Impact of Brief Intervention on Truant Youth Delinquency

• In Event: Exploring Justice for Juveniles: Family Structure, Race, and Delinquency

Abstract

The issue of delinquency among truant youth is insufficiently documented in the literature. There is a need to elucidate this issue, and assess the efficacy of interventions to reduce this problem behavior. The present, NIDA-funded study addressed this gap by examining the impact of a Brief Intervention (BI), originally designed to address youth substance use, on their delinquent behavior over an 18 month follow-up period (for self-reported delinquency) and a 24 month follow-up period (for official record delinquency). A number of significant BI intervention effects with sizable effect sizes were found, as well as a number of marginally significant BI effects. In particular, significant reductions in arrest charges at 24 month follow-up for youth receiving BI services compared to controls are among the key findings of this study. Service delivery implications and directions for future analyses are discussed

Authors

• Richard Dembo, University of South Florida

• Rhissa Briones-Robinson, University of South Florida

• James Schmeidler, Mt. Sinai School of Medicine

• Jennifer Wareham, Wayne State University

• Ken Winters, Winters Consulting Group

• Rocio Ungaro, N/A