ABSTRACT
The transportability of Multisystemic Therapy (MST) for the treatment of juvenile offenders in a community-based context was examined in the current study. Results of this New Zealand study showed that significant pre- to posttreatment improvements occurred on most indicators of ultimate (i.e., offending behavior) and instrumental (i.e., youth compliance, family relations) treatment outcomes. Reductions in offending frequency and severity continued to improve across the 6- and 12-month follow-up intervals. In comparison to benchmarked studies, the current study demonstrated a more successful treatment completion rate. Additionally, overall treatment effect sizes were found to be clinically equivalent with the results of previous MST outcome studies with juvenile offenders and significantly greater than the effect sizes found in the control conditions. The findings of this evaluation add to the growing body of evidence that supports MST as an effective treatment for antisocial youth.
Subject(s)
Benchmarking/methods , Conduct Disorder/therapy , Family Therapy/methods , Juvenile Delinquency/rehabilitation , Adolescent , Adolescent Behavior , Benchmarking/statistics & numerical data , Child , Family Relations , Family Therapy/statistics & numerical data , Female , Follow-Up Studies , Humans , Internal-External Control , Juvenile Delinquency/prevention & control , Juvenile Delinquency/statistics & numerical data , Male , New Zealand , Patient Satisfaction , Program Evaluation/methods , Severity of Illness Index , Treatment OutcomeABSTRACT
A randomized clinical trial evaluated the efficacy of multisystemic therapy (MST) versus usual community services (UCS) for 48 juvenile sexual offenders at high risk of committing additional serious crimes. Results from multiagent assessment batteries conducted before and after treatment showed that MST was more effective than UCS in improving key family, peer, and academic correlates of juvenile sexual offending and in ameliorating adjustment problems in individual family members. Moreover, results from an 8.9-year follow-up of rearrest and incarceration data (obtained when participants were on average 22.9 years of age) showed that MST participants had lower recidivism rates than did UCS participants for sexual (8% vs. 46%, respectively) and nonsexual (29% vs. 58%, respectively) crimes. In addition, MST participants had 70% fewer arrests for all crimes and spent 80% fewer days confined in detention facilities than did their counterparts who received UCS. The clinical and policy implications of these findings are discussed.
Subject(s)
Antisocial Personality Disorder/epidemiology , Antisocial Personality Disorder/therapy , Cognitive Behavioral Therapy/methods , Counseling , Family Therapy/methods , Juvenile Delinquency/statistics & numerical data , Paraphilic Disorders/epidemiology , Paraphilic Disorders/therapy , Sex Offenses/statistics & numerical data , Social Environment , Adolescent , Combined Modality Therapy , Female , Humans , Male , Peer Group , Professional-Family RelationsABSTRACT
The purpose of this article is to consider, through the lenses of theory and research on technology transfer and the adoption and implementation of innovation, the international transport of evidence-based psychosocial treatments for youth, using Multisystemic Therapy (MST) as an example. MST is a well-validated family and community-based approach originally developed in the United States to treat serious juvenile offenders. This article describes challenges to MST transport internationally by virtue of the political, legal, economic, and cultural contexts in different nations. Modifications used to address these challenges and facilitate the international implementation of MST are described and pertain to pre-implementation processes, clinical staff, training materials and procedures, and clinical service delivery.
