A Retrospective Follow-up of Behaviorally Disordered Adolescents: Identifying Predictors of Treatment Outcome

Behaviorally disordered adolescents are a heterogeneous group. Determining which students enrolled in particular treatment programs are likely to be successful is a difficult task. This retrospective follow-up systematically investigated behaviorally disordered youth and identified factors associated with successful completion of a comprehensive residential and day treatment program. Results suggest that, for the 70 subjects studied, attendance, day or residential status, and prior adjudication were related to treatment outcomes. A dditionally, for a subset of 34 subjects directly interviewed and assessed at follow-up, measures of academic achievement were unrelated to outcomes.