Practice Profile: Wilderness Challenge Programs

Wilderness challenge programs are designed to help non-delinquent or delinquent youth who have behavioral issues build self-esteem and interpersonal skills through physical activity and social interaction. The practice is rated Promising for reducing recidivism, improving interpersonal skills, increasing self-esteem, and improving school adjustment. The practice is rated No Effects for encouraging participants’ beliefs in their ability to control the events that affect them.

Practice Goals/Target Population

Wilderness challenge programs (also known as wilderness camps, wilderness therapy, adventure therapy, outdoor adventure programming, or outdoor education programs) are designed to help delinquent youth and non-delinquent youth improve problem behaviors and reduce recidivism through physical activity and social interaction (Wilson and Howell 1993). Some programs target youth at risk of becoming involved in the justice system, whereas other programs specifically treat adjudicated delinquent youth, including juveniles on probation or those placed in outcome-of-home placements.

Practice Activities

Wilderness challenge programs vary in level of intensity of physical activities, length of the program, and therapeutic goals. Wilderness challenge programs involve physical activities and collaboration between youth participants. Program components can be viewed as high intensity, medium or mid-range intensity, or low intensity. High-intensity activities include white water river rafting, solo or group backpacking trips, and rock climbing; mid-range intensity activities include high-ropes courses, day hikes, and cabin camping; and low-intensity activities generally include nothing more challenging than low-ropes courses or “trust falls”. All activities are intended to develop participants' interpersonal skills through communication and cooperation.

The length of the wilderness challenge programs may vary, from short periods (such as 5 days) to longer periods (such as 3 months or longer).

Some programs also include an additional therapeutic component, such as behavior management, counseling, cognitive-behavior therapy, reality therapy, or family or group therapy. The therapeutic components are designed to reduce antisocial behavior and help participants apply what they were learning during the program to outside contexts and settings (Wilson and Lipsey 2000).

Practice Theory

Wilderness challenge programs are based on the idea that key factors for delinquency include low self-esteem, poor interpersonal skills, and the belief that events are out of an individual’s control (i.e., an external locus of control). Antisocial behavior is modified by participation in challenges that directly test participants’ skills and confront their negative self-concepts. Although challenges vary in terms of settings, level of intensity of physical activities, and therapeutic goals, the treatment is grounded in the theory of experiential education (Gass 1993).

Experiential education suggests that direct experience can facilitate personal growth. Wilderness challenge programs are based on two dimensions of experiential education. The first dimension posits that individuals “learn by doing.” Participants master a series of increasingly challenging physical activities, building confidence, self-esteem, and a greater belief that they can control the events that affect them (i.e., a more internalized locus of control). Upon completion of the program, participants are presumably less likely to continue with a pattern of problem behaviors (Gass 1993; Wilson and Lipsey 2000).

The second dimension of experiential learning relates to the importance of teamwork in wilderness programs (Wichmann 1993; Wilson and Lipsey 2000). Solving challenges requires positive group interaction and cooperation, during which participants learn prosocial interpersonal skills that can be transferred to situations outside the program (Wilson and Lipsey 2000).

Wilson and Lipsey (2000) included additional tests—called moderator analyses—to see if any factors strengthened the likelihood that wilderness challenges improved outcomes. Looking at the length of the programs, the researchers found a statistically significant negative relationship between program length and the outcomes. This indicated that longer duration programs (more than 10 weeks) were associated with smaller effects on antisocial behavior and delinquency compares compared with shorter-term programs (less than 6 weeks). The researchers also found a statistically significant effect with regards to program intensity. Programs with high-intensity activities (such as river rafting or rock climbing) produced greater delinquency reductions, compared with programs with low-intensity activities. Additionally, they found a statistically significant decrease in the likelihood of delinquency and antisocial behavior for participants in programs that included a therapeutic component, compared with participants in programs without such a component.

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