Date of Award

Spring 6-13-2026

Document Type

Undergraduate Honors Thesis

Degree Name

B.A. in Psychology, Socio-Legal Studies

Organizational Unit

Sociology and Criminology, College of Arts Humanities and Social Sciences

First Advisor

Calli Cain

Second Advisor

Michael Gibson-Light

Third Advisor

Amie Levesque

Copyright Statement / License for Reuse

All Rights Reserved
All Rights Reserved.

Keywords

Troubled teen industry, Adolescent mental health, Content analysis, Government oversight

Abstract

This project seeks to understand the role of the Utah Office of Licensing in regulating and preventing harm in the troubled teen industry, which consists of private, for-profit behavior modification and residential treatment facilities. It provides insight into the regulation of the troubled teen industry by completing a content analysis of the Utah Office of Licensing records, which includes incidents of abuse, neglect, and other harmful treatment of adolescents in residential care. The results of this study can help improve regulatory structures, protect the rights of children, and prevent government funds from being used to harm young people.

Copyright Date

6-2-2026

Publication Statement

Copyright is held by the author. This work may only be accessed by members of the University of Denver community. The work is provided by permission of the author for individual research purposes only and may not be further copied or distributed. User is responsible for all copyright compliance.

Rights Holder

Amanda McKellips

Provenance

Received from Author

File Format

application/pdf

Language

English (eng)

Extent

29 pgs

File Size

257 KB

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