An independent effectiveness trial of multisystemic therapy with juvenile justice youth

This study examines the effectiveness of an evidence-based practice, multisystemic therapy (MST), conducted in a real-world mental health setting with juvenile justice involved youth and their families. Importantly, this is the first randomized clinical trial of MST with juvenile offenders in the United States conducted without direct oversight by the model developers. This study reports outcomes achieved for 93 youth randomly assigned to MST or treatment as usual (TAU) services through 18-month follow-up posttreatment for offense data and 6-month follow-up posttreatment for ratings of the Child and Adolescent Functional Assessment Scale (CAFAS). Outcomes include significant reduction in rearrest and improvement in 4 areas of functioning measured by the CAFAS for youth who received MST. Implications for delivery of empirically supported treatments in real-world settings are discussed.