Evaluating summer camps 1979 - problems of measuring behaviour change in children

To develop experience in assessing behaviour change in children, sixteen children attending week-long summer camps run by the Department of Psychiatry, Adelaide Children's Hospital in January 1979, were assessed every two months for six months. Target complaints, symptom checklists and measures of social behaviour were chosen as being most likely to be sensitive to behaviour change. Hypotheses about the summer camp experience having an influence on severity of target behaviour problems, symptoms indicating child psychiatric disorder, peer group participation, mastery of aggression and development of conscience and social values were not convincingly supported. Agreement between camp staff and parents rating the children's social behaviour using the same instrument a week apart was poor. Simple ranked adjective scales have advantages over goal attainment scaling for rating target complaints, Implications for treatment evaluation in child psychiatry are discussed.