William C. Wasmund
Treatment programs for delinquent youth often develop negative youth subcultures that sabotage the formal treatment efforts of adults. Counteraggression occurs when staff members mirror the negative behavior of youth. This can become a particularly insidious problem in peer-group treatment programs. Students exercising authority and control over one another can manufacture and then escalate minor incidents into major confrontations. Staff who are unaware of the dynamics of the conflict can be lured into the battle by inadvertently supporting the negative subgroup's counterproductive behavior.
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