Research on Social Work Practice

 

Advanced Search

Journal Navigation

Journal Home

Subscriptions

Archive

Contact Us

Table of Contents

Click here for more information

Sign In to gain access to subscriptions and/or personal tools.
This Article
Right arrow Full Text (OnlineFirst[PDF])
Right arrow Alert me when this article is cited
Right arrow Alert me if a correction is posted
Services
Right arrow Email this article to a friend
Right arrow Similar articles in this journal
Right arrow Alert me to new issues of the journal
Right arrow Add to Saved Citations
Right arrow Download to citation manager
Right arrowRequest Permissions
Right arrow Request Reprints
Right arrow Add to My Marked Citations
Google Scholar
Right arrow Articles by Cunningham, Wm. S.
Right arrow Articles by Naccarato, T.
Social Bookmarking
Add to CiteULike   Add to Connotea   Add to Del.icio.us   Add to Digg   Add to Reddit   Add to Technorati  
What's this?
First published on March 5, 2008
Research on Social Work Practice 2008, doi:10.1177/1049731508314505
© 2008 SAGE Publications

Article

On the Meaning and Measurement of Engagement in Youth Residential Treatment Centers

Wm. Scott Cunningham, Ph.D.1*, David E. Duffee2, Yufan Huang2, Camela M. Steinke2, and Toni Naccarato2

1 Portland State University
2 University at Albany

* To whom correspondence should be addressed. E-mail: wsc{at}pdx.edu.


  Abstract
Objective: This study describes the development of an engagement scale for use with youth in residential treatment centers. Engagement includes attitude about treatment, bond with providers, and participation in treatment activities. Method: Interview data were collected at the midpoint in residence of 130 youth in two centers. Items were selected to capture practitioners’ description of three related concepts in a logic model. The authors conducted confirmatory factor analysis and examined interitem reliability. Results: Results indicate a single underlying factor, which the authors label engagement, an acceptable level of reliability, and strong content validity. Conclusion: The scale integrates several concepts in the treatment process literature and might serve to assess youth engagement in residential settings. Additional study should examine construct and construct validity.


Add to CiteULike CiteULike   Add to Connotea Connotea   Add to Del.icio.us Del.icio.us   Add to Digg Digg   Add to Reddit Reddit   Add to Technorati Technorati    What's this?