Background

Earlier, we reported that multidimensional family therapy (MDFT) and cognitive behavioural therapy (CBT) decreased criminal offending in adolescents as measured with self-report in a randomised controlled trial with 1-year follow-up. The present study tested if this effect could be confirmed using police arrest data.

Methods

Study participants were 109 adolescents who were recruited for the Dutch part of a transnational treatment trial. National police arrest records were analysed for 3 years before the adolescents entered treatment with MDFT or CBT and for 7 years after treatment entry.

Results

Police arrest rates rose in the 3 years preceding treatment and then dropped in both treatment groups to almost zero level during the follow-up period.

Conclusions

The results suggest that MDFT and CBT both strongly and durably decreased police arrest rates. However, this conclusion remains uncertain as crime rates concurrently decreased in the general population.

Trial registration

ISRCTN51014277

中文翻译：

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在犯罪率下降的背景下评估青少年多维家庭治疗对警察逮捕的影响。一项为期 7 年的随机对照试验

背景

早些时候，我们报道了多维家庭疗法 (MDFT) 和认知行为疗法 (CBT) 在一项为期 1 年的随访随机对照试验中通过自我报告衡量减少了青少年的犯罪行为。本研究测试了这种影响是否可以使用警方逮捕数据得到证实。

方法

研究参与者是 109 名青少年，他们被招募参加一项跨国治疗试验的荷兰部分。在青少年接受 MDFT 或 CBT 治疗之前的 3 年和接受治疗后的 7 年，对国家警察逮捕记录进行了分析。

结果

警方逮捕率在治疗前的 3 年有所上升，然后在随访期间，两个治疗组的逮捕率都下降到几乎为零的水平。

结论

结果表明，MDFT 和 CBT 都强烈且持久地降低了警察逮捕率。然而，这一结论仍然不确定，因为一般人群的犯罪率同时下降。

试用注册

ISRCTN51014277