U.S. flag

An official website of the United States government, Department of Justice.

NCJRS Virtual Library

The Virtual Library houses over 235,000 criminal justice resources, including all known OJP works.
Click here to search the NCJRS Virtual Library

Impact of a Summer Camp Program as a Secondary Prevention Measure for At-Risk Youth

NCJ Number
210999
Journal
Crime Prevention and Community Safety: An International Journal Volume: 7 Issue: 3 Dated: 2005 Pages: 37-49
Author(s)
Carolyn Hanes; Elaine Moyer Rife; Louis B. Laguna
Date Published
2005
Length
13 pages
Annotation
This study evaluated the impact of a summer camp program as a secondary intervention and as a useful tool in aiding at-risk children and adolescents both developmentally and environmentally.
Abstract
Secondary intervention measures have consistently been pointed to as useful methods for increasing resilience against developmental and environmental threats to children and youth. This study attempts to augment the contemporary literature supporting the effectiveness of programmatic efforts aimed at secondary intervention as a useful tool for helping at-risk youth benefit from a number of interventions. The study targeted a summer camp program, known as Super Summer Camp, for at-risk youth to determine whether the effectiveness of an intervention-based camp program could positively impact a group of children. The study sample consisted of 204 at-risk students, aged 12 to 14 who attended the Super Summer Camp program and 95 students who did not. By the end of the academic year following the camp experience, those students who attended the camp had significantly higher overall GPAs, as well as higher grades in math, language arts, social science, and science. They also performed significantly better than the non-campers on three of the four behavioral indicators: fewer absences, days tardy, and number of detentions. Overall, the camp experience appeared to have been very beneficial. Tables, references