NCJ Number
72124
Date Published
1977
Length
159 pages
Annotation
This study was designed to determine the effects of an experimental psychosocial delivery model in the outpatient treatment of 20 male youthful offenders aged 13 to 18 who were on probation.
Abstract
All subjects were found by a juvenile court to have committed a criminal violation, and were placed on probation with the special condition that they receive mental health services. The subjects had been referred to the Bangor Counseling Center's Outpatient Department (Bangor, Maine) by their probation officers, and were randomly assigned to either one of three control groups for traditional counseling or to the experimental group for counseling under the psychosocial model. A total of 10 control subjects divided among 3 control groups were compared to 10 experimental subjects in 1 experimental group. Four male counselors and three probation officers also participated. All subjects were given the Tennessee Self-Concept Scale and Lorr's Inventory of Client Perceptions, Forms T and P, before counseling began and after completion of several counseling sessions. The methodology was designed to measure changes in the subjects' self-concepts and perceptions of the counselors and probation officers. Analyses of the data revealed no significant differences between the experimental and control groups on any of the dependent variables when the subjects received a maximum of five counseling sessions. Although no significant differences were found between experimental and control subjects receiving 6 to 10 counseling sessions on the Tennessee Self-Concept Scale, significant differences were noted for these subjects in several of the factors in Lorr's Inventory of Client Perceptions. The experimental group, which received counseling under the psychosocial model, perceived the counselor as significantly more accepting and less hostile than the control group perceived the counselor. The probation officer was also perceived in this same way by each group. The study concluded that the data indicated that the youthful offfenders' self-concept rating was not significantly affected by the experimental psychosocial treatment model but that subjects' perceptions of the counselor and probation officer was significantly affected by the psychosocial model. Ten tables and a bibliography of approximately 130 references are provided. A copy of the research consent form and study instruments are appended. (Author abstract modified)