Programs that are most often used in the early stages of juvenile delinquent behavior and feature foster homes and remove delinquent youth and offenders from a home environment that is regarded as contributing to their behavior (Alternative treatment methodsà, 2004).
Boot camps have received a great deal of attention in the literature. According to Styve, MacKenzie, Gover, and Mitchell (2000), boot camps are alternatives to traditional detention and prison facilities in which a combination of incarceration, education, work, and counseling are employed. In contrast to traditional correctional programs, boot camps incorporate elements of militarily training in daily activities. Most require juveniles to wear military-style uniforms, march to and from activities, function in squads or platoons, engage in strenuous physical activities, and participate in militaristic drills and ceremonies.
Styve, et al (2000) noted that advocates of boot camps as an alternative to traditional detention models believe that the focus on strict control and military structure offers a better and more generally safer environment that is conducive to positive, behavioral, and attitudinal changes. These same researchers, in a comparative investigation of perceptions of juveniles in boot camps and traditional facilities, found that boot camp residents consistently identified their environment as more controlled, active, structured, and as providing more therapeutic and transitional programs than did juveniles in traditional facilities.
MacKenzie, Wilson, Armstrong, and Gover (2001) compared the experiences of 2,688 juveniles in 26 boot camps to the experiences of 1,848 juveniles incarcerated in traditional facilities. The research revealed no significant differences between the two groups with respect to anxiety and depression during the initial month of confinement. However, juveniles in boot camps tended to perceive their environment as gen...