Effectiveness of Boot Camp for at Risk Youth

Running head: EFFECTIVENESS OF BOOT CAMP FOR AT RISK YOUTH 1

Effectiveness of Boot Camp for At-Risk Youth

Arline Troncoza

Danelle Smith

Denise Maldonado

Jamie Olmos

Lupe Delgadillo

Melissa Castro

Melissa O’Dell

Education 607- Dr. Murillo

California State University San Bernardino

Arline Troncoza, Danelle Smith, Denise Maldonado, Jamie Olmos, Lupe Delgadillo, Melissa

Castro, Melissa O’Dell, College of Education, California State University San Bernardino

Correspondence concerning this paper should be addressed to Melissa R. Castro, College of Education, California State University San Bernardino, 5500 University Parkway, San

Bernardino, California, 92407. E-mail: [email protected] 2

Abstract

The purpose of this study was to examine the effectiveness of a local boot camp for at-risk youth.

The researchers evaluated the participant’s behavior and their perspective of the boot camp. Two surveys were administered, one a few weeks after the program began and the second at the end of the program. Results show that participants’ behavior and perspective positively changed compared to their initial reaction upon entering the program. Therefore, this study demonstrated that a boot camp, such as the one utilized for this study, can be effective in redirecting negative behavior to positive behavior. 3 EFFECTIVENESS OF BOOT CAMP FOR AT RISK YOUTH Effects of Community Boot Camp for At-Risk Youth

Boot camp programs have been both praised and criticized as their popularity has increased, and they have become well known across the fields of corrections and juvenile justice.

(Wells, Minor, Angel & Stearman, 2006). The appeal of boot camps seems to stem from the belief that military stylediscipline will promote law-abiding behavior. Though critics describe these programs as the result of desperation fueled by the deficit of more worthwhile alternatives

(Wells, et al, 2006). The use of quasi-militaristic programming with incarcerated populations dates to at least the reformatory movement of the latter 19th Century, though the contemporary era of adult boot camps dates to the early to mid 1980s. Programs for juveniles proliferated about a decade later, amid more encompassing efforts to crack down on juvenile crime and promote accountability (Wells, et al, 2006). Indeed, juvenile involvement in crime and violence can lead to many psychological difficulties and is associated with numerous negative outcomes, including greater academic difficulties, interpersonal difficulties, and peer rejection (Kassabri, Sharvet,

Braver, & Livneh, 2010). The consensus is that, juvenile delinquency and crime is a problem on many societal levels (Sander, Sharkey, Olivarri, Tanigawa &Mauseth, 2010). However the debate remains, are boot camp style programs the best option?

Boot camps, whether designed for adults or juveniles are meant to control three interrelated phenomena; institutional crowding, correctional costs, and offender recidivism

(Wells et al, 2006).Studies show that, for adults, when compared to incarceration in more traditional facilities, boot camp participation is often associated with more positive attitudes and similar proxies for institutional adjustment and personal improvement, such as educational gain.

(Wells et al, 2006). However, there is no reason to assume that these results are generalizable to the juvenile population. In fact, muchconcern has been voiced that shock incarceration programs 4

(boot camps) may be physically or mentally harmful, thus exacerbating the likelihood of future problems among young offenders. Indeed, in light of the fact that juveniles are at earlier stages of physical and psychosocial development; there are obvious philosophical, legal and operational differences between juvenile justice and adult criminal justice. Consequently, the need exists to examine juvenile boot camp programs, in their own right (Wells, et al., 2006).

While much of the research has focused on adults, the existing research for juveniles has examined attitudes, perceptions, values, institutional adjustment, educational gains and facility characteristics. Research indicates that in comparison to juveniles in traditional facilities, those in boot camps perceived the environment to be more controlled, structured, and safer. Boot camp participation was associated with improved self-esteem, and expectations for self-efficacy at avoiding future problems (Wells, et al, 2006).

A case study by Mincey, Maldonado, Lacey and Thompson, (2008) examined the philosophical issues pertaining to the lived experiences of graduates of juvenile treatment programs, in an effort to understand why juveniles succeed or fail as they engage in treatments.

Their study suggests that poverty, peer relations, school, family life, self- imposed limitations, and community dynamics were linked to juvenile offending (Mincey, et al, 2008). Findings of this study indicated that juvenile offenders who have supportive familial relationships, who function as productive citizens within their communities, and who make satisfactory performance in school, may experience recidivism less frequently than those who exhibit opposite characteristics. Additionally, juveniles who leave correctional programs with the coping skills necessary to effectively face the temptations associated with old friends and old habits were less likely to become repeat offenders; citing family support and selective involvement strategies as very helpful ways to avoid recidivism (Abrams, 2006). 5 EFFECTIVENESS OF BOOT CAMP FOR AT RISK YOUTH The current study seeks to add to the growing body of knowledge surrounding the effectiveness of boot camp style programs for juveniles, specifically addressing the questions, how effective are intervention (boot camp) programs at changing the attitudes and behaviors of at risk youth? Which elements of a boot camp program make them more or less effective? It was predicted that boots camp programs would prove to be effective at changing the attitudes and behaviors of at risk youth, if they are combined with other elements such as anger management, family counseling, education for parents etc., and take into consideration any existing behavioral or learning challenges faced by the youth after the program. That is, participants will demonstrate a positive change in their overall attitudes, perspectives and behaviors after completing a boot camp program, whose curriculum includes these components, as indicated by their responses to researcher questions.

