Improving the livelihoods of justice-involved youth: Study protocol for a replication and extension of Functional...

This study will evaluate Functional Family Therapy-Gangs (FFT-G), an extension of a family-based therapeutic intervention-Functional Family Therapy (FFT)-designed to help troubled youth exhibiting mild to severe behavior problems overcome delinquency, substance abuse, and violence. FFT-G, however, addresses risk factors that are typically more salient among gang than delinquent populations. A randomized control trial with adjudicated youth in Philadelphia revealed reductions in recidivism over an 18-month period. The purposes of this paper are to outline the protocol for replicating FFT-G in the Denver metropolitan area, document the design and challenges of the prospective research, and promote transparency.

As a condition of pre-trial or probation supervision, 400 youth/caregiver dyads will be randomly assigned to FFT-G or a treatment-as-usual control group. Preregistered confirmatory outcomes include recidivism (i.e., criminal/delinquent charges and adjudications/convictions) measured using official records (Open Science Framework: https://osf.io/abyfs). Secondary outcomes include measures of gang embeddedness, non-violent and violent recidivism, and substance use measured using interview-based surveys and arrest, revocation, incarceration, and crime type indicators of recidivism from official records. Exploratory mediation and moderation analyses are also planned. Intent-to-treat regression analyses will estimate intervention effects 18 months post-randomization.

This study will contribute to advancing high-quality evidence-based knowledge on gang interventions for which there are few known effective responses.