NCJ Number
73348
Date Published
1980
Length
9 pages
Annotation
The underlying principles and results of a comprehensive vocationally oriented psychotherapy program for a disturbed and delinquent suburban adolescents were described in a followup study 15 years after initial treatment in 1961 and 1962.
Abstract
The program used the crisis of leaving school to make client contact and secure job placement, focused on outreach, and was flexible in scheduling therapy. Exploration of job opportunities, individualized intensive learning, and matching jobs to each boy's needs and problems were program objectives. Earlier followup studies conducted 2, 5, and 10 years after the program ended showed that 10 treated adolescents had continued to do consistently better in education, employment, and legal areas than had 10 untreated youths. A 15-year followup study of program participants (now in their early 30's) was conducted to confirm the long-lasting effects of vocationally oriented psychotherapy. A telephone interview was used to obtain information on current jobs and job changes, as well as on education, marital status, and legal problems. With the exception of marked deterioration in the situation of one treated subject, major differences between the treated and the untreated group continued 15 years later. The treated group had higher paying jobs, more stable job histories, better family lives, and higher levels of education. In view of the demonstrated success of vocationally oriented psychotherapy in positively influencing 'hard-to-reach' adolescents, a full-scale replication of the program is urged. A table describes in detail the status of each of the 20 subjects at the 15-year followup stage. Ten references are provided.