Effectiveness of a Modular Cognitive-Behavioral Skills Curriculum in High-Risk Justice-Involved Youth

Abstract

The aim of this study was to evaluate the effectiveness of a flexible modular cognitive-behavioral theory (CBT) skills curriculum delivered by paraprofessionals in a community organization targeting high-risk justice-involved youth. Programmatic data were collected from 980 high-risk young men (M age, 21.12; SD, 2.30), and Cox proportional hazards regression was used. The results showed that compared with young men with no CBT encounters, those with one or more CBT encounters had a 66% (hazard ratio [HR], 0.34; 95% confidence interval [CI], 0.28–0.42; p < 0.001) lower risk of unenrolling from programming, 65% (HR, 1.65; 95% CI, 1.29–2.12; p < 0.001) higher risk of obtaining a job, and no difference in risk of engaging in new criminal activity while enrolled in programming (HR, 0.99; 95% CI, 0.78–1.25; p = 0.918), despite higher risk factors. Training paraprofessionals to deliver CBT skills to high-risk populations is effective and has scalability potential.

Improved emotion regulation following a trauma-informed CBT-based intervention associates with reduced risk for recidivism in justice-involved emerging adults

“…Roca's trauma-informed CBT targets improving emotion and cognitive regulation in challenging circumstances. In line with earlier work using participant data from Roca's intervention model ( 53 ), we found that at-risk emerging adults who participated in the CBT curriculum experienced less distress about employment and education over time. These findings likely relate to the structure, education, and job placement components of the supportive reintegration programming for justice involved youth.…”

“…Utilizing a community-based participatory research framework and intervention mapping, the CBT curriculum was developed through iterative pilot testing and feasibility trials ( 51 ), and a training and coaching program was developed and implemented ( 52 ). The CBT skills curriculum was found to have good feasibility and acceptability among organizational staff and participants ( 51 ), and was effective in increasing youth program enrollment and job obtainment ( 53 ).…”

“…Fourth, based on the naturalistic nature of this study, we did not have information about youth worker assignments (e.g., which youth workers engaged with which individuals and how often). Moreover, it is possible that differences in the training and/or supervision of youth workers could have impacted the effectiveness of the CBT intervention, although previous work has demonstrated the fidelity of the intervention model ( 51 , 53 ). Lastly, given that the study sample included emerging adult males aged 17–24, the study results may have limited generalizability to other populations, such as females and other age groups involved in the juvenile legal system.…”

Accelerating Solutions for the Overdose Crisis: an Effectiveness-Implementation Hybrid Protocol for the HEAL Prevention Cooperative

“…The study leverages the expertise of the research project teams to identify specific factors that might impede adoption and implementation of prevention interventions in real-world practice and potential approaches to overcome them. To fully leverage the lessons learned from the HPC research projects and through this effort, it will be imperative to think innovatively about how to best engage and collaborate with key stakeholders across relevant sectors to overcome barriers, promote integration of effective prevention interventions into their settings, and create communities of healing (Marques et al, 2020).…”

Promising Services for Justice-Involved Youth: A Scoping Review with Implications for the Los Angeles County Juvenile Justice Crime Prevention Act

“…Lancaster et al (2011) found that predominately Latino courtinvolved youth in the treatment group were less likely to reoffend at the two-year follow-up compared with the sample that did not participate in the program, 60 percent of treatment youth compared with 46 percent of youth in the comparison group. The other studies indicated that new charges or offenses posttreatment were not significant in a communitybased setting for justice-involved boys or young men (Bailey and Ballard, 2006;Marques et al, 2020) or for juvenile offenders in a residential placement (Strom et al, 2017).…”