The Impact of Arbitration Intervention Services on Psychosocial Functioning

Abstract

We report the impact of case management services on drug use and self-reported delinquency for youths involved in a clinical trial of the Juvenile Arbitration program. The project evaluated an innovative intervention service providing 16 weeks of intensive case management services to youths and their families. The present study examines interview data for 137 youths who agreed to participate in a follow-up interview, conducted approximately 11 months after the baseline interview. The results indicate that youths receiving case management services did not experience significantly lower rates of drug use and related effects during the follow-up period than youths receiving usual services, nor did they experience significantly lower rates of involvement in self-reported delinquency. Psychopathy measures had a significant main effect on self-reported delinquency during the follow-up period, regardless of group assignment.