Yochanan Wozner

The least detrimental alternative Deciding whether to remove children at risk from their homes

The decision to remove children at risk from their homes entails serious dilemmas, since both remaining in and being removed have strong negative psychological repercussions. This article presents an empirical investigation of 194 Israeli child protection officers’ decisions on 368 children at risk. Findings showed that while the officers predicted that all the children would have a better quality of life outside their homes, they removed only those where the projected disparity between the alternatives was substantial. That is, they considered not only whether one alternative was better or worse, but how much better or worse. Implications for decisions in “grey areas” are discussed.

Self-Control and Enuresis

This paper presents the link between self-control and childhood enuresis, assuming that enuresis is maintained by deficiencies in self-control skills, whether caused by physiological, behavioral, or cognitive components. Acquisition of self-control skills is proposed as helping in eliminating enuresis. Seventy-seven enuretic children (aged 7 to 14) were randomly assigned to three treatment modes (bell and pad, token economy, and cognitive therapy) and to one control group. The self-control skills of children and their parents and the frequency of enuresis were measured before and after treatment. Results showed a negative correlation between self-control and enuresis on the one hand and between the acquisition of self-control skills and recovery from enuresis on the other hand. The results also highlighted the need for a follow-up period to determine the different longer-term effects of treatments.

Quality of life of single mothers by choice in Israel : A comparison to divorced mothers and married mothers

Abstract Although single motherhood by choice has become more common in the last three decades, little is known about the influence of this family structure on the quality of life of mothers. To address this gap, the current study examined the quality of life profile of 61 single mothers by choice (SMC) in comparison to that of 53 divorced and 60 married mothers in Israel. The findings indicate similarities between the three groups in the psychological, physical, social, and cultural components of quality of life. However, after controlling for economic and paternal involvement variables, the quality of life of SMC was significantly higher in all four components compared to that of married mothers. No significant differences were found between the SMC and divorced mothers.

Ten Models for Probation Supervision Compared Across Eight Dimensions

ABSTRACT The literature on probation services for adult offenders points to significant differences in their basic assumptions, policies, and practices. It describes a variety of probational practices and offers a range of suggestions for ideal probation programs. This paper attempts to organize the range of theoretical and actual programs under ten alternative models, which differ from one another in their underlying perception of the causes of crime and philosophy of punishment, in the aims they assign to probation, the clients they envision for change and protection, their basic strategies, and the role of the probation officer. The models can serve as an aid in defining, characterizing, and comparing the wide variety of approaches to probation along the same dimensions, in locating and identifying any changes in approach, and in defining a desired probation policy or practice.

Institutional Treatment for Juvenile Delinquents: 2000 Offenders after Three Years.

A common belief among professionals and researchers involved with the rehabilitation of juvenile delinquents is that residential treatment for these youngsters reinforces rather than inhibits their patterns of delinquent behaviors. The present study included the entire Jewish male population referred by the Israeli juvenile court to residential treatment during a period of six years (1969 to 1975). During this period, 2050 juveniles were sentenced to residential treatment. Their criminal records before, during, and after incarceration up to three years were checked. Due to errors in I.D. numbers, criminal records of only 1331 (64.93%) were retrieved. Mean age at first confinement of the inmates was 13.45 (S.D. = 2.3) years. Average length of stay in institutions ranged from one month to more than eight years with mean of 19.7 months (S.D. = 16.6 months). Since juvenile delinquents referred to community based, non-residential, treatment programs cannot serve as a control group due to different treatment ne...