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Abstract
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Thirty randomly selected juvenile delinquents receiving a dual treatment approach of community outreach counseling services (Project CREST) and probationary supervision were compared over a 6-month period with a control group of 34 delinquents receiving only probationary supervision. The CREST group demonstrated significant improvements over the control group on total acts of misconduct (p less than .05) and monthly misconduct rates (p less than .025). These findings are discussed in light of previous evaluations of the CREST model.
VioLit summary:
OBJECTIVE:
The goal of this article by Lee and Haynes was to analyze the results of an experimental evaluation of Project CREST, a community counseling program for juvenile delinquents.
METHODOLOGY:
An experimental design was used for this study. Juvenile delinquents, referred by the Florida Division of Youth Services, were randomly assigned to either a treatment group or a control group. There were 64 subjects; 30 were in the treatment group, and 34 were in the control group. The treatment group received counseling services and probationary supervision. It was reported that the counseling was confidential, professional, and community-based. The counseling program used graduate students from counseling and related fields. The control group received only the probationary supervision. Data from the treatment period and an equivalent number of months of a "baseline" period were analyzed. The study compared differences in the total acts of misconduct and the monthly rates of misconduct between the two groups. A one-tailed t-test was used to assess the significance of the differences.
FINDINGS/DISCUSSION:
The group receiving treatment had positive results in both total acts of misconduct and monthly rates of misconduct. The total acts of misconduct fell 79% for the CREST group while they decreased only 4% for the control group (p<.05). For the treatment group, monthly rates of misconduct decreased 82%, yet for the control group the rates increased 29% (p<.025). These results were reported to be significant. This study found the same results as three other studies the authors have done on this treatment program. All of the studies, using various sampling techniques and measures, have found that the CREST intervention program has reduced acts of misconduct by juvenile delinquents and produced positive personality changes. The authors argued that this reduction and change have saved communities an enormous amount in both emotional and financial terms.
AUTHORS' RECOMMENDATIONS:
The authors recognized two problems with this study and stated that future research should attempt to correct these limitations. They argued that the short experimental time period was problematic and should be extended. Secondly, there was a demographic imbalance in the study. The treatment group had more female and younger subjects and the control group had more subjects who had been to training school. The authors recommended that these imbalances be corrected in the future.
(CSPV Abstract - Copyright © 1992-2007 by the Center for the Study and Prevention of Violence, Institute of Behavioral Science, Regents of the University of Colorado)
Florida
Juvenile Offender
Juvenile Delinquency
Juvenile Treatment
Community Based
Delinquency Treatment
Treatment Program
Program Evaluation
Offender Treatment
Offender Counseling
Language: en |