A longitudinal study of the effects of a wilderness-enhanced program on behaviour-disordered adolescents. (Crime and justice).

D. Brand, Australian Journal of Outdoor Education, v.6, n.1, 2001, pp.40-56.

To remedy the lack of long-term evaluation of wilderness-based programs for Australian youth-at-risk and juvenile delinquents, this study examined a two-year program with a wilderness component and a follow-up component of cognitive-based therapy. Subjects included 73 male students enrolled in the programs, 52 males students who acted as controls and 65 male students who acted as a reference group. The study found that the program did appear to cause changes in maladaptive behaviour with 22 variables showing improvement in attitude and behaviour over the two years. The initial wilderness experience appeared to be important in the the change process; however, as many of the improvements in behaviour occurred late in the follow-up period, it appears vital that a lengthy follow-up period is part of any multivariate program. The results support previous research on the short-term effects of wilderness-enhanced programs and the abundance of anecdotal evidence available. The authors suggest that future research into adolescent Australian girls with behaviour problems is also needed.