the power of lived experiences and the need for their integration within future research to put an end to the methods of the TTI and advocate for individualized, alternative approaches to treatment.
Description
89 pages
Keywords
Troubled teen industry, Narrative importance, Dominant discourse, Adolescent autonomy, Evidence-based treatments