An Exploratory Study on the Impact of Applied Ancestry on At-Risk Youth in a Wilderness Therapy Program Setting

• Main Author: Rancie, Elisa M.
• Format: Others
• Published: BYU ScholarsArchive 2005
• Subjects: Applied Ancestry; at-risk youth; genealogy; family history; wilderness therapy; character development; Recreation Business
• Online Access: https://scholarsarchive.byu.edu/etd/682; https://scholarsarchive.byu.edu/cgi/viewcontent.cgi?article=1681&context=etd

The purpose of this study was to evaluate whether the Applied Ancestry program meets its objectives of assisting at-risk youth with regard to character development. The sample consisted of 40 youth (12-17 yrs) enrolled in the Anasazi Foundation Outdoor Behavioral Healthcare program. These teens were randomly assigned to either the control (n = 22) or treatment (n = 18) group. To measure the impact of Applied Ancestry on character development the VIA Signature Strengths Survey, developed by the VIA Institute, was used. A pre-post test comparison found no difference between the two groups, however the overall negative changes in survey scores for the entire sample (N = 40) were found to be statistically significant. The negative change in scores was attributed, in large part, to participants' self-concept at the time they took the survey, with lack of humility being a key factor in pre test scores.