The Long-Term Effects of the Youth Crime Prevention Program “New Perspectives” on Delinquency and Recidivism

New Perspectives (NP) aims to prevent persistent criminal behavior. We examined the long-term effectiveness of NP and whether the effects were moderated by demographic and delinquency factors. At-risk youth aged 12 to 19 years were randomly assigned to the intervention group (NP, n = 47) or care as usual (CAU, n = 54). Official and self-report data were collected to assess recidivism. NP was not more effective in reducing delinquency levels and recidivism than CAU. Also, no moderator effects were found. The overall null effects are discussed, including further research and policy implications

Needs of Youth and Parents From Multi-Problem Families in the Search for Youth-Initiated Mentors

Youth-initiated mentoring is an innovative youth care approach in which youth recruit supportive adults from their social networks as a mentor for youth and a partner for parents and professionals. This qualitative interview study documents what youth (n = 15) and parents (n = 13) from multi-problem families look for in a mentor, what mentors (n = 8) believe they have to offer, and whether what mentors believe to offer matches youth’s and parents’ needs. Youth and parents indicated that a strong connection and trust were most important, or even prerequisites, as youth who were unable to find mentors did not have strong relationships of trust. Youth and parents also voiced preferences for an understanding, sensitive mentor who offered youth perspective by providing support and advice and (according to some) setting rules. What mentors believed to offer matched youth’s and parents’ needs, suggesting that most youth successfully recruited suitable mentors

Components associated with the effect of home visiting programs on child maltreatment: A meta-analytic review

Background: Home visiting programs are widely endorsed for preventing child maltreatment. Yet, knowledge is lacking on what and how individual program components are related to the effectiveness of these programs. Objective: The aim of this meta-analysis was to increase this knowledge by summarizing findings on effects of home visiting programs on child maltreatment and by examining potential moderators of this effect, including a range of program components and delivery techniques. Methods: A literature search yielded 77 studies (N=48,761) examining the effectiveness of home visiting programs, producing 174 effect sizes. In total, 35 different program components and delivery techniques were coded. Results: A small but significant overall effect was found (d=0.135, 95 % CI (0.084, 0.187), p<0.001). Programs that focused on improving parental expectations of the child or parenthood in general (d = 0.308 for programs with this component versus d = 0.112 for programs without this component), programs targeting parental responsiveness or sensitivity to a child's needs (d = 0.238 versus d = 0.064), and programs using video-based feedback (d = 0.397 versus d = 0.124) yielded relatively larger effects. Providing practical and instrumental assistance was ne

A Meta-analysis of Attachment to Parents and Delinquency

To investigate the link between attachment to parents and delinquency, and the potential moderating effects of age and sex, 74 published and unpublished manuscripts (N = 55,537 participants) were subjected to a multilevel meta-analysis. A mean small to moderate effect size was found (r = 0.18). Poor attachment to parents was significantly linked to delinquency in boys and girls. Stronger effect sizes were found for attachment to mothers than attachment to fathers. In addition, stronger effect sizes were found if the child and the parent had the same sex compared to cross-sex pairs of children and parents. Age of the participants moderated the link between attachment and delinquency: larger effect sizes were found in younger than in older participants. It can be concluded that attachment is associated with juvenile delinquency. Attachment could therefore be a target for intervention to reduce or prevent future delinquent behavior in juveniles

Sports Participation and Juvenile Delinquency: A Meta-Analytic Review

Participation in sports activities is very popular among adolescents, and is frequently encouraged among youth. Many psychosocial health benefits in youth are attributed to sports participation, but to what extent this positive influence holds for juvenile delinquency is still not clear on both the theoretical and empirical level. There is much controversy on whether sports participation should be perceived as a protective or a risk factor for the development of juvenile delinquency. A multilevel meta-analysis of 51 published and unpublished studies, with 48 independent samples containing 431 effect sizes and N = 132,366 adolescents, was conducted to examine the relationship between sports participation and juvenile delinquency and possible moderating factors of this association. The results showed that there is no overall significant association between sports participation and juvenile delinquency, indicating that adolescent athletes are neither more nor less delinquent than non-athletes. Some study, sample and sports characteristics significantly moderated the relationship between sports participation and juvenile delinquency. However, this moderating influence was modest. Implications for theory and practice concerning the use of sports to prevent juvenile delinquency are discussed. Keywords Sports participation Juvenile delinquency Multilevel meta-analysis Revie

The association between psychopathy and delinquency in juveniles : A three-level meta-analysis

Background Psychopathy has repeatedly been linked with delinquency and criminal recidivism of adults. With the increase of studies examining psychopathic traits in juveniles, it is important to also study this association in juveniles to increase the effectiveness of preventive interventions for juvenile delinquency. PurposeThe primary aim of the present meta-analysis was to examine the association between psychopathic traits and delinquency in juveniles. The second aim was to examine which factors (i.e., type of delinquency, type of psychopathic trait, and other study- and participant characteristics) moderate the association between psychopathy and juvenile delinquent behavior. MethodThe data were analyzed in three-level meta-analytic models.  Results In total, 87 studies were included, which used 74 independent samples and reported on 358 effect sizes. Psychopathy was moderately and positively associated with juvenile delinquency (r = 0.24, p < .0001). This overall association was not influenced by type of delinquency. However, stronger effect sizes were found for impulsivity traits than for callous unemotional traits.  Conclusion Psychopathy in juveniles is associated with current and future offense behavior. Therefore, assessing psychopathy in juveniles is important for strengthening intervention efforts targeting juvenile delinquency

Prevention of Instability in Foster Care: A Case File Review Study

Background: Stability in foster care is paramount, since it enables children with a history of maltreatment to experience secure attachment relationships, and decreases the risk for behavioral and emotional problems when growing up. Objective: We investigated whether foster care interventions play a role in enhancing foster placement stability, in addition to several characteristics of foster children and foster families. Our hypothesis was that foster children of female gender, relatively young at start of the placement, with less previous foster care placements, staying in kinship care, placed with siblings (if they had any) and in a foster family receiving a training to enhance the foster parents’ knowledge on childhood trauma, an attachment-based video-interaction intervention or Treatment Foster Care, would experience significantly less breakdown in foster care. Method: A multilevel analysis was conducted on data from 2000 foster care placements in a 4 year period (2015–2018), concerning 1316 foster families (35.9% kin) and 1542 foster children (49.4% boys, Mage = 7.54 years). Results: The frequency of previous foster care placements (OR = 3.56) increased the risk for breakdown, and receiving the Basic Trust intervention (OR = 0.26) or Treatment Foster Care (OR = 0.11) decreased that risk. Other investigated variables were unrelated to breakdown when checked for the number of foster placements and the applied interventions. Conclusions: Foster care organizations should systematically monitor important risk factors for breakdown, in order to (timely) intervene if necessary to enhance the chances for continuity of foster care placements. Treatment seems to make a difference