Article Title
Does wilderness therapy reduce recidivism in delinquent adolescents?: A narrative review
Periodical Title
Journal of Adolescent and Family Health
Volume
7
Number
1
Publisher
University of Tennessee at Chattanooga
Place of Publication
Chattanooga (Tenn.)
Date
January 2015
Abstract
Adolescent recidivism rates remain high in the United States despite the fact juvenile crime has declined since the 1990’s. Wilderness therapy (WT) is an emerging treatment approach for adolescents involved in the juvenile justice system. This review examines outcome studies utilizing a wilderness therapy program in an effort to reduce adolescent recidivism. Studies were eligible if they: (a) evaluated a WT intervention, (b) utilized an adolescent population, (c) included a measure of recidivism as an outcome variable, and were (d) published in English between 1990 and June of 2010 in a peer-reviewed journal. A total of seven studies on WT were included, and the majority of studies indicated mildly positive short-term results though long-term effects were mixed. The overall quality of the evaluations designs was low, indicating the need for better controlled and longer term experimental evaluations.
Subject
Adolescent health services; Families -- Health and hygiene
Discipline
Social and Behavioral Sciences | Social Work
Document Type
articles
DCMI Type
Text
Extent
20 leaves
Language
English
Rights
http://rightsstatements.org/vocab/InC/1.0/
Recommended Citation
Clem, Jamie M.; Prost, Stephanie Grace; and Thyer, Bruce A.
(2015)
"Does wilderness therapy reduce recidivism in delinquent adolescents?: A narrative review,"
Journal of Adolescent and Family Health: Vol. 7:
Iss.
1, Article 2.
Available at:
https://scholar.utc.edu/jafh/vol7/iss1/2