Wilderness Programs for Juvenile Offenders: A Challenging Alternative

Within the context of juvenile justice a distinction can be made between alternatives which are intended primarily to meet rehabilitation goals (e.g., wilderness adventure programs) and alternatives which are intended primarily to meet social control goals (e.g., juvenile training schools). This article begins with a discussion of the similarities and differences between traditional training schools and wilderness programs. The author then provides a brief historical perspective on wilderness programs, followed by an examination of the similarities and differences among the various established wilderness programs. A detailed description of one of the most widely known adventure programs — Vision Quest—is presented. Some of the more critical programmatic factors are reviewed, including, the purposes, nature, content, and evaluations of wilderness programs. The author concludes by calling for more research based on uniform statistics, standardized outcome and recidivism measures, and longitudinal data so valid comparisons of the effectiveness of the various programs can be made.