NCJ Number
167139
Journal
Prevention Researcher Volume: 4 Issue: 2 Dated: (Spring 1997) Pages: 1-7
Date Published
1997
Length
7 pages
Annotation
This study reviews and assesses family-based, school-based, and community-based juvenile delinquency prevention programs.
Abstract
Recent research has provided some evidence that prevention programs can prevent juvenile delinquency. There is some evidence that parent training programs can reduce the emergence of child behavioral problems up to 8 years following intervention and that structural family therapy can prevent delinquency; however, these interventions are apparently less successful with high-risk, multiproblem families and families of older children due to problems with recruitment and maintained use of the parenting skills taught. For poorer and minority families, some family support and structured preschool interventions reduced the risk of delinquency many years following intervention. School programs that change teacher behavior and/or school organization seem to improve the school behavior and performance of low achievers, as do social skills and cognitive problem-solving interventions, but the long-term impact of school programs on delinquency has not been established. Community approaches to delinquency prevention are difficult to evaluate and have not been adequately tested. The available literature points toward the importance of integrating the more successful approaches into a comprehensive strategy, rather than expecting any single approach to have a large effect.