How Meaningful are Brief Interventions? Testing academic outcomes of the CHOICES curriculum

• In Event: CHOICES: Examining Impact of Brief Interventions to Reduce Delinquency

Abstract

The United States reigns as having the largest incarceration rate and the numbers continue to climb annually. In an effort to address the ramifications of high incarceration rates, policymakers have attempted to implement restructured programs that target at-risk youth. In order to prevent future adult offenses and reduce crime and incarceration rates, such preventive programs should be tailored toward cognitive-behavioral decision-making processes for maximum deterrent impact. A prime example of such a program is CHOICES, a decision-making workshop using in middle and high schools to improve decision-making behavior and educate students about long term consequences of their actions. CHOICES is tailored to target educational goals and their correlation with future life opportunities, which is highly related to delinquency outcomes. It was developed in order to illustrate to youth that their dedication to education will produce more opportunities in the future. The underlying goal is to measure how CHOICES impacts students’ academic performance including: grades; disciplinary reports; and, classroom engagement. This research evaluates the efficacy of this brief intervention program in relation to other similar approaches and discusses the ways in which such curriculum could benefit schools.

Authors

• Justine Medrano, University of Texas at Dallas

• Nadine M. Connell, University of Texas at Dallas