Discuss Henggeler’s model of multisystemic therapy including the treatment strategy used and the role of psychologists. What does the research suggest about the effectiveness of this model?

What will be an ideal response?


MST was specifically developed for application with serious juvenile offenders, including those responsible for violent crimes. MST is heavily based on the systems theory pioneered by psychologist Urie Bronfenbrenner (1979). According to this view, behavior is multi-determined and influenced heavily by interactions with one’s social environment. Children and adolescents are embedded in various social systems (their families, their peer groups, their schools, and their neighborhoods). Effective intervention requires that the child or adolescent and all of his or her social systems be considered. Thus, MST attempts to promote behavior change within the youth’s natural environment and uses the strengths within each of the various social systems to bring this about. Secure institutions should be avoided if at all possible because antisocial behaviors are only reinforced when serious offenders live among other serious offenders. Thus, in addition to keeping juveniles in their own homes, another goal of MST is to help juveniles break bonds with antisocial peers and develop bonds with prosocial peers. Henggeler has acknowledged that this is one of the most difficult goals to achieve. Overall, MST had favorable results on family relations (increased cohesion and adaptability), peer relations (increased emotional bonding, social maturity, and decreased aggression), and improved academic performance. More importantly, MST created both short- and long-term changes in the youths’ criminal behavior and incarceration. It is important to highlight the fact that MST programs do not generally deal with youths who have serious mental disorders, nor are the programs available for youth who are incarcerated. MST is essentially a program delivered in community settings.

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DARE was created in 1983 by the ____________

Fill in the blank(s) with correct word

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Those who argue to preserve the juvenile court (Preservationists) state all of the following EXCEPT:

a. The failure of the juvenile court can be attributed to incomplete implementation, not conceptualization b. As bad as the juvenile court might be in promoting due process, the criminal court will not do any better. c. The court works for most juveniles and ought not be abolished in an attempt to deal more harshly with the few violent juvenile offenders. d. The conception of the juvenile court as a social welfare institution in a legal setting is fatally flawed.

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In a distribution of scores that have been grouped into intervals, the median is the value dividing the distribution into two equal parts

Indicate whether the statement is true or false.

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Answer the following statement(s) true (T) or false (F)

1.A bench trial is a trial where the judge acts as the trier of fact. 2.In an intermediate appellate court, the matter is usually decided on the written record of the trial from the lower court. 3.A state Supreme Court decision is binding on all courts within its jurisdiction. 4.Judges look forward to overturning precedent so they can make an important contribution to the law. 5.The Due Process clause of the 14th Amendment extended most of the protections of the Bill of Rights to the States.

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