Impact on Behavioral Training Upon the Knowledge and Effectiveness of Juvenile Probation Officers and Volunteers

• NCJ Number: 89466
• Journal: Journal of Community Psychology Volume: 10 Dated: (1982) Pages: 133-141
• Author(s): G Wood; L Green; B H Bry
• Date Published: 1982
• Length: 9 pages
• Publication Format: Article
• Publication Type: Thesis/Dissertation
• Language: English
• Country: United States of America
• Note: *This document is currently unavailable from NCJRS. This research was conducted as a partial fulfillment of the requirements for the doctoral dissertation at Rutgers University for the first author.

Annotation

This paper examined the feasibility of studying the effects of behavioral training for probation workers upon both the workers and their probationers by randomly assigning 10 probation officers and volunteers to a training group and a control group.

Abstract

Pre- and posttests were administered to assess the knowledge and competence of the probation workers, various kinds of problem behaviors that workers and parents observed in delinquent youth, and various kinds of problem behaviors that the youth observed in themselves. The training included both didactic and experiential elements. The behavioral training significantly improved the knowledge and the competence of probation workers and parents. No evidence was found that the workers' behavioral training affected the number of problem behaviors that the youth observed in themselves. The difficulties of conducting the study are discussed, along with recommendations for addressing these problems in future research. Footnotes, study data, 2 reference notes, and 18 references are supplied. (Author abstract modified)