Study 1
Sells and colleagues (forthcoming) used a quasi-experimental, two-group design to evaluate Parenting with Love and Limits® (PLL). The sample consisted of youths in the juvenile justice system who responded to a referral by their probation officer. Of the 105 families who agreed to participate, 67 completed the PLL program and 38 did not finish all six modules. The average length of participation in the program was 36 days. Retention rate was 64 percent, a rate considered high given that participants were not court-ordered to attend the program.
The average age of adolescents was 16 years, with a range of 11 to 17 years. All participants were diagnosed with either oppositional defiant or conduct disorder and were currently on probation through juvenile court. The 65 participants of the control group were also under court supervision and were matched with the intervention group by the county court administrator on similar family structure, age, race, and gender. Study participants were primarily Hispanic (38.1 percent), white (36.1 percent), and African American (21.9 percent). Males accounted for 67.1 percent of the participants. Family composition of the group included single-parent families (65.8 percent), dual families (31.6 percent), and kinship care families or youths raised by extended family members (2.6 percent).
Outcome measures consisted of recidivism (defined as at least one rearrest for a status or delinquent offence within 12 months following completion of PLL); changes in attitudes and behaviors of parents measured with the survey Prevention and Early Intervention Protective Factor Survey for Caregivers; and changes in attitudes and behaviors of adolescents measured with the survey Prevention and Early Intervention Protective Factor Survey for Youth.
Data was collected immediately before the first PLL group meeting and immediately following the last group meeting. Recidivism data for both groups was through juvenile court records by the court administrator at the local juvenile court 12 months after the completion of the parenting group. Data was analyzed using paired t–tests. No subgroup analyses were conducted.
Study 2
Sells, Winokur-Early, and Smith (2011) used an experimental design with random assignment of youths within the juvenile court system. Youths who were diagnosed with oppositional defiant or conduct disorder were eligible to participate. A total of 38 adolescents adjudicated for a delinquent offense and disposed to probation through the juvenile court were matched on type of offense, gender, age, and socioeconomic status and then randomly assigned to a PLL treatment group and a control group that received customary probation services. The large majority of youths were African American (82 percent), along with 12 percent white, and 1 percent Hispanic. Fifty-seven percent of the adolescents were male. The youths committed a variety of crimes, with shoplifting the most commonly occurring offense. No information is given on the equivalence of the groups on demographic and criminal offenses.
The treatment group received the 6-week PLL program in small groups of no more than 12 people per therapy group during six 2-hour classes. The control group received parole services and other services such as outpatient counseling or community service.
The measures used in the study included the Child Behavior Checklist, the Index of Parental Attitudes, the Parent Adolescent Communication Scale, and the Parent Readiness Scale. Both the parents and adolescents in the treatment group received the pretest measures in an interview before the treatment and again immediately following the final PLL class. No subgroup analyses were conducted.
