Comparing Treatment Modalities For Juvenile Delinquency

Abstract

Juvenile delinquency has improved by 65 percent from 1980 through 2016. The criminal justice system has explored various means of treating juvenile delinquents over the years to improve recidivism rates and to give youth a rewarding adult life. Most juvenile delinquency programs use a Usual Community Service (UCS) treatment method while the youth are incarcerated or immediately after release. UCS uses cognitive behavioral therapy (CBT) techniques to help the juvenile link their thoughts and behaviors. While Short-term Behavioral Therapy did not take off with the public or juvenile justice system, Multisystemic Therapy (MST) has showed progress in reducing recidivism of juvenile offenders. Studies have found that engaging the family in the treatment process has contributed to the reduced recidivism rates. For example, participants that enrolled in the UCS treatment modality had an increased recidivism rate of 75 percent while 29.2 percent of the group members from the MST recidivated within a year. At the end of a longitudinal study (8.9 years), researchers found that juveniles who received UCS treatment re-offended with a sex crime 45.8 percent and 58.3 percent re-offended for non-sexual crimes. After incarceration, 24 families participated in the MST treatment model. After a year, 8.3 percent re-offended for a sex crime and 29.2 percent re-offended with a non-sexual crime. Therefore, a family-based therapy model is salient to reduce recidivism compared to CBT based. This paper employs a meta-analysis and statistical analysis of seminal knowledge and law enforcement reports to construct the importance of effective therapeutic treatments by comparing treatment modalities for juvenile delinquents. Keywords: Juvenile Delinquency, Youth, Usual Community Service, Short-term Behavioral, Therapy, Systems Theory, Multisystemic Therapy, Recidivism, Antisocial Behavior