Abstract
Pro-criminal attitudes and inefficiency in social skills or problem-solving skills are associated with criminal conducts. Targeting on these factors, Cognitive-Behavior Treatment (CBT) programs are effective interventions for adult and young offenders. However, the effectiveness of CBT programs in Chinese correctional facilities is unknown. The present study, as a pilot one, evaluates a CBT program consisting of six sessions to treat young delinquents in South China. In Guangzhou, 60 male delinquents were divided into experimental and comparison group. Problem-solving skills, social skills and pro-criminal attitudes were measured and compared before and after the program for both groups. Measured by Social Maladjustment Scale (SOC) and General Self-efficacy Scale (GSES), the experimental group showed significant improvements in social skills and problem solving skills, while those of the comparison group remained constant. The results of the pilot study were encouraging and demonstrating the potential of CBT programs to be effective treatment for young delinquents in South China. Implications for future research and cross-cultural generability of CBT are discussed.
Highlights
There is a large body of research about “What works” for offender rehabilitation over the past decades
The experimental group obtained better scores in SOC and GESE at Time 2, whereas the control group remained constant at Times 1 and 2, indicating that participants’ social skills and problem-solving skills are amendable in the group setting of the six-session Cognitive-Behavior Treatment (CBT) program
SOC and GESE were used in the present study because they had been tested in China before, and stable validity and reliability for both scales were reported
Summary
There is a large body of research about “What works” for offender rehabilitation over the past decades. Improvements in attitudes and social skills are important because research has shown that pro-criminal attitudes and low social skills are correlates of criminal conducts (Andrews & Bonta, 1994) This is coincident with the risk-need principles, which suggest that interventions and services should target the factors that will lead to higher risk of offending or reoffending (Andrews, 1995; Andrews & Bonta, 1994; Bonta, 1996). Pro-criminal attitudes, antisocial peers, personality factors such as weak socialization and weak problem-solving skills, a history of antisocial behavior, family problems, and education problems are correlates to criminal activities
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