Piloting PlayWrite: Feasibility and efficacy of a playwriting intervention for at-risk adolescents.

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At-risk, disadvantaged, and marginalized youth are seldom afforded avenues for healthy self-expression-which, in turn, may further increase risk. Interventions using the arts are often proposed but are seldom formally evaluated. In the present pilot study, we evaluated a brief intensive intervention in which at-risk adolescents partner with professional coaches to write their own play, which is then performed before a live audience. Positive intervention effects were found in decreased hyperactivity/inattention, decreased anhedonia, and improved anger inhibition/suppression. These promising preliminary findings indicate that further study of this type of intervention is warranted.