Friday, 14 January 2005 - 12:00 PM

This presentation is part of: Poster Session I

Effects of Therapeutic Community [TC] Program for Juvenile Delinquents

Purpose: Despite the increasing number of delinquent adolescents, little is known about effective programs to change their personalities and delinquent behaviors. The purpose of this study is to examine the effects of a Therapeutic Community [TC] program on juvenile delinquents in Korea.

Methods: Two correctional facilities for juvenile delinquents in Korea were selected, where subjects and institutional characteristics matched. Sixty adolescents, ages 13-18, were drawn from each group. The TC program was conducted at one facility as an experimental group for four months, while the control group did not have the program. Personality Inventory ¥±and Korean Youth Self Report [K-YSR] were used to measure the changes in their personalities and behaviors. In addition, the adolescents and staff in the experimental group conducted in-depth interviews. In terms of quantitative analysis, paired sample t-tests were used to examine differences in their personalities and behaviors between pre- and post-intervention of each group. Also, structured surveys, which were composed of several questionnaires about the program process and outcomes, were used to obtain the qualitative changes from the adolescent and staff in the experimental group.

Results: The results indicated that adolescents who participated in the TC program showed dramatically positive changes in personality and behaviors. In terms of personality, adolescents in the experimental group had significant changes in sociability (t = -2.2, p = .034), achievement motivation (t = -2.4, p = .024), activities (t = -2.4, p = .024), dominance (t = -2.4, p = .022), and autonomy (t = -2.7, p = .012). In addition, they had considerable decline in neurosis (t = 4.2, p = .000), psychosis (t = 2.4, p = .024), and anti-social behaviors (t = 6.2, p = .000). In terms of behaviors, adolescents in the experimental group had significant changes in the externalizing symptoms: delinquencies (t = 5.5, p = .000) and aggressive behaviors (t = 2.4, p = .023). However, there were no differences in internalizing symptoms between the two periods. Meanwhile, adolescents in the control group did not have significant changes in either the Personality Inventory or K-YSR. With in-depth interviews, adolescents in the experimental group expressed improvements in competency, expressiveness, responsibility, and honesty. Especially, the adolescents revealed that they expressed their feelings without violence. In addition, the staffs in the experimental group stated that the program raised the sense of belonging among the adolescents.

Implications for practice: Findings from this study indicate that the TC program is a useful intervention for delinquent adolescents in changing their personalities and behaviors. Especially, it is more useful to change adolescents' externalizing characteristics rather than internalizing characteristics in terms of behaviors. Finally, this study suggests that the TC program can be used with individual approaches such as individual counseling or psychotherapy in order to bring internalizing changes at the same time. In addition, it can be utilized in other settings such as youth counseling centers, shelters, and other child welfare agencies, particularly for delinquent adolescents.

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