October 22, 2008

A 25-year Evaluation of the Efficacy of RIP (Regional Intervention Program)

Phil Strain and Matthew Timm

The RIP program, started in 1969, has been offering evidence-based early-childhood intervention for over 25 years. Strain and Timm (2001) performed several evaluation studies on RIP clients and found that the program has had excellent results.

While early-appearing behavior problems are the single best predictor of delinquency in adolescence, gang membership and adult incarceration (Dishion, French, & Patterson, 1995; Reid,1993), early intervention can work. The RIP model, utilizing parents as co-learners and then teachers, includes the entire family in helping children with behavioral problems.  This method has been found to have very successful results.

In this study, the researchers did different kinds of studies to see the effectiveness of RIP. One study involved interviewing former RIP clients 20 years after their parents took them to RIP. Only one of the people interviewed had any charges involving aggressive or antisocial behavior (for shoplifting), and all were high school graduates and had jobs. In another evaluation study looking at child behavior at three and nine years past their RIP program, the researchers found that the same behavioral changes that were achieved at the close of RIP were still maintained. While the most successful outcomes were from children who were enrolled at the youngest ages, successful outcomes were also achieved by those who enrolled later. This study provides justification for the expansion of RIP and for its use as a model early childhood intervention technique.

References
Dishion, T. J., French, D. C., & Patterson, G. R. (1995). The development and ecology of antisocial behavior. In D. Cicchetti & D. J. Cohen (Eds.), Developmental psychopathology: Vol. 2. Risk, disorder, and adaptation (pp. 421–471). New York: Wiley.

Strain, P.S. & Timm, M.A. (2001), Remediation and prevention of aggression: An evaluation of the Regional Intervention Program over a quarter century. Behavioral Disorders, 26, 297-313.