NCJ Number
99728
Journal
Journal of Clinical Psychology Volume: 41 Issue: 5 Dated: (September 1985) Pages: 698-706
Date Published
1985
Length
9 pages
Annotation
This applied field study compared the effects of biofeedback training to video game training on the impulsivity, locus of control, and self-concept of 12 adjudicated delinquents in a maximum-security correctional facility.
Abstract
Subjects, age range 15 to 18, were randomly assigned to ten 30-minute sessions of biofeedback (relaxation) or video game training. A no-treatment control group from the facility's cottage program also was included. Results indicate virtually no differences between the two training groups. However, pre- and posttest differences for both groups combined demonstrate significant gains in most measures. Regardless of treatment, subjects showed decreased frontalis tension, decreased impulsivity as measured by latency and error rate on the Matching Familiar Figures Test, increased internal locus of control, and improved self-concept which even surpassed that of the no-treatment controls. Results suggest that both conditions may have provided feedback and reinforcement for the youth in both training conditions. Included are 35 references. (Author abstract modified).