Wilderness-Based Primary and Secondary Prevention: Evaluating Theory and Practice

Introduction Post-rehabilitative formal control mechanisms and conventional treatments within the justice system have been shown to be clearly ineffectual in developing pro-social behaviour of adolescents (Coates, 1981; O'Connor & Sweetapple, 1988). It has been well established that formal control mechanisms with by-products of labelling (McCord, 1978) and netwidening (Kleln, 1979; Pink & White, 1976) are responsible for a significant percentage of delinquency. Further, traditional corrections counselling through subliminally coercive and overt directives which focus on negative behaviours from a position of authority, are only temporarily effective, reflecting recipients' resentment against this technique (White, 1972).