Past Research - Camp Glenwood
Our first cycle of research data collection occurred in 2005 at Camp Glenwood (San Mateo County’s long-term detention camp for boys). We administered four standardized self-report measures—The Novaco Anger Scale (NAS) and the Provocation Inventory (PI), developed by Dr. Raymond Novaco in conjunction with the Violence Risk Project of the MacArthur Foundation Research Network on Mental Health and the Law, the Perceived Stress Scale (PSS) developed by Sheldon Cohen and colleagues (Cohen et al., 1983), and the Mindfulness Thinking and Acting Scale for Adolescents (MTASA), developed by Angela M. West and colleagues. Statistically significant improvements were observed for study participants on the Perceived Stress Scale (PSS) (p = .001) and the Novaco Provocation Inventory (PI) (p = .016). These results suggest that the program was effective in lessening participants’ tendency to be provoked into anger and decreasing feelings of stress and loss of control. Additionally, we gathered information on program effectiveness by examining changes in behavior points given out by staff. This analysis involved comparing the average weekly positive behavior points given out by supervising staff prior to the intervention to the average weekly positive behavior points for the week following the intervention. We compared program participants to a “control” group who had not received the intervention. Participants in the mindfulness program (N = 22) showed statistically significant improvements in positive behavior points given out by staff for the week following the intervention as compared with the week preceding the intervention.
These results help support the findings from the self-report measures (NAS, PI, and PSS), indicating that the program not only impacted subjective feelings and moods positively but led to significant changes in behavior as well. We also surveyed staff to better understand the impact of the program on youth from their perspective. 43 staff completed evaluations for 33 class participants. They reported positive changes for the majority of youth in the areas of: attitude toward self and others, expression of anger, dealing with stress, and resolving conflict.
Selected Outcome Measures
MBA Project Programming :: San Mateo County Probation Department. Residential Detention Camp Setting, Severe Risk Young Male Offenders :: Camp Glenwood, La Honda California. MBA mindfulness-based rehabilitation program :: Experiential Inquiry-based curriculum with 3 core practice skills: 1) meditation (vipassana), 2) yoga, 3) council (group process). 10-week intensive program. 1.5 hrs/week: 15 program hours total & day-long retreat: 8 hours = 23 program hours/ youth
SUMMARIZED RESULTS, 2 year pilot study:
January 2005- June 2007
QUANTITATIVE:
•perceived stress decreased: 17.7% – 28%
•anger/provocation decreased: 10.5%
•conflict resolution ability increased: 25% – 29.8%
•emotion regulation ability increased: 13% – 15%
•overall mindfulness increased: 10.5%
QUALITATIVE:
Percentage of youth who say they-
•feel physically better after coming to class: 95%
•feel less stressed after coming to class: 93%
•feel better about themselves after coming to class: 85%
•noticed less conflict with others: 64%
•reported sleeping better: 78%
•able to use what they’d learned to deal better with being in the hall: 82%
•are better able to ‘cool off’ when they get angry or upset: 78%
•spend some time each week doing breathing meditation or stretching: 66%
•plan to use the skills they’ve learned in class once they leave the hall: 89%
n=54. Data collected pre- and post-intervention; evaluated independently. Perceived Stress data from PSS-10. Anger/Provocation data from NAS-PI. Conflict Resolution data from staff questionnaire. Emotion Regulation and Overall Mindfulness data from MTASA.
