The buddy system: Effect of community intervention on delinquent offenses

Abstract

The delinquent offense records of 264 youths participating in a community-based, behavioral intervention program were compared with those of 178 youngsters in a no-treatment control group. For youngsters who had committed major offenses in the previous year, program participation significantly reduced the number of such youths committing major offenses during the project year. For youngsters with no record of major offenses in the preceding year, reliably more experimental youths committed major offenses during the project year than control youths. Thus, those individuals for whom the program was effective were identified and separated from those for whom it may be counter-effective.