The results of four studies conducted to measure the effectiveness of Clinical Rehabilitation Support Teams (Project CREST) are summarized. Professional counseling was provided to delinquent youths, as were regular probation services--a dual-treatment model. Studies indicate that clients in the CREST program have consistently shown decreased…

Analyzes paradoxical instruction (prescribing the symptom) and reframing as strategies used to minimize resistance of three delinquent youths during treatment. Results indicated that the intervention produced significant improvements in the clients' school attendance and academic performance which were sustained through subsequent reinforcement.…

This short report provides a brief description of a research project presenting an alternative approach to delinquency treatment. Achievement Place is a family-sized residential treatment home for predelinquent and delinquent youngsters. Six to eight boys, aged 12-16, live in a renovated house located in their own community. A specially trained…

Describes an innovative Youth Services Program, an operational unit of the Dallas Police Department, which has drastically reduced the rearrest/recidivism rate for juvenile offenders. The program teaches three basic skills: physical fitness, interpersonal skills and study skills. (HMV)

Wilderness Alternative for Youth (WAY), conducted by the Pacific Crest Outward Bound School, is a treatment program for adjudicated youth that integrates wilderness or adventure therapy with a community-based component. Participants were 115 boys and girls, aged 13-18, recommended by court counselors and screened for appropriateness by Outward…

Reviews 15 studies using Social Skills Training (SST) with delinquent populations and discusses conceptual and methodological issues. Concludes that findings do not yet provide unequivocal support for the usefulness of SST in reducing criminal behavior of delinquents. (Author/WAS)

Offers a positive perspective on the devolution of delinquency. Examines life experiences involved in delinquency devolution of one former juvenile offender and argues for a less pathological perspective of human behavior. Presents an alternative approach, "Positive Outcomes Research." (Author/JAC)

Describes a study of the influence of social skills training on cognitive and behavioral characteristics of male juvenile offenders. Results revealed a significant main effect for treatment groups on the locus of control measure, with structured social skills training and unstructured discussion groups indicating greater internality than the…

Proceeding on the assumption that humans learn behaviors by imitating the behavior of others, the author is concerned with the appropriate behavioral models needed in dealing with delinquent female adolescents in a group situation. Three potential models are discussed: (1) the group leader or leaders; (2) the group members; and (3) the invited…

An 11-day English back-packing expedition in the Sierra Nevada mountains (Spain) included 4 staff members and 7 youth offenders. The program discouraged criminal behavior and increased the self-esteem of the youth offenders through development of teamwork and a sense of responsibility and commitment to the expedition. (LP)

The relationship to later parole outcome of therapeutic changes made by juvenile delinquents during residential treatment was explored. Subjects (N=823) were all those admitted to two California Youth Authority institutions for boys between August 1969 and March 1971. Change was measured by pretests and posttests with the 14 scales of the Jesness…

With the recognition of a functional relationship between anti-social behavior and the environment in which it occurs, and hence of the appropriateness of environmental intervention, there has been an increasing appeal for the use of behavior modification with criminals and delinquents. This has led to the development of many sound programs in the…

The primary concern of this research was to examine the effect, on the self concept of delinquent male adolescents, of a relationship in which they perceive themselves as helpers to other human beings. A group of 20 delinquents were paired with patients at a mental hospital. A comparable control group was selected. All procedures and measurement…

New Jersey's $1 million Grant Program to Reduce Student Disruption in Schools is intended to provide resources to individual school districts or groups of cooperating districts for developing and implementing programs for chronically disruptive students, and thereby to identify models to make available to other districts throughout the state. Out…

Learning disabled (n=34) and low-achieving (n=34) incarcerated delinquents (16-19 years) were assigned to social metacognitive training, attention control, or test-only control groups. Those given metacognitive training improved in rehabilitation achievement and other areas of social adjustment, with a greater proportion of the learning disabled…