Current Research

In 2003, the publication entitled "Assessing treatment outcomes in outdoor behavioral healthcare (OBH) using the Youth Outcome Questionnaire," published in the journal Child and Youth Care Forum, reported outcomes immediately following and 12-months posttreatment for a sample of OBH clients. In 2005, the publication entitled "Two years later: A qualitative assessment of youth-well-being and the role of aftercare in outdoor behavioral healthcare treatment," also published in the journal Child and Youth Care Forum, followed that same sample of clients and asked qualitative follow-up questions about their current well-being and post-treatment experience. In 2008, Harper and Russell published "Family involvement and outcome in adolescent wilderness treatment: A mixed-methods evaluation," in the International Journal of Child and Family Welfare, and added to this body of research exploring the role of the family in the treatment and maintenance of outcomes during and after an OBH experience. In summary, the following key findings were generated from this line of research:

One Year Quantitative Study

  • Adolescent participation in OBH treatment reduced behavioral and emotional symptoms of clients immediately following treatment as measured by both client self-report and parent assessments using the Y-OQ (see Figure 3). These reductions were both clinically and statistically significant.
  • Scores at 12-months post-treatment suggested that clients maintained therapeutic progress initiated by treatment and according to client self-report data, continued to improve.
  • Subscale analysis offered insight into specific aspects of behavioral and emotional well being that are potentially impacted by OBH treatment. Clients and parents showed agreement at discharge in assessing two subscales as being significantly improved: Behavioral Dysfunction (BD) and Critical Items (CI) (See Figure 5 for subscale scores). BD measures a youth's ability to organize tasks, complete assignments, and handle frustration in different settings. The CI subscale measures critical issues such as obsessive- compulsive behavior, suicide, and eating disorders.

Two-Year Qualitative Study

  • The majority of parents and clients indicated they were doing well.
  • The majority of parents and adolescent respondents believed that their son or daughter could not have begun their recovery without the initial impact of OBH treatment.
  • Former participants were doing well in some areas, and not so well in others. In task oriented areas, like school and participating in appropriate leisure activities, they were doing better than when asked to evaluate the youth's ability to make friends, where almost half cited this as a primary concern.
  • Most youths were still using substances, though the majority of parents indicated that the use was not a problem.

Purpose of the Five-Year Follow-up Study

The purpose of this study is to further examine post-treatment experiences and outcomes for clients and families five-years following treatment. The following objectives will be answered in this study:

  • Objective 1. Better understand treatment aftercare transition process from longitudinal perspective.
  • Objective 2. Identify which program aspects are still salient five-years posttreatment.
  • Objective 3. Better understand longitudinal adolescent treatment outcomes from a family systems perspective.
  • Objective 4. Identify well-being five-years posttreatment, including relationships, school situations, work situations, and issues related to original DSM-IV diagnosis.