3-Year Iatrogenic Effects Associated With Aggregating High-Risk Adolescents in Cognitive-Behavioral Preventive Interventions

This article focuses on 3-year outcomes associated with a preventive intervention trial in which high-risk youth were aggregated into cognitive-behavioral groups. Analyses of covariance and latent growth modeling revealed that the intervention contributed to 3-year escalations in self-reported smoking and teacher-reported delinquency. Interactions between participants' characteristics (i.e., initial status, age, and gender) and intervention were also tested. A statistically reliable interaction was found, suggesting that those with initially low levels of delinquency were especially affected by the peer intervention group. Implications of these iatrogenic effects are discussed with respect to aggregating high-risk youth in selected prevention trials.