Abstract:
This study assessed gender differences in treatment response for court-placed youth in
residential treatment. Treatment response was measured by the Symptom Functioning and
Severity Scale (SFSS; Bickman et al., 2010), a progress monitoring tool used to capture
symptom severity every four weeks. Latent Growth Curve Modeling (LGCM) was implemented
to obtain growth trajectories of symptom change over time. The hypothesis that females would
enter residential treatment with greater psychopathological symptoms was supported; however,
no gender differences were found in how youth responded to treatment. Females were found to
have greater school problems, internalizing problems, inattention/hyperactivity, and personal
adjustment. Overall, symptom reduction decreased in a linear fashion, with limited symptom
change over time, suggesting there is a need to improve treatment interventions for court-placed
youth in secured settings. It is also possible the SFSS did not provide a full picture of the youth’s
symptom profile, as the SFSS screens for Attention-Deficit/Hyperactivity Disorder (AD/HD),
Conduct Disorder or Oppositional Defiant Disorder, Depression and Anxiety. Youth in
residential treatment are often exposed to trauma (Stimmel, Cruise, Ford & Weiss, 2014), it is
possible trauma symptomology impacted treatment response (Boyer, Hallion, Hammell, &
Button, 2009).
