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Abstract
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VioLit summary:
OBJECTIVE:
The purpose of this study conducted by Long and Sherer was to investigate the influence of social skills training on locus of control, self-esteem and observed behavior on adolescent offenders.
METHODOLOGY:
The researchers employed a quasi-experimental, cross-sectional, 3x2 factorial design (two subgroups of subjects received three different types of intervention). The subjects in this study were 30 adolescent (aged 13 to 17) male offenders who had been arrested for a variety of offenses including theft, vandalism, and shoplifting. The youths were divided into two groups: low-frequency and high-frequency offenders with the median number of offenses determining where the split was made. The average number of offenses in the low-frequency group was 1.86 and the average in the high-frequency group was 6.15. The youths in these two groups were further divided into three treatment groups with 10 boys in each of the three groups comprised of 5 low-frequency and 5 high-frequency offenders in each. The three treatment groups were the structured social skills training group, the discussion group, and a control group. Data was analyzed for the 27 subjects who completed the study (9 in each group).
The structured social skills training group and the discussion group met for two weekly sessions which each lasted three hours (six hours total meeting time). The structured social skills training group was taught specific social skills through definition, modeling by adults, role plays and feedback, and homework. The social skills taught to this group included active listening, expressing feelings, and avoiding fights.
The youths in the discussion group engaged in informal discussions revolving around issues of interacting with others. Adult trainers described problematic situations (e.g., interacting with parents) and encouraged the youths to express their own feelings and make suggestions for appropriate behavior. There was no role-playing, modeling, or homework in this group. The control group did not meet for weekly sessions and merely kept scheduled appointments with probation officers.
Three different measures were used to measure the dependent variables of locus of control, self-esteem, and observed social skills. The Nowicki-Strickland Locus of Control Scale for children was a well-validated 40-item survey which distinguishes between internally- and externally-oriented children (between children who think their behavior determines their consequences and children who believe the behavior of others determines their consequences). The Total Positive Subscale of the Tennessee Self-Concept Scale was used to measure self-esteem. These two instruments were administered three days prior to treatment, three days after treatment was completed, and again two weeks after the completion of the treatment. A Social Skills Checklist was used to measure ten observable social skills as the youths interacted with their probation officers (e.g., relating to authority figures). Data were analyzed using analysis of variance statistics.
FINDINGS/DISCUSSION:
The authors found no significant relationship between reported self-esteem and type of treatment, frequency of offenses, or passage of time. The researchers did find a significant relationship between type of treatment and frequency of offense and the juvenile offenders locus of control. The low-frequency offenders had a more internal locus of control if they were in the discussion group while the high-frequency offenders had a more internal locus of control if they were in the structured social skills group. The low-frequency offenders rated higher in observed social skills across all treatment groups.
The authors concluded that different types of juvenile offenders respond to different types of treatment. In particular, they concluded that high-frequency offenders benefitted more from structured skills training and that low-frequency offenders benefitted more from more informal discussion groups.
(CSPV Abstract - Copyright © 1992-2007 by the Center for the Study and Prevention of Violence, Institute of Behavioral Science, Regents of the University of Colorado)
Juvenile Offender
Juvenile Development
Juvenile Treatment
Offender Treatment
Prosocial Skills
Social Skills Development
Social Skills Training
Training Program
Juvenile Self-Esteem
Self-Esteem Development
Juvenile Crime
Crime Treatment
Treatment Effectiveness Evaluation
Treatment Program
Program Effectiveness
Program Evaluation
03-05 |