Effectiveness of Multisystemic Therapy on Selected Behavioural Problems among Juvenile Girls Incarcerated In Rehabilitation Schools in Kenya

Abstract

Behavioural problems have remained a critical problem among girls incarcerated in rehabilitation schools. The strategies that have been put in place by the government of Kenya seem not to be fully effective in treating adolescents in rehabilitation centers. The purpose of this study was to determine whether multisystemic therapy (MST) would be effective in treating behavioural problems of incarcerated adolescent girls in the two out of ten government rehabilitation schools in Kenya. The researcher purposively sampled the only two girls’ government rehabilitation schools at Kirigiti and Dagoretti in Kiambu and Nairobi counties respectively. The study adopted a quasi-experimental research design with the two rehabilitation schools being randomly assigned into either treatment or control group. Quantitative method was used to collect the data through the use of questionnaire and Achenbach youth self-report (YSR) (11-18 years). Baseline data was first collected in the two sites. Those found with selected behavioural problems in the experimental sites were treated with MST. In the control site there was no intervention. In the third and six months after intervention, the researcher administered YSR to determine the level of selected behavioural problems in the two sites. The data was analyzed using SPSS version 21. T-test, Chi square, Anova as well as Ancova tests were carried. The prevalence rates for depression, anxienty disorder and conduct disorder were 66.7%, 70.5% and 55% respectively. In the experimental group the study shows statistically significance difference in mean differences scores at both post-treatment one and two (p<0.001). Therefore this is an indication that MST had an impact on post treatment one and two among juvenile delinquents in experimental as opposed to control groups. The results provide significant insights into effectiveness of MST on selected behavioral problems among juvenile girls incarcerated in rehabilitation schools