Adolescents are easily influenced. No surprise there. Sometimes that means regrettable decisions like nose piercing and getting a tattoo. But when your brother or sister gets in trouble with the law, has friends who are violent and incorrigible, the influences are more serious, possibly leading to juvenile detention and prison.
The question arose as to whether helping an offender turn around his or her life would also have a positive effect on siblings living in the same home. Charles M. Borduin, who is one of the developers of Multisystemic Therapy (MST), and three of his graduate students (David V. Wagner, Aaron M. Sawyer, and Alex R. Dopp) at the University of Missouri, decided to test this hypothesis in a study recently published in the Journal of Consulting and Clinical Psychology. Their study involved a ground-breaking 25-year follow-up of siblings closest in age to serious and violent juvenile offenders who took part in either MST or individual therapy.
The results are as ground-breaking as the research itself. Here's a snapshot:
- MST Siblings had a 40% reduction in overall arrest rates
- Every dollar spent on MST resulted in $5.04 in savings to taxpayers and crime victims.
You can read the complete results here.
