Abstract
With high rates of psychological distress reported amongst children internationally, the development and evaluation of new program initiatives is critical in order to meet the challenge of this burgeoning issue. Both acceptance and commitment therapy and adventure therapy are emerging as popular strategies to elevate psychological wellbeing. This small-scale program evaluation focuses on nine upper primary school-aged children enrolled in a specialist school in Australia for children with challenging behavior and/or emotional needs. Participants completed a newly developed 8-week intervention entitled ‘ACT in the Outdoors’ which combined key principles of both acceptance and commitment therapy and adventure therapy. The program was evaluated via a combination of pre and post participant psychological measures, and post interviews with participants and teachers. The results of this small-scale preliminary evaluation suggest that a portion of the participating children reported improvements in psychological wellbeing and skill development. Improvements appear to be mitigated by attendance and level of psychological wellbeing upon program entry. Based on this premise, the results suggest that more research is warranted to further understand the potential benefit of this innovative interdisciplinary approach.
Highlights
High prevalence rates of psychological difficulties amongst children present as an enduring international problem
The present study aimed to provide a preliminary evaluation of the ACT in the Outdoors program on the psychological wellbeing of children who presented with challenging behavioral and/or emotional needs
This was discussed by the teachers generally in relation to mindfulness, and the breathing exercises introduced and practiced throughout each session of the program
Summary
High prevalence rates of psychological difficulties amongst children present as an enduring international problem. In Australia, the site of the current study, around one in seven children and adolescents aged 4–17 years exhibit a psychological or behavioral disorder with attention deficit hyperactivity disorder, anxiety, depression and conduct disorder the most prevalent (Lawrence et al, 2015). If unresolved, these childhood difficulties negatively impact on children’s development and the Acceptance Commitment and Adventure Therapies attainment of future productive adult lives (World Health Organization [WHO], 2005). Robust longitudinal studies have confirmed that anxiety and depressive symptoms in childhood and adolescence significantly predict major depression and mood disorders in adulthood (Reinherz et al, 2003; Roza et al, 2003)
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