Evaluating the Efficacy of the Prodigy Prevention Program across Urban and Rural Locales
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Evaluating the Efficacy of the Prodigy Prevention Program across Urban and Rural Locales Chris Stewart Æ Lisa Rapp-Paglicci Æ William Rowe
Published online: 27 August 2008 Ó Springer Science+Business Media, LLC 2008
Abstract Comorbid juvenile offenders are an overlooked, vulnerable population which tend to present with a more diagnostically serious picture. Their arrest rates have dramatically increased over the last 10 years, yet there is a dearth of prevention and intervention programs available. This study examined the effects of the Prodigy Cultural Arts Program on at-risk and adjudicated youth in a rural and an urban locale. Results suggest a significant improvement in family functioning overall as well as statistically significant changes in mental health symptoms including Depression/Anxiety, Somatic, and Suicidal symptoms for both males and females at urban and rural locales. Females appeared to especially benefit from the program. The findings here extend our knowledge regarding viable alternatives for juvenile offenders with mental health symptoms, particularly females. Keywords Female juvenile offenders Comorbid juveniles Juvenile offenders Prodigy Cultural Arts Program
A substantial body of research suggests that a majority of juvenile offenders have one or more mental disorders, making comorbidity the rule rather than the exception (Rapp-Paglicci 2005). Studies indicate that approximately 18–22% of the general youth population suffers from a mental disorder while between 40 and 90% of youth involved with the juvenile justice system have one or more mental disorders (Cocozza et al. 2005). Pliszka et al. (2000) found 15–42% of detained youth had major affective disorders such as bipolar and depression, 20–46% of juvenile offenders also met the criteria for ADHD, and 50–90% met the criteria for conduct disorder. According to a study by McGarvey and Waite (2000), 40% of incarcerated C. Stewart (&) L. Rapp-Paglicci W. Rowe School of Social Work, University of South Florida, 4202 E. Fowler Ave, Tampa, FL 33620, USA e-mail: [email protected]
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youth met the criteria to receive special education, and nearly 50% of their sample scored 6 years below their chronological age on language achievement scores. Although females constitute a smaller number of overall adjudicated offenders they tend to present a more diagnostically serious picture and their arrest rates have dramatically increased over the last 10 years (Snyder and Sickmund 2006). The vast majority of females in the juvenile justice system share one unfortunate characteristic: over 92% have been victims of physical, psychological, and/or sexual abuse (Quinn et al. 2005). Cauffman et al. (1998) found that female juvenile delinquents were nearly six times more likely to suffer from PTSD and 50% more likely to exhibit current symptoms of PTSD than male delinquents. Studies have found that females often have higher rates of DSM-IV internalizing and externalizing disorders than males (Cauffman 2004; Cauffman et al. 20
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