Author: Poon, Yuen Ling
Title: Where it works and where is doesn’t? A clinical data-mining study on the effects of residential program for Hong Kong adolescent girls with emotional and behavioural difficulties
Advisors: Lo, Herman (APSS)
Degree: DSW
Year: 2021
Subject: Social work with teenagers
Teenage girls -- Services for
Teenage girls -- Institutional care
Hong Kong Polytechnic University -- Dissertations
Department: Department of Applied Social Sciences
Pages: vi, 84 pages : color illustrations
Language: English
Abstract: The research is an evaluation of a treatment program in a residential home for adolescent girls with Emotional and Behavioural Difficulties( EBD) by applying clinical data-mining (CDM) approach. By using of available agency records, practitioner-researcher is going to evaluate the effectiveness of the existing practices, to investigate which areas it works and which it does not; and to look for directions of future program improvement. 457 girls had received assessment after first month of admission as baseline measurement, and on-going assessment every six months. T-tests had been applied to measure the outcomes of the programs. After went through the therapeutic groups and positive behaviours reward system for six months and twenty four months, girls had significant improvements in overall behaviours symptoms and overall life skills development. Girls also significantly improved in several sub-categorized behaviours, including non-compliance, depression, psychological wellbeing and independent skills. The positive results supported the effectiveness of the existing multimodal treatment in reducing symptoms and in developing positive behaviours. Contrary to expectations, improper sex behaviour had increased after treatment. Subgroup analysis was conducted to compare the girls with good and poor outcomes. Those with poor outcome in overall Behavioural Symptoms had higher scores on Noncompliance, Depression and Improper Sex Behaviours. It suggested that girls with more severe or trauma related symptoms had less improvements. Such findings call upon advancing programmes by integrating multi-disciplinary intervention, trauma informed practice and positive youth development approach. Multimodal treatments should target both externalizing and internalizing symptoms, as well as positive development. Most important, specialized treatment to new comers with severe behaviour symptoms should be given in the early stage of treatment. Finally, there was a call for treatment modal change to Trauma informed practice, including screening, assessment and specialized programs.
Rights: All rights reserved
Access: restricted access

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Please use this identifier to cite or link to this item: https://theses.lib.polyu.edu.hk/handle/200/11914