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Evaluating the effects of multisystemic therapy for adolescents with intellectual disabilities and antisocial or delinquent behaviour and their parents
Author(s) -
Blankestein Annemarieke,
Rijken Rachel,
Eeren Hester V.,
Lange Aurelie,
Scholte Ron,
Moonen Xavier,
De Vuyst Katrien,
Leunissen Jo,
Didden Robert
Publication year - 2019
Publication title -
journal of applied research in intellectual disabilities
Language(s) - English
Resource type - Journals
SCImago Journal Rank - 1.056
H-Index - 63
eISSN - 1468-3148
pISSN - 1360-2322
DOI - 10.1111/jar.12551
Subject(s) - psychology , juvenile delinquency , intellectual disability , developmental psychology , clinical psychology , psychiatry
Background An adaptation of multisystemic therapy (MST) was piloted to find out whether it would yield better outcomes than standard MST in families where the adolescent not only shows antisocial or delinquent behaviour, but also has an intellectual disability. Method To establish the comparative effectiveness of MST‐ID ( n = 55) versus standard MST ( n = 73), treatment outcomes were compared at the end of treatment and at 6‐month follow‐up. Pre‐treatment differences were controlled for using the propensity score method. Results Multisystemic therapy‐ID resulted in reduced police contact and reduced rule breaking behaviour that lasted up to 6 months post‐treatment. Compared to standard MST, MST‐ID more frequently resulted in improvements in parenting skills, family relations, social support, involvement with pro‐social peers and sustained positive behavioural changes. At follow‐up, more adolescents who had received MST‐ID were still living at home. Conclusions These results support further development of and research into the MST‐ID adaptation.