A Longitudinal Study of the Effects of a Wilderness-Enhanced Program on Behaviour-Disordered Adolescents

Abstract

Abstract Juvenile delinquency is a major problem. If it is possible to identify and work with adolescents at risk of becoming delinquent when they are in the at-risk stage, it may be possible to change their attitudes and behaviours. Some programs that have reported short-term and anecdotal success have been wilderness-enhanced programs. Results have generally supported short-term improvement in behaviour. However, conclusive evidence of sustained behaviour change has not been forthcoming. This study examined a program that contained a wilderness component and made use of cognitive-based therapy in the lengthy follow-up period. It employed a longitudinal tracking method, with a pre and post test and control and reference groups, with Jessor and Jessor's Problem Behaviour Proneness model as a guide to the self-report questionnaire. Thirty-one scales were developed that tested variables deemed to be good predictors of problem behaviour proneness. The subjects were tested five times over a two-year period. A MANOVA was conducted on the longitudinal subset of students who were present at every data collection point, then an ANOVA was conducted to compare the groups at different points in time using the cross-sectional data set that contained a much larger number of students' responses. The wilderness-enhanced program of two years duration did appear to cause changes in problem behaviour. Twenty two of the variables showed improvement in attitude and behaviour and seventeen of these were statistically significant. When these significant changes were overlaid with the seemingly positive effects on most of the other variables, the argument for the effectiveness of the wilderness-enhanced program was strengthened. The initial wilderness experience appeared to be important in the change process. Although early change was generally not significant, it was nonetheless present and this seemed to support the idea that the experience acted as a catalyst. The changes were of sufficient magnitude in 19 of the variables to bring the treatment group into the normal range of behaviour for adolescents as exemplified by the reference group. Seventeen of these were statistically significant. The treatment group moved from having 19 variables indicative of promoting problem behaviour proneness at the commencement of the study to only having six at the end. Thus the treatment group's propensity to problem behaviour proneness seemed to have reduced significantly. Many of the improvements in behaviour occurred late in the two-year follow-up period, so it appears vital that a lengthy follow-up period should be part of any multivariate program. The Setting For The Study Adolescence is a time of change. For some, the changes are not made successfully and this can lead to behaviour problems, extremes of which can lead to juvenile delinquency. There is a great need for intervention with these juvenile delinquents: to assist them get back on track, that is, to move them back into the normative range of adolescent behaviour (Wragg, 1995). It is now realised that juvenile delinquency is a complex issue and many factors are involved in its development (Jessor and Jessor, 1977). The peer group is important. The influence of the family is also very important, through conflict and aggression in the home, parenting style, family break-up and many other factors. The adolescent's personality is another important factor. Such traits as a negative attitude to school and authority, a low commitment to goals, refusal to accept responsibility, and the rights of others can all be indicators of a predisposition to delinquency. All these variables were addressed in the study. Because juvenile delinquency is such a complex problem, with many different variables being important in its development, a multivariate approach of the psychosocial models is a much better way of examining the phenomenon. Jessor and Jessor's Problem Behaviour Theory Model (1977) is one such model and it contains three sets of variables which together influence a state called "problem behaviour proneness". …