Summary: | The study compared the relative effectiveness of two types of residential treatment in reducing the subsequent offending of delinquent boys. It was undertaken in two house-units of an approved school in the West of England which admitted delinquent boys between the ages of 13-15 on entry. Under comparison were a therapeutic community (the Experimental or E House), and a traditional regime (the Control or C House) which emphasised training rather than treatment as a means of rehabilitating young offenders. A controlled trial design was used, boys considered eligible for treatment being randomly allocated between the E and C Houses. Boys entering the School but considered ineligible were sent to a Third House. (Comparison data is included for this group.) Data on the treatment processes and boys' reactions were collected, and a standardized two-year follow-up of those released, using data from criminal records, was carried out.
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