Evaluating the effects of residential treatment for juvenile offenders: A review of meta-analytic studies

Abstract

This study reviewed statistical meta-analyses on the effects of residential treatment for juvenile offenders, in order to examine the mean effect sizes and reductions of recidivism reported for this group. After a literature search, five meta-analyses (three on North American and two on European studies) were selected. The main results of each meta-analysis were synthesized in a second-order narrative review. All meta-analyses reported positive mean effect sizes, with d statistics varying from 0.09 to 0.31. Further, an average reduction of recidivism by about 9% was found. It can be concluded that the "nothing works" hypothesis with regard to treatment effects for juvenile offenders can be replaced by moderate optimism. However, meta-analysts should be aware of the context of treatment programmes, the heterogeneity of the studies included, and publication bias.