Participants Are Male and Female Adolescents 13-16 Years at Risk for Continuing to Commit Criminal Offences.
Conditions
Keywords
multisystemic therapy, RCT, young offenders, U.K.
Brief summary
To evaluate whether Multisystemic Therapy (MST) is more effective in reducing youth offending and out-of-home placement in a large, ethnically diverse, urban U.K. sample than an equally comprehensive management protocol; to determine whether MST leads to broader improvements in youth sociality and in mediators believed to be responsible for change in MST.
Interventions
OTHERYOT (usual services)
Sponsors
The Brandon Centre, London
Study design
Allocation
RANDOMIZED
Intervention model
PARALLEL
Primary purpose
PREVENTION
Masking
SINGLE (Outcomes Assessor)
Eligibility
Sex/Gender
ALL
Age
13 Years to 16 Years
Healthy volunteers
No
Inclusion criteria
* age between 13 and 16 years; * living in the home of and being brought up by a parent or principal caretaker; * on a court referral order for treatment or a supervision order of at least 3 months' duration, or, following imprisonment, on license in the community for at least 6 months.
Exclusion criteria
* being a sex offender; * presented only with substance misuse; * diagnosed with a psychotic illness or posed a risk to trial personnel; * incompatible agency involvement (e.g., ongoing care proceedings).
Design outcomes
Primary
| Measure | Time frame | Description |
|---|---|---|
| Change in offending behavior based on police records of criminal offenses committed | baseline and 6, 12, 18, 24, 30 and 36 months post randomization | The number of records of offending behavior (count data) was obtained, and 6-month periods free of any offending behavior were also recorded (binary data). Records were obtained from the National Young Offender Information System (YOIS) database. YOIS records detail offence information, court appearances, criminal orders, police custody records, and arrest rates. |
Secondary
| Measure | Time frame | Description |
|---|---|---|
| self- and parent-rated symptoms of antisocial behavior, delinquency-linked cognitions, personality functioning, and parenting variables | baseline and 6 months after randomization | Antisocial behavior was assessed using the Self-Report of Youth Behavior (SRYB), a brief, valid measure of the prevalence and incidence in pre-adolescent and adolescent children of delinquent behavior such as vandalism, theft, burglary, and fraud; and the delinquency and aggression subscales of the Youth Self-Report (YSR) and the parent-completed Child Behavior Checklist (CBCL). |
Other
| Measure | Time frame |
|---|---|
| Antisocial Beliefs and Attitudes Scale (ABAS) | Baseline and 6 months after randomization |
| Antisocial Process Screening Device (APSD) | Baseline and 6 months after randomization |
| Measure of youth's involvement with delinquent peers (IDP) | Baseline and 6 months after randomization |
| Measure of Positive Parenting and Disciplinary Practices, Parent Monitoring and Supervision | Baseline and 6 months after randomization |
Countries
United Kingdom
Outcome results
None listed