Book Description

Establishing the crucial link between theory, measurement, and intervention, PREVENTING ANTISOCIAL BEHAVIOR brings together a remarkable collection of studies that utilize experimental approaches for evaluating intervention programs for preventing deviant behavior. The book demonstrates both the feasibility and necessity of such independent evaluation. It also shows how the information obtained in such studies can be used to test and refine prevailing theories about human behavior in general and behavior changes in particular. The volume covers biological, social, emotional, and cognitive approaches to intervention. It highlights prevention experiments tailored to infants, children, and adolescents, describing family, school, and community programs. Some of the programs described target general populations at risk, while others focus on individuals. Throughout, the book emphasizes the importance of scientifically supportable evaluations: They are necessary not only because psychosocial treatments can be harmful, but also because such evaluations yield invaluable insights into why people behave as they do. Offering a broad perspective on socialization, PREVENTING ANTISOCIAL BEHAVIOR is essential reading for clinical psychologists, child psychiatrists, social workers, criminologists, sociologists, and educators. It also serves as a text for advanced students and trainees in these areas.