How Residential Summer Camps May Decrease the Levels of Delinquency and Problem Behaviors among At-Risk Youth

Abstract

This summer I worked at a camp for at-risk youth, called Camp O’Brian. During both the application process and the training process I was repeatedly told how much the campers looked forward to the time when they could come back as well as how the counselors saw camp as something extremely positive for the kids for every year they would see improvement in the children’s behavior. This is the purpose of my study: to examine whether or not residential summer camps can actually lead to a reduction in externalizing and internalizing problem behaviors and delinquency.