Method

Participants

The following study utilized a local community boot camp for at-risk adolescents, which was overseen by the city’s police department personnel. The boot camp was a 14-week program that focused on positive redirection through counseling, educating, and disciplinary components to alter negative behavior. Participants of the program were either referred to the program through the courts, by probation officers, school officials, parents or other means (church, etc.).

Participants (N=25) were used for the following study, 6 of whom were female and

19who were male. The majority of participants (20) identified as of Latin/Hispanic background;

4 identified as White/ Caucasian and 1 participant identified as Black/African American. Fifteen of the participants reported that they volunteered for the boot camp program, while nine (3 6 females and 6 male) reported that they did not volunteer for the program. Participants’ ages ranged from thirteen years to seventeen years with an average age of fifteen years old.

Materials

Two questionnaires (formative and summative, given at weeks 6 and 14, respectively) were utilized to assess the attitudes/behaviors and perspectives of the boot camp participants.

Since the study was anonymous surveys were packaged in a numbered manila envelope.

Questionnaires were one page, front and back and consisted of 4 demographic (gender, age, ethnicity, and volunteer/not) questions, 3open-ended questions, and 15 questions using a Likert scale (1-7) to indicate degree of perspective.

Procedure

Due to the type of study and population being examined the subjects were not randomly assigned. Questionnaires were administered face to face and were anonymous. Thus, each participant was assigned a number ranging from 1 to 25 in order to compare the answers of the formative questionnaire to the summative questionnaires. A formative-questionnaire was given on the sixth week of the program to evaluate the subjects’ current attitude and perspective of the boot camp program. Then eight weeks later at the end of the program a summative-questionnaire was given to evaluate if any changes in attitude and/or perspective occurred about the boot camp program.

Design

The study was a quantitative non-experimental design, which examined the attitude and perspective of juveniles participating in a local community boot camp. Two surveys were administered in the middle of the boot camp program and the second on the last day of the program. The purpose of administering two surveys was to examine if any change in attitude and 7 EFFECTIVENESS OF BOOT CAMP FOR AT RISK YOUTH perspective of the boot camp from the participants occurred. If participants indicated positive change then results would imply that the boot camp was effective. However, if no change or negative change occurred then results would indicate that the boot camp program is ineffective.

Results

After comparing the results, research showed that boot camp participants were somewhat impacted by the program. Results presented in Table 1 indicate that participants were less likely to experience negative emotions such as anger, anxiety, frustration and unhappiness. It was also discovered that participants were less likely to blame their parents for their negative behaviors and attitudes. At the end of the 14-week program, approximately 45% of participants felt that their parents understood their issues and daily obstacles; approximately 45% percent felt that they benefited from the program; about half of the participants (50%) feel the program has changed their outlook on life, family, friends/peers, school and community. In addition, on average, all of the participants showed a slight increase in the amount of hope they had for their future, as compared to their answers on the first, summative survey.

Overall, boot camp members reported experiencing a positive impact based on program participation. Compared to initial survey responses, the best experience members received was indicated as “everything.” This includes a variety of possible responses such as: food, anger management, dealing with real world situations, scenery, lessons learned, workout regimen, field trips, staying out of trouble, making friends and graduating. 8

Discussion

The current study sought to add to the growing body of knowledge surrounding the effectiveness of boot camp style programs for juveniles, specifically addressing the questions, how effective are intervention (boot camp) programs at changing the attitudes and behaviors of at risk youth? Which elements of a boot camp program make them more or less effective? The results indicate that there was a slight positive change in attitude and perspective of the program participants, as hypothesized by the researchers of the study. The positive change occurred in the following areas: participants were less likely to leave the program viewing parents as the problem, participants were more likely to feel that their parents understood their daily issues and obstacles; they were more likely to feel that the program was a benefit to them and their specific situation; they felt that at this point in the program (the end of the program) that it had changed their outlook on life, family, friends/peers, school and community, participants were more likely to have hope for the future, and reported feeling less negative emotions.

These positive changes, though slight, are worth noting, as they support the findings of previous research also investigating the impact/effectiveness of boot camp programs on changing the attitudes/ behaviors and beliefs of participants. Kassabri, et al, (2010) noted that, after their research participants completed a similar style treatment program, some improvements were observed including reductions of negative emotions and reductions in feelings of anger and endorsements of violence (Kassabri, et al, 2010).

