TPC Journal V8, Issue 2 - FULL ISSUE

170 The Professional Counselor | Volume 8, Issue 2 Discussion The social validity data was analytically useful in determining that the participants believed they received something of value from their respective customized interventions. The CCRSI data were supportive of each participant, providing some evidence of enhanced career and college readiness self- efficacy during the intervention. The baseline data over 2 weeks for the three foster care participants indicated neither a decline nor an improvement during that phase, leading to an inference that, where there were significant positive changes during the treatment phase, the intervention likely caused them (Ray, 2015). The theory-based framework for the interventions provided an important structure for the counselor when attempting to design customized interventions for each participant. Given the differences in pre-treatment demographic characteristics across the three participants and the differences in CCRSI data for each of them, customizing the interventions seemed to be an appropriate strategy, and the two research strategies seemed to complement each other. Customized treatment interventions allow counselors to focus on specific goals for individual clients. Likewise, a theory-based framework provides a common client treatment process for a broad range of customized interventions. Additional important ingredients are independent and dependent variables that can be clearly defined, translated into intervention strategies, and measured objectively over time. Although sharing a status—being in foster care—the three participants were not mirror images of each other. Rose was a high school senior with a relatively low GPA who had identified a postsecondary gateway to a community college. Her baseline scores were high on all four CCRSI factors. They remained high throughout the intervention with a statistically significant enhancement on the academic competence self-efficacy factor. The effect size for that factor was large, and her ATT score was categorized as very high. Janelle was younger than the other participants, had a relatively high GPA, and wanted to attend a four-year college. She had negative treatment trends on all of the factors except college knowledge during the treatment phase, yet an upward trend became statistically significant at the end of the withdrawal phase for the positive personal characteristics and academic competence factors as well. A dramatic drop in her scores near the end of the treatment phase accounted for the negative trend. Significant personal challenges, documented by the counselor’s notes, were problematic for Janelle during treatment. The counselor was able to successfully address Janelle’s concerns and her CCRSI data improved. Her ATT score was high as well. Her lower scores on the college knowledge factor seemed indicative of being a 15-year-old high school student. The less effective impact on the potential to achieve future goals factor may have reflected the ongoing sexual orientation challenge she was experiencing. Kara was a senior in a comprehensive high school with a strong GPA who wanted to attend college. Her baseline data across the four CCRSI factors was low enough to provide room for a positive trend during the treatment phase, and statistically significant trends occurred on the positive personal characteristics and academic competence factors during the treatment phase. Those effect sizes were medium. There also was a small effect size for the college knowledge factor. The findings indicated that the effects of the treatment dropped off somewhat during the withdrawal phase for Kara. Her ATT score was high. Having at least three participants in an SCRD study is a recommended criterion (Lenz, 2015; Ray, 2015). This criterion is viewed as a safeguard against attrition and allows for inclusion of diverse participant characteristics. Having multiple participants enhances the opportunity to better understand