Publication year
2012
Citation Title
The impact of an Operation Purple Camp intervention on military children and adolescents’ self-perception of social acceptance, athletic competence, and global self-worth.
Journal Name
The American Journal of Family Therapy
Journal Volume
40
Issue Number
3
Page Numbers
267-278
DOI
10.1080/01926187.2011.611782
Summary
Children and adolescents participated in a one-week Operation Purple Camp intervention (a summer camp intended to empower military families and their children to develop and maintain healthy relationships during the course of deployments) to test the effect of the camp on self-perceptions of social acceptance, athletic confidence, and global self-worth. Adolescents showed significant improvement after the camp in perceptions of social acceptance and athletic competence, and children showed improvement in perceptions of global self-worth.
Key Findings
For children (9-12 years), self-worth was significantly higher after camp compared to before camp.
For adolescents (13-15 years), athletic competence and social acceptance scores significantly increased from pre-camp to post-camp.
At the post-camp assessment, children rated themselves as having significantly higher self-worth than adolescents.
Implications for Program Leaders
Educate military families about the importance of community-based activities for young people, including potential benefits for children
Partner with community-based organizations to co-sponsor or work together to recruit and offer programming for military youth
Disseminate information to military families regarding available community-based opportunities for military youth both on and off base
Implications for Policy Makers
Continue to support outreach and programs that serve military youth
Recommend professional development for personnel running youth development activities to ensure that camp structure and curricula are optimal to meet military children’s needs
Encourage collaboration among DoD and community-based youth programs to meet the needs of military youth both on and off base
Methods
Children and adolescents between 9 and 15 years old who attended Operation Purple Camp in the summer of 2008 at Purdue University participated in the study.
On the first and last days of camp, participants completed measures of self-acceptance, athletic competence, and social acceptance.
The one week camp curriculum consists of activities to facilitate relationships among military children, encourage camaraderie, and increase athletic competence.
Participants
Forty-four children and adolescents participated (50% female).
The average age of participants was 11.95 years (SD = 1.71 years); race of participants was not provided.
Eighty-six percent had fathers serving in the military, 5% had mothers serving.
Eighty-four percent were Army, 11% Navy, and 5% Air Force; 41% were National Guard; 30% were Reserves, and 25% were Active Duty.
Limitations
There was no comparison group, so it is unknown whether any observed changes were due to the passage of time or the camp intervention.
Demographic information was incomplete; therefore, generalizability of results is unknown.
Some of the measures used were not previously validated, reducing the studies overall validity.
Avenues for Future Research
Use a longitudinal design with a larger, more representative sample to try to replicate these findings
Assess if participation in camps or other youth programs relate to family or school outcomes
Utilize a comparison group to determine whether changes in youth outcomes are associated with the intervention
Focus
Multiple Branches
Target Population
Population Focus
Military Branch
Military Component
Abstract
In a pilot study we examined the effect of a one-week Operation Purple Camp intervention with children and adolescents (N = 48) in military families on their self-perception of social acceptance, athletic competence, and global self-worth. Adolescents’ showed significant improvement post-intervention in perceptions of social acceptance (p < .05) and athletic competence (p < .05) while children showed a significant improvement in perception of global self-worth (p < .05). These findings lend support for the effectiveness of this intervention for improving outcomes for children and adolescents in military families.
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