Racial disparities in violence exposure and criminal justice contact are a subject of growing policy and public concern. We conduct a large-scale, randomized controlled trial of a six-month behavioral health intervention combining intensive mentoring and group therapy designed to reduce criminal justice and violence involvement among Black and…

The theme of this issue--discovering virtues in delinquents--is an excellent reminder of the power of perception. "Virtue" and "delinquents" are two words that do not seem to belong in the same sentence, and by positioning them together, one is challenged to perceive them in a different way. What one often fails to recognize is that seeing a…

The study found no relationship between improved social behavior in a group of juveniles residing at a county shelter care facility and decreased frequency and duration of disruptions above 85 decibels. Subjects did reduce noise levels when stereo listening was made contingent on reduced noise. (Author/DB)

A BEHAVIORAL APPROACH WAS USED TO TREAT SMALL GROUPS OF CHILDREN IN AN INNER CITY SETTING. THE GROUPS WERE ORGANIZED UNDER THE AUSPICES OF THE HARTWIG PROJECT OF THE NEIGHBORHOOD SERVICE ORGANIZATION OF DETROIT AND CONSISTED OF CHILDREN WITH SCHOOL ADOPTION PROBLEMS, DELINQUENT GANGS, AND CHILDREN FROM DISADVANTAGED SECTIONS OF THE COMMUNITY.…

The application of the triadic model of therapeutic intervention was tested within a community-based program that trained indigenous nonprofessionals as behavior change agents to 42 youngsters, aged 11-17. These adult buddies attempted to influence their youngsters through their relationship and through the contingent use of social and material…

Studies the effectiveness of a free-time contingency on reducing the frequency of interruptions of 28 students in a residential treatment center high class room. Implications of the findings are discussed in terms of implementation, use of peers for data collection and impact on the target behaviors. (FMW)

Operation Pathfinder was a special manpower project designed to retrain behaviors of the disadvantaged and to establish positive motivations to work for a living through application of social reinforcement methodology. The project demonstrated that a positive reinforcing environment and properly structured work situation will provide a means of…