Feasibility Trial of a Correctional Management for Juvenile Offenders

NCT07516080 | Recruiting DMC

• 1 other identifier: No. D/28/FIMS
• Study Type: interventional
• Target: 60
• Locations: 1 country
• Sites: 1

Brief Summary

The goal of this clinical trial is to learn if a structured Correctional Management intervention can be feasibly implemented with incarcerated juveniles in a correctional institution. It will also assess whether the research procedures can be successfully carried out with this population. The main questions it aims to answer are:

1. 1.Can participants be effectively recruited, retained, and engaged, and can the intervention be delivered acceptably with adequate therapist adherence and complete outcome data collection?
2. 2.Does the intervention demonstrate preliminary effectiveness? Researcher will compare an experimental (intervention) group to a control group receiving standard institutional management to see if the intervention can be practically delivered and is associated with initial changes in outcomes.
3. 3.Be randomly assigned to either the intervention group or the control group
4. 4.Complete assessments at baseline (before the intervention) and post-intervention
5. 5.Attend structured intervention sessions (if assigned to the experimental group)
6. 6.Complete standardized self-report measures assessing emotional and behavioral difficulties, psychological capital, criminal thinking styles, attitudes toward seeking mental health services, emotion regulation, and moral disengagement

Conditions

Juvenile Delinquency

Keywords

Juvenile offenders; Incarcerated Juveniles; delinquency; juvenile delinquent; feasibility trial; rct; randomized controlled trial; correctional management; psychological intervention; behavioral intervention; Youth in detention; adolescents; pilot study

Outcome Measures

Primary Outcomes (5)

• Recruitment Rate

  Recruitment rate will be defined as the proportion of eligible participants who provide informed consent to participate in the study. This will be calculated during the recruitment phase at baseline and reported as a percentage, reflecting the feasibility of enrolling participants into the intervention.

  From baseline to post-intervention (approximately 7-8 weeks)

• Retention Rate

  Retention rate will be defined as the proportion of participants who remain in the study and complete the post-intervention assessment. This outcome will be assessed from baseline to post-intervention (approximately 7-8 weeks) and reported as a percentage, indicating the ability to maintain participant involvement over time.

  From baseline to post-intervention (approximately 7-8 weeks)

• Participant Adherence

  Participant adherence will be measured by session attendance, calculated as the number of sessions attended out of a total of 15 sessions. This may also be expressed as a percentage and will be assessed across the intervention period (7-8 weeks), providing an indication of participant engagement with the program.

  From baseline to post-intervention (approximately 7-8 weeks)

• Intervention Fidelity

  Intervention fidelity will be evaluated using a structured fidelity checklist to assess the extent to which the intervention is delivered in accordance with the established protocol. Fidelity scores will be reported as a percentage, reflecting the consistency and quality of intervention delivery throughout the study period

  From baseline to post-intervention (approximately 7-8 weeks)

• Acceptability of the Intervention

  Acceptability will be assessed at post-intervention using the Acceptability of Intervention Measure, a 4-item self-report scale rated on a 5-point Likert scale ranging from 1 (completely disagree) to 5 (completely agree), yielding a total score range of 4 to 20. Higher scores indicate greater perceived acceptability of the intervention.

  From baseline to post-intervention (approximately 7-8 weeks)

Secondary Outcomes (6)

• Change from Baseline in Emotional and Behavioral Difficulties (SDQ)

  From baseline to post-intervention (approximately 7-8 weeks)

• Change from Baseline in Psychological Capital (APS)

  From baseline to post-intervention (approximately 7-8 weeks)

• Change from Baseline in Criminal Thinking Styles (JCTSI)

  From baseline to post-intervention (approximately 7-8 weeks)

• Change from Baseline in Emotion Regulation (ERQ)

  From baseline to post-intervention (approximately 7-8 weeks)

• Change from Baseline in Moral Disengagement (MDSA)

  From baseline to post-intervention (approximately 7-8 weeks)

Study Arms (2)

Correctional Management for Juvenile Offenders

EXPERIMENTAL

Participants assigned to this arm will receive a structured Correctional Management Plan delivered in a group format over approximately 7-8 weeks. The intervention consists of 15 sessions conducted twice weekly, with each session lasting 90-120 minutes. The program is delivered by a trained psychologist and follows a structured manual incorporating cognitive-behavioral techniques, emotion regulation training, moral reasoning, identity development, and future planning. Sessions include guided discussions, skill-building exercises, behavioral activities, and reflective tasks aimed at improving psychological and behavioral functioning among juvenile offenders.

Behavioral: A Correctional Management for Juvenile Offenders

Standard Institutional Management (Control)

NO INTERVENTION

Participants assigned to this arm will continue to receive standard institutional management and routine services provided by the correctional facility during the study period. No structured psychological intervention or additional therapeutic program will be introduced as part of the study. Participants will complete baseline and post-intervention assessments at the same time points as the experimental group.

Interventions

A Correctional Management for Juvenile Offenders BEHAVIORAL

Juveniles often face a range of psychological, emotional, and behavioral difficulties that contribute to their engagement in harmful or delinquent behaviors such as theft, physical fights, property offenses, and in some cases more serious acts including violent or sexual offenses and drug-related activities. Many struggle with impulsivity, difficulty in regulating their emotions, moral disengagement, and difficulties in understanding the consequences of their actions. This structured therapeutic intervention aims to support psychological rehabilitation of incarcerated juveniles through 15 group-based sessions. The program targets emotional awareness, emotion regulation, cognitive restructuring, accountability, empathy, understanding consequences of behavior, consent awareness, identity development, relapse prevention, and future planning to promote reintegration.

Correctional Management for Juvenile Offenders

Eligibility Criteria

• Age: 11 Years - 17 Years
• Sex: male
• Healthy Volunteers: No
• Age Groups: Child (0-17)

You may qualify if:

• Male juvenile offenders aged 11 to 17 years
• Currently residing in a correctional institution
• Able to understand Urdu and participate in group-based sessions
• Provide informed assent

You may not qualify if:

• Presence of a severe psychiatric condition requiring immediate or intensive clinical treatment
• Significant cognitive impairment or developmental condition that limits ability to engage in the intervention
• Currently receiving another structured psychological or behavioral intervention
• Medical or behavioral condition that would interfere with safe participation, as determined by institutional staff or the researcher

Sponsors & Collaborators

• University of the Punjab: lead

Study Sites (1)

District Jail, Lahore

Lahore, Punjab Province, 54000, Pakistan

RECRUITING

Central Study Contacts

Shahmeen Noor

CONTACT

+923336963847; shahmeennoor44@gmail.com

Study Design

• Study Type: interventional
• Phase: not applicable
• Allocation: RANDOMIZED
• Masking: NONE
• Purpose: TREATMENT
• Intervention Model: PARALLEL
• Sponsor Type: OTHER
• Responsible Party: PRINCIPAL INVESTIGATOR
• PI Title: MS Scholar, Centre for Clinical Psychology

Study Record Dates

• First Submitted: March 25, 2026
• First Posted: April 7, 2026
• Study Start: March 11, 2026
• Primary Completion: June 30, 2026
• Study Completion: June 30, 2026
• Last Updated: June 29, 2026

Record last verified: 2026-06

Data Sharing

• IPD Sharing: Will not share

Locations

PA (1)