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 A multilevel meta-analysis of 51 published and unpublished studies, with 48 independent samples containing 431 effect sizes and N = 132,366 adolescents, was conducted to examine the relationship between sports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 Influence of Treatment Motivation on Outcomes of Social Skills Training for Juvenile Delinquents

This study examined the influence of treatment motivation on posttreatment effectiveness of an outpatient, individual social skills training for juvenile delinquents imposed as a penal sanction. Propensity score matching was used to match a control group of juveniles receiving treatment as usual (n = 108 of total N = 354) to a treatment group of juveniles receiving Tools4U, a social skills training with a parental component (N = 115). Treatment motivation was examined as a moderator and predictor of treatment effects on impulsivity, social perspective-taking, social problem-solving, lack of critical reasoning, developmental task-related skills, and parenting skills. Treatment effects were mostly consistent across juveniles with different levels of treatment motivation. Only one moderating effect was found on active tackling (i.e., actively addressing problems), and predictive effects were found on seeking social support, cognitive empathy, hostile intent attribution, and self-centeredness. Implications for further research are discussed

Social Skills Training (SST) Effects on Social Information Processing Skills in Juvenile Delinquents : Affective Empathy as Predictor or Moderator

Objectives: To examine the influence of affective empathy on post-treatment effects on social information processing of an outpatient individual social skills training for justice-involved adolescents. Methods: The sample consisted of juveniles who received Tools4U, a social skills training with a parental component, as a penal sanction (N = 115). Propensity score matching was used to select a control group of juveniles receiving treatment as usual (TAU) of n = 108 juveniles (of a total N = 354). Affective empathy was examined as a moderator and predictor of treatment effects on social information processing skills: hostile intent attribution and cognitive distortions. Results: Empathy only influenced treatment effects on hostile intent attribution, and not on any of the other social information processing skills (i.e., cognitive distortions). Tools4U was only effective in improving hostile intent attribution for juveniles with moderate or high affective empathy and not for juveniles with low empathy. No moderating or predictive effects were found for cognitive distortions. Conclusions: Affective empathy only influenced (Tools4U) treatment effects on hostile intent attribution: a minimum level of empathy may be required to decrease hostile intent attribution in treatment. The intervention proved to be effective in decreasing cognitive distortions (i.e., self-centering, assuming the worst), regardless of affective empathy level. Future studies should investigate and refine the complex interaction of affective empathy with other factors and treatment changes, particularly for long-term effects on delinquency

The added value of targeting specific risk factors for child maltreatment in an evidence-based home visitation program: A Repeated Single-Case Time Series study

The effects of home visiting programs to reduce child maltreatment are generally limited and warrant improvement. The present study, therefore, examined whether the effectiveness of a home visitation program in the Netherlands can be improved by adding specific intervention components targeting important risk factors for child maltreatment, namely parental stress, parental anger, and PTSD symptoms. Using a single-case experimental design, nine mothers were assessed weekly during 36 weeks of the Dutch home visiting program VoorZorg, comparing baseline, treatment (i.e., phase with added intervention components), and follow-up. Outcome effects were examined using statistical analyses on a group level and combining statistical and visual analyses on a case level for primary outcomes: perceived stress, parental anger, and PTSD symptoms, and secondary outcomes: risk of child maltreatment and parental sense of competence. As a group, mothers showed a reduction of anger in response to the additional components. No group effects were found for other outcomes. At an individual level, three mothers showed only positive effects, four mothers showed no intervention effects, and two mothers showed mixed effects (i.e., positive on some outcomes and negative on other). Consequently, the component targeting parental anger seems promising, because it can easily be implemented, but it is important to prevent any possible detrimental effects. Effects of the component targeting stress depended on the use of relaxation exercises, and therefore this component should be expanded in such a way that it is more feasible for mothers to implement it

Social skills training (SST) effects on social information processing skills in justice-involved adolescents: Affective empathy as predictor or moderator

Objectives: To examine the influence of affective empathy on post-treatment effects on social information processing of an outpatient individual social skills training for justice-involved adolescents. Methods: The sample consisted of juveniles who received Tools4U, a social skills training with a parental component, as a penal sanction (N = 115). Propensity score matching was used to select a control group of juveniles receiving treatment as usual (TAU) of n = 108 juveniles (of a total N = 354). Affective empathy was examined as a moderator and predictor of treatment effects on social information processing skills: hostile intent attribution and cognitive distortions. Results: Empathy only influenced treatment effects on hostile intent attribution, and not on any of the other social information processing skills (i.e., cognitive distortions). Tools4U was only effective in improving hostile intent attribution for juveniles with moderate or high affective empathy and not for juveniles with low empathy. No moderating or predictive effects were found for cognitive distortions. Conclusions: Affective empathy only influenced (Tools4U) treatment effects on hostile intent attribution: a minimum level of empathy may be required to decrease hostile intent attribution in treatment. The intervention proved to be effective in decreasing cognitive distortions (i.e., self-centering, assuming the worst), regardless of affective empathy level. Future studies should investigate and refine the complex interaction of affective empathy with other factors and treatment changes, particularly for long-term effects on delinquency

The Influence of Treatment Motivation on Outcomes of Social Skills Training for Juvenile Delinquents

