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June 23, 2008Scientifically valid prevention programs cut rates of juvenile delinquency |
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From EurekAlert! - Breaking News: Seventh-grade students in U.S. communities that have set up scientifically validated programs to reduce juvenile delinquency have a significantly smaller chance of engaging such behavior than do children in towns that have not adopted such programs. "This finding is very important because early initiation of delinquent behavior in children before the age of 14 is a predictor of later substance abuse, chronic criminal behavior and mental health problems," said J. David Hawkins, lead author and director of the study. The study is being conducted by the UW's Social Development Research Group, a part of the School of Social Work, with funding from the National Institute on Drug Abuse, the National Cancer Institute, National Institute of Child Health and Human Development, National Institute of Mental Health and the Center for Substance Abuse Prevention. At the start of the study, all fifth-grade students in the 24 cities filled out questionnaires that included questions about delinquent behavior, asking for example whether they had stolen anything worth more than $5, purposely damaged or destroyed property that didn't belong to them or attacked someone with the intent of causing seriously harm. One city in each pair was randomly chosen to test Communities That Care and received training over the first year in how to implement it and build a supportive community coalition. "Communities That Care is designed to empower communities to collect and use data on the risks their children face, and also on strength of the community, and then use this information to choose prevention and early intervention programs that have been tested and shown to be effective," said Hawkins.
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