The University of Oxford study found that ISSPs reduced the rate of reoffending by 43 per cent and the seriousness of the offences committed by 16 per cent.
It also helped tackle the social and personal problems of young offenders and reduced the use of custodial sentences.
But the report's authors said more research was needed in some areas.
For example, although reoffending dropped among young people on an ISSP, it dropped slightly more in a comparison group that was not on the programme.
The report also questioned the effectiveness of certain aspects of the scheme. Electronic tagging, which is used with 70 per cent of ISSPs, "inflamed resentment and antagonism" for some offenders, and fewer tagged offenders completed programmes than those that were tracked by human beings.
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