Highlighted Articles
Two current review articles
Henggeler, S. W. (2016). Community-based interventions for
juvenile offenders. In K. Heilbrun, D. Dematteo, &
N. Goldstein (Eds.), APA handbook of psychology and
juvenile justice (pp. 575-595). Washington, DC: APA
Press.
Henggeler, S. W., & Schaeffer, C. M. (2016). Multisystemic
therapy: Clinical overview, outcomes, and
implementation research. Family Process, 55, 514-528.
Presented by Scott W. Henggeler, Ph.D.
October 5, 2016
Henggeler (2016)
Confinement
Although the number of youths in residential facilities has
decreased substantially, their profile has not changed:
•  37% for crimes against persons
•  24% for property crimes
•  20% for status offenses or technical violations
Costs of Confinement
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Iatrogenic effects on youth mental health
Decreased educational and employment outcomes
Disrupted family and relationships
High recidivism rates
Financially wasteful
Community-Based Services within
the Juvenile Justice System
JJ Processing (e.g., probation)
•  Penetration into the juvenile justice system does
not, in general, seem to be associated with positive
juvenile outcomes.
•  More favorable outcomes are associated with familybased interventions that are well specified and well
implemented.
Gatti, Tremblay, & Vitaro (2009): intervention by the
juvenile justice system has overall iatrogenic effects and
its negative impact increases as the type of intervention
becomes more intensive and restrictive.
Evidence-Based Treatments
Implemented with Support
of the Juvenile Justice System
Blueprints for Violence Prevention Criteria
for Model Programs
•  Strong evidence of effectiveness
•  Sustained effectiveness for at least a year
•  Capacity for dissemination to community
settings with fidelity
Evidence-Based Treatments
Implemented with Support of the
Juvenile Justice System (continued)
Only 3 Treatments Meet These Criteria
•  MST
•  FFT
•  MTFC
MST – FFT - MTFC
MST
•  20 controlled evaluations published (see Table 26.1), including 8 by
independent investigators
•  Median reduction in rearrest was 39%
•  Median reduction in out-of-home placement was 53%
•  Outcomes sustained for as long as 25 years
•  Treatment adherence associated with more favorable youth
outcomes
FFT
•  7 controlled evaluations published (see Table 26.2), including 4 by
independent investigators
•  Treatment adherence associated with more favorable youth
outcomes
MTFC
•  4 controlled evaluations published (see Table 26.3), including 1 by
independent investigators
Together, These Models Evaluated
in More Than 30 Studies
•  Vast majority observed significant treatment
effects
•  Many were conducted in community settings
•  Vast majority demonstrated decreases in
rearrest and confinement
•  Studies often showed improvements in youth
and family functioning – decreased symptoms,
improved parenting, less association with
delinquent peers, improved school performance
and attendance
Bases of Their Success
•  Family as the primary change agent
•  A social-ecological theoretical and clinical
perspective taken
•  Interventions are delivered in community
settings
•  Interventions are behavioral, individualized,
and comprehensive
•  Quality assurance is used to promote treatment
fidelity and youth outcomes
Henggeler & Schaeffer (2016)
Family Process
•  Provides up-to-date overview of MST clinical procedures,
quality assurance, and research
•  55 outcome and implementation studies have been
published yielding more than 100 peer-reviewed journal
articles
•  Sections devoted to effectiveness studies, international
replications, American replications, substance abusing
juvenile offenders, juvenile sex offenders, adaptations,
mediators and moderators, and implementation research.
•  The implementation research strongly supports the
importance of the MST quality assurance protocols.
Questions
Presenter Contact
Information
Scott Henggeler, Ph.D.
Professor
Medical University of South Carolina
[email protected]