| Abstract: | The current demand for the assessment of programs designed to modify delinquent behavior may actually decrease the likelihood of achieving important long range goals. This article argues that the traditional experimental-control group procedures used in the evaluation of delinquency prevention programs are rarely successful, generate strains which have negative consequences, create hostility toward attempts to gain knowledge, and fail to create superior programs in the future. Furthermore, complex programs increase the likelihood of stress more than simple ones. If sophisticated research skills were directed toward the analysis of data gathered from larger numbers of cases and from more readily available data sources, many of these negative consequences could be minimized. The final theme is that the way in which findings are reported should be treated as an important factor in its own right. Objective, “hard-nosed” assessment may in fact damage promising projects without altering ineffective but entrenched programs. |
