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The dissemination of a social intervention: Process and effectiveness of two types of paraprofessional change agents
Author(s) -
Mitchell Christina M.
Publication year - 1983
Publication title -
american journal of community psychology
Language(s) - English
Resource type - Journals
SCImago Journal Rank - 1.113
H-Index - 112
eISSN - 1573-2770
pISSN - 0091-0562
DOI - 10.1007/bf00896605
Subject(s) - recidivism , juvenile delinquency , health psychology , intervention (counseling) , psychology , psychological intervention , public health , behavior change , medical education , gerontology , clinical psychology , nursing , medicine , social psychology , criminology , psychiatry
This study was a beginning step in the dissemination of a successful intervention into delinquency which had previously used only university undergraduates as paraprofessional change agents. The interventions implemented and the comparative effectiveness of community college and university undergraduate paraprofessionals were examined using both process and outcome data. It was found that in general the community college paraprofessionals did fewer purposeful activities with their youth, but there were no differences in impact on areas such as youth's perceived positive change at home and school, self-reported delinquency, and amount and frequency of recidivism. In fact, both groups had positive impact on rate of recidivism which surpassed a treatment-as-usual comparison group. Implications for the dissemination of such programs were discussed.