NCJ Number
137540
Journal
Journal of Offender Rehabilitation Volume: 17 Issue: 3/4 Dated: (1992) Pages: 19-46
Date Published
1992
Length
28 pages
Annotation
The Spectrum Wilderness Program, modeled after Outward Bound, is evaluated in terms of its effects on the delinquency and system penetration of the troubled youth who participate in the program.
Abstract
A matched group quasi-experimental design was used, based on a sample of 36 youth who had participated in 30-day wilderness courses between January 1987 and December 1988 upon the recommendation of the probation department of a large suburban county in northern Illinois. A matched comparison group was randomly selected from juveniles supervised by the same probation department who did not attend the wilderness course but who matched the experimentals in terms of gender, race, ethnicity, age, date of first referral to the court, and offense class of the initial referral charge. The findings showed that successful completion of the Spectrum program resulted in arrest reductions which lasted for about one year, even for the most seriously delinquent children. By the two year follow-up, however, the positive program affects had diminished to the point of being insignificant. Seventy-five percent of program participants were rearrested within 270 "at risk" days. The authors suggest that these results should encourage the continued development of wilderness programs as alternatives to traditional juvenile justice interventions. 5 tables, 2 figures, and 26 references