Early adolescence is characterized by rapid changes and can be a tumultuous time for some youth. Research indicates that this stage of development is a time when behavioral, emotional, and/or academic difficulties may first appear. Adolescents considered at risk for such problems have shown to improve from adventure programming. One form of adventure programming is adventure-based counseling and uses a group format to capitalize on youth's natural propensity for risk, fun, challenge, and socialization. The purpose of this research project was to examine the effectiveness of a 6-week adventure-based counseling program on the self-concept, academic performance, and interpersonal functioning of sixth-grade students considered at risk for emotional, behavioral, and/or academic functioning. A pretest-posttest control group design was utilized while analyzing quantitative and qualitative data. Although quantitative data---examined through repeated measures analysis of variance---did not yield statistically significant results on the variables academic functioning and self-concept, qualitative data suggests participants in the treatment group improved in their interpersonal functioning as a result of programming activities. Limitations of this study and directions for future research are offered as ways to expand upon the findings of this project.
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