NCJ Number
49231
Date Published
1977
Length
47 pages
Annotation
THIS STUDY INVESTIGATED THE EFFECT OF A FEEDBACK COUNSELING PROCEDURE ON THE RATINGS OF SATISFACTION OF DELINQUENT AND PREDELINQUENT BOYS IN A FAMILY STYLE, BEHAVIOR MODIFICATION TREATMENT PROGRAM.
Abstract
YOUTHS RATED THEIR SATISFACTION REGARDING SEVERAL DIMENSIONS OF THE TREATMENT PROGRAM ON AN EIGHT-ITEM QUESTIONNAIRE, WHICH WAS ADMINISTERED FOUR EVENINGS A WEEK. ON THREE EVENINGS A WEEK THEY GAVE CONFIDENTIAL RATINGS TO AN INDEPENDENT INTERVIEWER WHO WAS NOT INVOLVED IN THE TREATMENT PROGRAM, AND ON THE FOURTH EVENING THEY GAVE THEIR RATINGS TO THE TEACHING-PARENT, WHO WAS THE DIRECTOR OF THE TREATMENT PROGRAM. IN THE FEEDBACK COUNSELING SITUATION THE TEACHING-PARENT AND THE YOUTH DISCUSSED THE YOUTH'S RATINGS OF SATISFACTION. PARTICULAR ATTENTION WAS GIVEN TO ANY LOW RATINGS, AND AN ATTEMPT WAS MADE TO DETERMINE WHAT PROBLEMS WERE RELATED TO SUCH RATINGS. THE TEACHING-PARENT THEN ATTEMPTED TO CORRECT THE PROBLEMS DESCRIBED BY THE YOUTH. IN EXPERIMENT ONE, IT WAS FOUND THAT THE INTRODUCTION OF THE FEEDBACK COUNSELING PROCEDURE INCREASED RATINGS OF SATISFACTION TO LEVELS ABOVE THOSE OBTAINED DURING THE BASELINE NON-COUNSELING CONDITION. IN EXPERIMENT TWO, IT WAS DETERMINED THAT A NONSTRUCTURED COUNSELING CONDITION IN WHICH THE YOUTHS WERE ALLOWED TO DISCUSS ANYTHING THEY WANTED, HAD LESS OF AN EFFECT ON THE RATINGS. UNDER EACH CONDITION THE RATINGS GIVEN CONFIDENTIALLY TO THE INDEPENDENT INTERVIEWER WERE VERY SIMILAR TO THOSE GIVEN TO THE TEACHING-PARENT. THESE RESULTS SUGGEST THAT A COUNSELING TECHNIQUE THAT INVOLVES FEEDBACK TO THE TEACHING-PARENT AND RESPONSIVENESS BY THE TEACHING-PARENTS TO THE DISSATISFACTIONS OF THE YOUTH CAN INCREASE THE YOUTHS' RATINGS OF SATISFACTION ABOUT THE PROGRAM. TABLES OF DATA ARE INCLUDED, AND THE APPENDIX INCLUDES A SAMPLE OF THE QUESTIONNAIRE USED. REFERENCES ARE ALSO PROVIDED. (AUTHOR ABSTRACT MODIFIED)