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Adolescents in therapeutic communities
1Department of Applied Social Science, Concordia University, Montreal, Quebec, Canada.
Adolescence
|April 1, 1996
Summary
This study compared two adolescent residential treatment programs, finding similar improvement rates for both. Future research should explore commonalities across models rather than focusing solely on differences in conduct disorder treatment.
Area of Science:
- Psychology
- Psychiatry
- Social Work
Background:
- Conduct-disordered adolescents often require intensive residential treatment.
- Comparative studies on different residential treatment models are scarce.
- Therapeutic Community and Token Economy are distinct treatment approaches.
Purpose of the Study:
- To compare the effectiveness of a Therapeutic Community versus a modified Token Economy program for conduct-disordered adolescents.
- To analyze the course of change in clients undergoing these two distinct residential treatments.
- To identify factors differentiating treatment dropouts from non-dropouts.
Main Methods:
- A repeated measures design was employed to assess 28 clients.
- Data were collected at three points during the treatment process.
- Multiple outcome measures were utilized to evaluate client progress.
Main Results:
- Both treatment groups showed an overall trend toward improvement.
- No significant differences were found in the rates of progress between the two programs.
- Client dropouts were minimally distinguished by baseline scores and family contact frequency.
Conclusions:
- Comparative effectiveness between these two residential models for conduct-disordered youth is limited.
- Investigating common elements across different treatment modalities may be more beneficial.
- Qualitative research is needed to understand client-treatment interactions in residential settings.