A Challenging Experience in Canoeing and Camping as a Tool in Approaching the Drug Problem

Abstract

Six young men and three counselors completed a 7–day canoeing and camping trip on a 100 mile course in Ontario's Algonquin Provincial Park. This experimental program conducted by YMCA of Western New York was patterned after the Outward Bound program. An attitudinal test administered to the counselees before and after the trip revealed no significant changes in self-esteem although some anecdotal notes are reported. Speculation is made that the measurement of changes in self-esteem may not lend itself to pre- and post-testing with standardized tests in the brief interval and that a “sleeper effect” may exist.