This study examined the influence of treatment motivation on posttreatment effectiveness of an outpatient, individual social skills training for juvenile delinquents imposed as a penal sanction. Propensity score matching was used to match a control group of juveniles receiving treatment as usual (n = 108 of total N = 354) to a treatment group of juveniles receiving Tools4U, a social skills training with a parental component (N = 115). Treatment motivation was examined as a moderator and predictor of treatment effects on impulsivity, social perspective-taking, social problem-solving, lack of critical reasoning, developmental task-related skills, and parenting skills. Treatment effects were mostly consistent across juveniles with different levels of treatment motivation. Only one moderating effect was found on active tackling (i.e., actively addressing problems), and predictive effects were found on seeking social support, cognitive empathy, hostile intent attribution, and self-centeredness. Implications for further research are discussed

Follow-up of a social skills training (SST) for juvenile delinquents:effects on reoffending

Objectives: To examine (1) the long-term effects on reoffending of an individual SST for juvenile delinquents in The Netherlands and (2) whether effects differ by demographic and offense history characteristics.  Methods: The present study is a follow-up of a matched control study comparing post-treatment effects of N = 115 juveniles receiving Tools4U, an SST with a parental component, to N = 108 control group juveniles receiving treatment as usual (TAU). Analyses were conducted separately for delinquents and truants. Effects in terms of recidivism were assessed using official delinquency data after 6 and 12 months and 1.46 years after SST termination. Percentage of recidivists, number of re-arrests, and violent recidivism were outcome variables.  Results: Overall, 39% of the juveniles reoffended, and there were no differences between Tools4U and TAU on any of the selected recidivism outcomes. Additionally, demographic and delinquency characteristics and post-treatment effects did not moderate effectiveness.  Conclusions: Tools4U was not more effective than TAU in preventing recidivism, which may be explained by a generally low percentage of recidivists. With established treatment integrity, and a lack of well-researched effective treatment alternatives, Tools4U could still be a reasonable treatment option for adolescent onset juvenile offenders, although more research is needed to confirm this

The effectiveness of Multisystemic Therapy (MST) : A meta-analysis

Multisystemic Therapy (MST) is a well-established intervention for juvenile delinquents and/or adolescents showing social, emotional and behavioral problems. A multilevel meta-analysis of k = 22 studies, containing 332 effect sizes, consisting of N = 4066 juveniles, was conducted to examine the effectiveness of MST. Small but significant treatment effects were found on delinquency (primary outcome) and psychopathology, substance use, family factors, out-of-home placement and peer factors, whereas no significant treatment effect was found for skills and cognitions. Moderator analyses showed that study characteristics (country where the research was conducted, efficacy versus effectiveness, and study quality), treatment characteristics (single versus multiple control treatments and duration of MST treatment), sample characteristics (target population, age, gender and ethnicity) and outcome characteristics (non-specific versus violent/non-violent offending, correction for pretreatment differences, and informant type) moderated the effectiveness of MST. MST seems most effective with juveniles under the age of 15, with severe starting conditions. Furthermore, the effectiveness of MST may be improved when treatment for older juveniles is focused more on peer relationships and risks and protective factors in the school domain. (C) 2014 Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved

The Added Value of Targeting Specific Risk Factors for Child Maltreatment within an Evidence-Based Home Visitation Program: A Repeated Single-Case Time Series Study

This study tests whether the effects of an evidence-based nurse home visitation program to reduce child maltreatment (i.e. VoorZorg [precaution/for care/before care]; see e.g. Mejdoubi et al., 2013; Mejdoubi et al., 2015) can be improved by adding discrete treatment components targeting three key risk factors for child maltreatment (Assink et al., 2016): parental stress, parental anger, and post-traumatic stress symptoms. A multiple baseline repeated single-case time series design was used to test whether including these components leads to a stronger reduction, compared to the evidence-based home visitation program alone, in the targeted risk factors. However, after data collection had finished, the nurses’ registrations showed that the actual execution of the additional treatment components was often not (timed) exactly in line with baseline length assignment. We therefore decided to analyse the data as in a repeated single-case time series study, that is, we examine the outcomes “as treated”, based on the actual execution of the treatment components, and not based on the original baseline assignment

Follow-up of a social skills training (SST) for juvenile delinquents: effects on reoffending

Objectives To examine (1) the long-term effects on reoffending of an individual SST for juvenile delinquents in The Netherlands and (2) whether effects differ by demographic and offense history characteristics. Methods The present study is a follow-up of a matched control study comparing post-treatment effects of N = 115 juveniles receiving Tools4U, an SST with a parental component, to N = 108 control group juveniles receiving treatment as usual (TAU). Analyses were conducted separately for delinquents and truants. Effects in terms of recidivism were assessed using official delinquency data after 6 and 12 months and 1.46 years after SST termination. Percentage of recidivists, number of re-arrests, and violent recidivism were outcome variables. Results Overall, 39% of the juveniles reoffended, and there were no differences between Tools4U and TAU on any of the selected recidivism outcomes. Additionally, demographic and delinquency characteristics and post-treatment effects did not moderate effectiveness. Conclusions Tools4U was not more effective than TAU in preventing recidivism, which may be explained by a generally low percentage of recidivists. With established treatment integrity, and a lack of well-researched effective treatment alternatives, Tools4U could still be a reasonable treatment option for adolescent onset juvenile offenders, although more research is needed to confirm this