Home-Based Services For Troubled Children by Ira M.Schwartz & Philip AuClaire

Author:Ira M.Schwartz & Philip AuClaire [M.Schwartz, Ira: AuClaire, Philip]
Language: eng
Format: epub
ISBN: 978-0-8032-4217-3
Publisher: University of Nebraska Press
Published: 2015-08-15T00:00:00+00:00

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Multisystemic Treatment of Serious Juvenile Offenders and Their Families

Scott W. Henggeler and Charles M. Borduin

Multisystemic therapy (Henggeler & Borduin, 1990) is a family-based therapeutic approach that has been viewed as a highly promising treatment for complex psychosocial problems in children and adolescents (see Culbertson, 1990; Miller & Prinz, 1990). This chapter discusses the application of multisystemic therapy to the treatment of serious juvenile offenders and their multiproblem families. In our discussion, we address the empirical rationale for the application of this particular therapy as well as the clinical features of multisystemic therapy that make it especially well suited for treating antisocial behavior in adolescents. More specifically, we address the following issues: (1) we show that serious juvenile offenders experience numerous psychosocial difficulties and present significant problems to their communities and that there is a dire need to develop effective interventions for such offenders and their families; (2) we show that there are multiple correlates and causes of delinquency and that the key correlates pertain to characteristics of the social systems (i.e., family, peers, school) in which these offenders are involved; (3) we argue that the identified correlates of delinquency are consistent with a social-ecological model of behavior, which represents the theoretical foundation of multisystemic therapy; (4) we summarize findings from controlled evaluations of multisystemic therapy and argue that the efficacy of multisystemic therapy is largely due to its consideration of the multiple factors associated with delinquency; and (5) we provide a brief description of the clinical features of multisystemic therapy and delineate nine principles for designing multisystemic interventions.

Seriousness of the Problem

Chronic and violent criminal activity by adolescents presents significant problems at several levels of analysis, and these problems argue for the development of effective treatment approaches. On a personal level, adolescents who commit serious criminal offenses experience numerous psychosocial difficulties as well as reduced educational and occupational opportunities. Moreover, serious criminal activity by adolescents has extremely detrimental emotional, physical, and economic effects on victims, victims’ families, and the larger community (Gottfredson, 1989). Therefore, effective treatment may not only benefit the youth and his or her family, but may also save numerous persons from victimization.

On an epidemiological level, adolescents, especially males, commit higher rates of most criminal acts than any other age group. For example, males under the age of 19 years accounted for approximately 20% of all arrests for violent crimes in 1989 (Federal Bureau of Investigation, 1990). Because the offense/arrest ratio for male adolescents is extremely high for crimes such as aggravated assault, robbery, and rape (Elliott, Huizinga, & Morse, 1985), arrest statistics grossly underestimate the prevalence of adolescent criminal activity. In addition, a relatively small percentage of families account for a large percentage of crime in a community (West & Farrington, 1973; Wolfgang, Figlio, & Sellin, 1972). Thus, if one purpose of treating juvenile offenders is to decrease crime, then serious juvenile offenders and their multiproblem families are a logical target for intervention efforts.

On a social services level, conduct-disordered adolescents consume much of the resources of all the youth service systems (child mental health, child welfare, juvenile justice, and special education).

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