Sports and Field Activities (Outdoor Training) as a Therapeutic Tool for At-Risk Youth

Crime and violence of youth is a major public concern leading to social and interpersonal difficulties and the failure to integrate socially, all resulting from a lack of drive and motivation for learning. Many inclusive programs have been developed to deal with at-risk youth behaviors. One of the main intervention tools involves the inclusion of diverse sports activities.

The aim of this study was to explore the success and impact of a unique intervention program, “Maslul Hadash”, integrating physical activity with outdoor training (ODT) on the social, educational, and personal skills of at-risk students and adolescents attending special education classes in Israeli middle and high school institutions. This is an interventional and longitudinal study combining quantitative and qualitative research. The sample consisted of 166 Israeli adolescents aged 13–16. One-hundred and twenty-six students participated in the experimental group and 40 students served as a control group. At the end of the interventional program, an online questionnaire was given to the two groups of educators examining the subjective emotional, behavioral and learning skills change of the individual students.

There were significant differences found between the experimental group and the control group in both behavioral and social objectives. Moreover, there was a significant positive difference between the experimental group and the control group in improving academic achievement. Nevertheless, it was relatively smaller in comparison with the main research objectives. Additionally, there was a high positive interaction between the educator`s participation level and the attention level and hyperactivity changes that occurred within the intervention group. The findings highlight the effectiveness of the “Maslul Hadash” intervention program, which improves students` personal motivation, increases confidence, reduces negative school behaviors and has a positive effect on their learning skills and academic achievements. We assume that the “Maslul Hadash” intervention program can have a long-term impact on at-risk youth, and thus it is highly recommended to be integrated within the regular curriculum of schools.