Computerized Stage-Matched Intervention for Juvenile Offenders

少年犯计算机化阶段匹配干预

• 批准号: 7609585
• 负责人: DEBORAH A LEVESQUE
• 金额: $ 17.28万
• 依托单位: PRO-CHANGE BEHAVIOR SYSTEMS, INC.
• 依托单位国家: 美国
• 财政年份: 2009
• 资助国家: 美国
• 起止时间: 2009-01-15 至 2010-12-31
• 项目状态: 已结题
• 来源: https://reporter.nih.gov/project-details/7609585
• 关键词: Adolescent; Alcohol consumption; Alcohol or Other Drugs use; Behavioral; Cognitive; Computers; Crime; Development; Ensure; Equilibrium; Expert Systems; Feedback; Focus Groups; Goals; Individual Differences; Instruction; Intervention; Interview; Justice; Laws; Marijuana; Measures; Modeling; Motivation; Outcome; Participant; Phase; Printing; Process; Professional counselor; Readiness; Reporting; Research; Resistance Process; Resources; Self Efficacy; Societies; Staging; Substance abuse problem; Surveys; System; Technology; Testing; Treatment Efficacy; Validation; Youth; behavior change; computerized; cost; court; experience; improved; individualized feedback; interactive multimedia; juvenile delinquent; neglect; programs; public health relevance; recidivism; therapy design; usability

DESCRIPTION (provided by applicant): Juvenile crime imposes enormous costs on victims, on society, and on juvenile offenders themselves. However, research assessing the efficacy of interventions for young offenders show, on average, only small effects on recidivism, substance abuse, and other behavioral outcomes. A major problem with existing interventions is that they tend to neglect individual differences in motivation and readiness to make positive changes. We propose to use an empirically validated model of behavior change, the Transtheoretical Model (TTM), and expert system technology to develop a computerized intervention designed as an adjunct to traditional juvenile justice programs. The intervention will deliver assessments and individualized feedback matched to readiness to stay out of trouble with the law and reduce substance use. It will also generate counselor reports that summarize the youth's feedback and present concrete, easy-to-implement strategies counselors can use to reinforce stage-matched concepts. The goals of this Phase I project are to develop and validate TTM measures for reducing marijuana and alcohol use among juvenile offenders (to supplement measures already developed for staying out of trouble with the law); to develop the baseline portion of a computer-administered, interactive, multimedia expert system program; and to test the feasibility of this approach to intervention. Juvenile offenders will participate in focus groups to generate ideas for the TTM measures (n=32) and to provide feedback on the intervention materials (n=32); cognitive interviews to ensure TTM instructions and questions are interpreted as intended (n=8); usability tests to ensure that the expert system intervention is easily navigable and provides a coherent intervention experience (n=8); and an anonymous survey for measure development and validation (n=200). Finally, 60 court- and system-involved youth will participate in a feasibility trial and receive the intervention; their counselors will receive the counselor reports. The feasibility of this approach will be established if: 1) we are able to deliver the intervention as planned to at least 90 percent of trial participants in a range of juvenile justice programs and settings; 2) participants provide positive ratings of the acceptability and usefulness of the interactive session; 3) counselors provide positive ratings of the helpfulness of the counselor reports; and 4) the intervention yields statistically significant pre-post changes on proximal measures of change-namely, youths' assessments of the benefits of staying out of trouble with the law, and the benefits of reducing substance use. PUBLIC HEALTH RELEVANCE: Juvenile crime imposes enormous costs on victims, on society, and on juvenile offenders themselves. We propose to use an empirically validated model of behavior change, the Transtheoretical Model (TTM), and expert system technology to develop a computerized intervention designed as an adjunct to traditional juvenile justice programs. The intervention, which delivers assessments, individualized feedback, and counselor reports matched to youths' readiness to stay out of trouble with the law and reduce substance use, has the potential to increase programs' responsivity to youths' needs; make more efficient use of scarce program resources; and improve outcomes.

描述（由申请人提供）：少年犯罪对受害者，社会和少年罪犯本身施加了巨大的费用。但是，评估干预措施对年轻罪犯的疗效的研究平均表明，对累犯，药物滥用和其他行为结果的影响很小。现有干预措施的一个主要问题是，他们倾向于忽略动机和愿意做出积极改变的个体差异。我们建议使用经验验证的行为改变模型，跨理论模型（TTM）和专家系统技术来开发作为传统少年司法计划辅助的计算机干预措施。干预将提供评估和个性化的反馈，以准备避免法律麻烦并减少使用物质的使用。它还将生成辅导员报告，总结年轻人的反馈，并提出具体，易于实施的策略辅导员可以用来加强阶段匹配的概念。该阶段项目的目标是制定和验证TTM措施，以减少少年罪犯的大麻和饮酒（补充已经采取的措施以避免法律困扰）；开发计算机管理，互动，多媒体专家系统计划的基线部分；并测试这种干预方法的可行性。青少年罪犯将参加焦点小组，以产生TTM措施的想法（n = 32），并提供有关干预材料的反馈（n = 32）；认知访谈以确保TTM指示和问题被解释为预期（n = 8）；可用性测试以确保专家系统干预易于导航并提供连贯的干预经验（n = 8）；以及一项针对量度开发和验证的匿名调查（n = 200）。最后，有60名法院和系统涉及的青年将参加可行性审判并接受干预；他们的辅导员将收到辅导员报告。如果：1）我们能够按计划在一系列少年司法计划和环境中进行至少90％的审判参与者进行干预，以确定这种方法的可行性； 2）参与者对交互式会话的可接受性和实用性提供了积极的评分； 3）辅导员对辅导员报告的有益性提供了积极评价； 4）干预措施对变革的近端度量，年轻人对避免法律麻烦的好处的评估以及减少药物使用的好处的评估产生了统计学上的显着变化。公共卫生相关性：少年犯罪对受害者，社会和少年罪犯本身施加了巨大的费用。我们建议使用经验验证的行为改变模型，跨理论模型（TTM）和专家系统技术来开发作为传统少年司法计划辅助的计算机干预措施。该干预措施提供了评估，个性化的反馈和辅导员报告，该报告符合年轻人准备避免法律麻烦并减少药物使用的情况，这有可能增加计划对青年需求的反应；更有效地利用稀缺计划资源；并改善结果。