Physical Challenge as a Treatment for Delinquency

Abstract

A study was conducted to determine whether a program of severe physical challenge can be more effective than a traditional training school experience in reducing further delinquency by adolescent boys adjudicated delinquent. Effectiveness was measured by comparing the recidivism rates between two matched groups. An experimental group (N=60) attended Outward Bound schools while a comparison group (N=60) was treated in a routine manner by the Massachusetts Division of Youth Service. One year after parole, the recidivism rates for the two groups were compared. Only 20 per cent of the experimental group recidivated, as opposed to 42 per cent of the comparison group. Background variables such as age of first court appearance, presence of both parents in the home, first institutionalization, and type of offense were important conditions affecting recidivism. The results suggest that for some delinquents a program such as Outward Bound, which presents a severe physical challenge, is a desirable alternative to traditional institutional care and should be considered as a model for improving current correctional programs. It appears that those delinquents who are responding to an adolescent crisis rather than to a character defect would profit most from such a program. © 1971, Sage Publications. All rights reserved.