Gender differences in symptom change for court-placed youth in residential treatment : a latent growth curve analysis

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).