Similarly, analysis by Flash (2003) indicates that, to some extent, boot camps are successful in changing some basic attitudes about crime, delinquency, and life opportunities.

Boot camp participants in this study expressed increased respect for program staff, increased 9 EFFECTIVENESS OF BOOT CAMP FOR AT RISK YOUTH feelings of hope for their future, improved relationships with family and greater self-control and awareness, as well as increased confidence in their coping skills for dealing with difficult life situations in the future, and positive changes in attitude about behavior and rehabilitation (Flash,

2003).Asked both before entering the boot camp and at exit interviews if the program would change their behavior, a greater number of participants answered in the positive upon leaving than entering. Finally, fewer participants said the program was un- helpful upon leaving than had indicated this belief upon entering (Flash, 2003).

Regarding the internal validity of the current study, there are a few factors to consider.

The participants in the study were surveyed in by two different sets of researchers. As such, the possibility exists that not every experiment was conducted in exactly the same manner, as instructions for conducting the experiment are subject to the individual interpretation of the instructor/researcher. As any variations in the conditions of the experiment will have an effect on the validity of the results, future researchers should pay close attention to control for variations in condition in order to obtain the most accurate results.

Another threat to the current study’s internal validity was the short amount of time between the first and second study, which may not have been sufficient to obtain adequate measures of program effectiveness. Future studies should seek to allow more time between the summative and formative evaluations; perhaps also adding the element of researcher observation to their study, spending time observing the program before, during and after the evaluations are administered. This extra element of inquiry would undoubtedly yield valuable insight into the actual thoughts and behaviors of the participants, on a daily basis while taking part in the program; as opposed to the forced choice answers that may be given on a single survey. 10

Additionally, one limitation of the measures of the study was the forced-choice recognition test used in order to determine the affect of the boot camp on the participant’s views regarding themselves and the boot camp program. As with any multiple choice test or survey, there is no way to know with 100 percent certainty that the participants have selected their chosen answers because they actually agree with this answer, and feel that it best represents their current feelings, or if they were simply guessing. Future studies should take this into account when deciding which measures will be most effective in providing precise, accurate results.

The external validity of the study may have been affected by several factors. First, the participants were chosen from a convenience sample that consisted solely of 25 youth, (ages 13-

17) enrolled in a 14-week community boot camp program, during the Fall of 2013. Therefore two factors limiting a participant’s eligibility for the study was their ability to speak and understand English as well as their being present on the day the surveys were administered. In order to obtain a more representative sample, a future study should include a larger demographic group of participants, and should allow for speakers of different languages to participate, and allow for absent participants to complete the survey at an alternate day/time in order to be counted.

Future research should take into account the above- mentioned limitations of this study.

As any variations in the conditions of the experiment will have an effect on the validity of the results, future researchers should pay close attention to control for variations in condition in order to obtain the most accurate results. Future studies should seek to allow more time between the summative and formative evaluations; perhaps also adding the element of researcher observation to their study, spending time observing the program before, during and after the evaluations are administered. Future studies should take into account the concerns associated 11 EFFECTIVENESS OF BOOT CAMP FOR AT RISK YOUTH with the use of a forced choice survey, specifically its accuracy, when deciding which measures will be most effective in providing precise, accurate results, and consider adding an element of researcher observation of the program. A future study should include a larger demographic group of participants, and should allow for speakers of different languages to participate, and allow for absent participants to complete the survey at an alternate day/time in order to be counted.

Finally, this study did not take into consideration the rate of recidivism of program participants. A future study would do well to look into the factors that impact youth recidivism, such as coping skills for dealing with old friends and habits, and the importance of an aftercare component for these programs, in order to support participants after graduation, as they attempt to adjust to life outside the program perimeters (Wells, et al, 2006).

In conclusion, the researchers demonstrated that boot camps if structured such as the one examined in this study, can be effective in altering attitude/behavior and perception in at-risk youth. With populations, such as at-risk youth, boot camp programs need to be more than just a scare tactic, they need to be educational, they need to provide counseling, and most of all participants need to observe and experience other possible opportunities that can change their current situation. Participants in this study, according to the results, confirm this theory of what is important for a boot camp to be effective by suggesting that it was “everything” that the boot camp offered which made it influential. “Everything” ranged from physical training, to counseling, to field trips, to learning coping skills, to being fed. Thus completing such a program, participants re-enter their communities with a new positive perspective and behavior.

Therefore, alternative interventions such as boot camps can be effective in influencing positive change as long as they address the needs of all participants. 12

Table 1.

The effectiveness of Boot Camp programs at changing the attitudes/behaviors and perceptions of at-risk youth, as indicated by the results of comparing the summative and formative questionnaire answers of program participants.

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