title: The Effectiveness of Aftercare for Juvenile and Young Adult Offenders.
abstract: This study examined the New Perspectives Aftercare Program (NPAP) for serious juvenile and young adult offenders in The Netherlands. Participants (n = 127) were randomly assigned to NPAP (n = 66) or existing aftercare services ("treatment as usual" [TAU], n = 61). The aim was to determine whether NPAP was effective in decreasing cognitive distortions and criminal thinking patterns and increasing prosocial skills of the juveniles compared with TAU. No direct intervention effects were found on any of the outcome measures. Moderator analyses, however, showed several interaction effects of ethnicity and coping skills for both NPAP and TAU youths. Furthermore, NPAP dropouts displayed significantly more indirect aggression at posttest compared with youths dropping out from TAU. Possible explanations for the mostly null effects are discussed, including implications for further research, policy, and practice.
authors.affiliation: University of Amsterdam, The Netherlands c.james@ggzingeest.nl.
authors.forename: Chrissy
authors.initials: C
authors.lastname: James
authors.affiliation: University of Amsterdam, The Netherlands.
authors.forename: Jessica J
authors.initials: JJ
authors.lastname: Asscher
authors.affiliation: University of Amsterdam, The Netherlands.
authors.forename: Geert Jan J M
authors.initials: GJ
authors.lastname: Stams
authors.affiliation: Netherlands Institute for the Study of Crime and Law Enforcement, Amsterdam, The Netherlands VU University Amsterdam, The Netherlands.
authors.forename: Peter H
authors.initials: PH
authors.lastname: van der Laan
mesh_terms: D000223:Adaptation, Psychological; D000293:Adolescent; D000328:Adult; D062309:Community Integration; D003415:Crime / Q000517:prevention & control; D057237:Criminals / Q000523:psychology*; D005260:Female; D006801:Humans; D007604:Juvenile Delinquency / Q000523:psychology*; D008297:Male; D009426:Netherlands; D011329:Prisoners; D011897:Random Allocation; D055502:Secondary Prevention; D055815:Young Adult
keywords: RCT; aftercare; effectiveness; intervention; juvenile and young adult offenders