th a 12 to 17 year-old adolescent offenders. Of this 200 families, all participated in pretreatment assessments; 176 agreed to participate in treatment and were randomly assigned to MST or IT.
The study findings were consistent with the previous results of MST use for treatment of inner-city and rural area juvenile offenders and juvenile sexual offenders; MST prevented criminal activity in serious juvenile offenders.
Falsification principles were not formally utilized since there was no hypothesis and therefore no null hypothesis to prove false.
New data for this study included that which was related to positive long-term results of MST, compared to IT.
Variables for the study included the independent variable of treatment (MST and IT) and dependent or outcome variables related to instrumental goals (improved individual adjustment of adolescent and parent, improved family relations, and improved relations with peers) and ultimate goals (decreases in rate and seriousness of adolescent criminal activity.
The treatment intervention for this study was MST, which is an approach to the treatment and prevention of behavior problems in adolescents and children. MST is present-focused and action-oriented. It directly addresses intrapersonal (cognitive) and systemic (family, school, peer) factors which are linked with adolescent antisocial behavior. MST is flexible and individualized. This was compared with IT which focused on personal, family, and academic issues. Theoretical orientations for IT were eclectic.
Changes in the sample due to MST were that participants improved regarding key family correlates of antisocial behavior and adjustment problems in family members were ameliorated. Rearrest data showed that MST also resulted in less criminal behavior and violent offending.
Measures used for this study included the Symptom Checklist-90-Revised, the Global Severity Index, the Revised Behavior Problem Checklist, The...