A new approach to children's education quarterly

A new approach to children's education quarterly

The Effectiveness of the PTB Therapeutic Protocol in Reducing Behavioral Profile Problems, Problem-Solving Skills, Bullying, and Self-Compassion in Delinquent Adolescents

Document Type : Original Article

Authors
Masoomeh Eftekhari 1
Hadi Hashemi Razini 2
Asghar Jafari 3
1 PhD student Islamic Azad University- Department of General Psychology, Saveh branch, Islamic Azad University, Saveh, Iran
2 Assistant Professor, Department of Psychology Kharazmi University,Tehran,Iran
3 Associate Professor University of Kashan - Department of Psychology, Faculty of Humanities, University of Kashan, Kashan, Iran
10.22034/naes.2025.513724.1680
Abstract
Objective: The present study aimed to investigate the effectiveness of the PTB therapeutic protocol in reducing behavioral profile problems, reducing bullying, enhancing problem-solving skills, and promoting self-compassion in delinquent adolescents. The main goal was to assess whether psychological interventions based on the PTB protocol could improve behavioral issues, bullying behaviors, and problem-solving skills while enhancing the level of self-compassion in delinquent adolescents.

Method: This research was a semi-experimental study with a pre-test, post-test, and control group design. The statistical population included male and female delinquent adolescents aged 14 to 18, who were held in correctional and rehabilitation centers in Tehran Province in 2021. From the population, 40 individuals were randomly selected and assigned to experimental and control groups. The experimental group participated in 12 sessions of the PTB therapeutic protocol, whereas the control group received no intervention. Data were collected using the Youth Behavioral Problems Scale (Achenbach & Rescorla, 1997), the Bullying Questionnaire (Olweus, 2002), and the Social Problem-Solving Inventory (D’Zurilla et al., 2002). Data analysis was performed using the mixed ANOVA statistical test.

Findings: The results demonstrated that the PTB-based therapeutic intervention significantly improved behavioral profile problems, bullying behaviors, and problem-solving skills in delinquent adolescents. Furthermore, the level of self-compassion in the experimental group exhibited a significant increase. A comparison of pre-test and post-test scores between the experimental and control groups revealed that these changes were stable over time and were confirmed during the follow-up phase.

Conclusion: The findings indicated that the PTB therapeutic protocol can serve as an effective intervention for reducing behavioral problems, bullying, and improving problem-solving skills and self-compassion in delinquent adolescents. These results have practical implications for psychologists and therapists in designing and implementing educational and therapeutic programs for delinquent adolescents. It is recommended that the PTB therapeutic approach be more widely implemented in correctional and rehabilitation centers, as well as in support programs for delinquent adolescents, to improve their psychological and social well-being.
Keywords
Behavioral problems
problem-solving
delinquency
behavioral profile
bullying

Subjects

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A new approach to children's education quarterly
Volume 7, Issue 2 - Serial Number 24
Summer 2025
Pages 293-315

  • Receive Date 24 March 2025
  • Revise Date 22 April 2025
  • Accept Date 30 April 2025
  • First Publish Date 30 April 2025
  • Publish Date 23 August 2025