Parental Involvement as a Factor in the Readmission to a Residential Treatment Center

Parental involvement during treatment is examined as a factor in the recidivism to a children's residential treatment center (RTC). Data was collected on 89 children and adolescents from 5 to 17 years old from the University of New Mexico's Children's Psychiatric Center. Patients with greater parental involvement (attendance in family therapy, number of weekly parent visits, telephone calls, and arranged therapeutic absences) showed a lower recidivism rate than those patients with lower levels of parental involvement. Patients with higher levels of parental involvement were also found to have better family functioning and less severe impairments in their own functioning at discharge.