The Long Run Impacts of Cognitive Behavioral Therapy on Crime and Violence

本研究将采用实验方法研究认知行为疗法（CBT）对青年男性暴力行为的长期影响。世界上最紧迫的社会问题之一是如何对待不良少年、罪犯或有暴力倾向的年轻人。是什么导致一些人做出破坏性行为？社会能做些什么来防止或改变年轻人的暴力行为？一项有影响力的研究发现，将CBT干预与向高风险社区的高风险年轻人提供现金转移相结合，可以在短期内减少犯罪和暴力行为。这表明，成年人可以学习非认知技能，使他们远离犯罪。然而，目前还不清楚CBT对行为的长期影响是否会持续下去。本研究项目将在8年后对最初的研究参与者进行随访，以评估其长期影响及其发生的机制。这项研究的结果可以对减少美国和世界各地青少年犯罪和暴力的政策产生巨大影响，使美国成为使用CBT减少暴力的全球领导者。这个研究项目将研究CBT对年轻男性犯罪和暴力行为的长期影响。本项目是对2011-2012年间999名高风险青年男性进行CBT干预和200美元现金支付的随机对照试验的后续研究。就其本身而言，每次干预在干预后1-2个月导致犯罪和暴力下降40-50%。这些巨大的积极影响在同时接受CBT和现金干预的男性中持续存在，但在只接受其中一种干预的男性中则没有。这个研究项目将跟踪原始研究的参与者，以测试CBT是否对暴力和犯罪有长期影响，如果有，通过什么机制。这项长期研究将使用自我报告的调查数据、行为游戏以及有关逮捕和监禁的行政数据，以确定CBT和现金转移是否继续对犯罪和暴力产生巨大的持续影响。这项研究项目将为减少年轻人暴力的政策提供重要的投入，从而使美国成为使用CBT积极改变行为的全球领导者。该奖项反映了美国国家科学基金会的法定使命，并通过使用基金会的知识价值和更广泛的影响审查标准进行评估，被认为值得支持。

This proposed research will use experimental methods to study the long-term effects of cognitive behavioral therapy (CBT) on violent behavior of young men. One of the most pressing social problems in the world is what to do about delinquent, criminal, or violent young men. What leads some people to destructive behaviors and what can society do to prevent or change the violent behavior of young people? An influential study found that the combination of a CBT intervention and a cash transfer delivered to high risk young men in high risk neighborhoods led to a drop-in crime and violence in the short run. This suggested that adults could be taught non-cognitive skills that can keep them out of crime. However, it is not clear that this effect of CBT on behavior persists over the long run. This research project will follow up on the original study participants after 8 years to assess the long- term impacts and mechanisms through which they occur. The results of this research can have enormous implications for policies to decrease crime and violence among the youth in the U.S. and across the world, establishing the US as the global leader in using CBT to reduce violence. This research project will study the long-run effect of CBT on crime and violence among young men. This project is a follow-up study on a randomized controlled trial of a CBT intervention and a $200 cash payment implemented with 999 high-risk young men in 2011-2012. On their own, each intervention led to a 40-50% drop in crime and violence 1-2 months after the interventions. These large positive effects persisted among men who received both the CBT and cash intervention, but not among men who received one or the other. This research project will follow the participants in the original study to test whether CBT has long term effects on violence and crime, and if so, through what mechanisms. This long-run study will use self-reported survey data, behavioral game play, and administrative data on arrests and incarceration to identify whether CBT and cash transfer continue to have large persistent effects on crime and violence. This research project will provide important input into policies to reduce violence among young men thus establishing the US as the global leader in using CBT to positively change behavior.This award reflects NSF's statutory mission and has been deemed worthy of support through evaluation using the Foundation's intellectual merit and broader impacts review criteria.