Multidimensional family therapy reduces self-reported criminality among adolescents with a cannabis use disorder

Author(s):
Pol, T.M. van der; Henderson, C.E.; Hendriks, V.; Schaub, M.P.; Rigter, H.
Published
2017
Publication type
Article / Letter to editor

Abstract

Background.

Multidimensional family therapy (MDFT) is an established treatment program for

youth displaying multi-problem behavior. We examined if MDFT decreased criminal

offending among cannabis abusing adolescents, as compared with individual psychotherapy (IP). Methods. In a Western-European randomized controlled trial comparing MDFT with IP, a sample of 169 adolescents with a cannabis disorder completed self-reports on criminal offending. Half indicated they had committed one or more criminal offenses in the 90 days before the baseline assessment. Follow-up assessments were at 6 and 12 months after randomization. Results. The proportion of adolescents reporting non-delinquency increased during the study period, most so in the MDFT condition. In addition, MDFT lowered the number of violent offenses more than IP. This difference was not seen for property crimes. Conclusions. In cannabis abusing adolescents, MDFT is an effective treatment to prevent and reduce criminal offending. MDFT outperforms individual psychotherapy for violent crimes.

Date issued
2017-01-11
Language
English
Publisher
Sage
Is part of
International Journal of Offender Therapy and Comparative Criminology (2017), Vol. 62, no. 6, p. 1573-1588
hdl
1887/117441
doi
10.1177/0306624X16687536