Study title

Abstract copyright UK Data Service and data collection copyright owner.

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 <i>approved school</i> 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.
Main Topics:

Background characteristics of the boys at entry; post hoc determination of eligibility criteria used to govern entry into the controlled trial subsample; success of the random allocation process; the treatment processes and boys' reactions to them; a standardized two-year follow-up to measure the post-treatment reconviction rate of E and C regimes; comparisons with a third regime, housing the <i>non-eligibles</i>, which was not part of the controlled trial.
Measurement Scales
Reading age was determined using the Burt Rearranged Word Reading Test. IQ was measured using the Wechsler IQ Test.