The objective of this study was to find if adventure-based groupwork, as an innovation counselling modality, was effective in increasing the self-esteem and improving the prosocial orientation of juvenile delinquents. Arising from this study, plans could be drawn up to include adventure-based groupwork programmes in the rehabilitation of juvenile delinquents.

The conclusions from this study were drawn from pre- and posttest data collected through the Self-Esteem Checklist and the Prosocial Orientation Questionnaire. The questionnaires were administered to juvenile delinquents attending a local vocational training centre. The analysis of this study was carried out using the t test to compare the pre- and posttest means. In addition, behavioural observations by the camp facilitators were carried out, which provided qualitative support for the pre-post data analysis.

The findings of this study lent statistical support to the hypothesis that adventure-based groupwork is effective in increasing the prosocial orientation of juvenile delinquents. However, the hypothesis that adventure-based groupwork is effective in enhancing the self-esteem of juvenile delinquents was not supported statistically. Notwithstanding the statistical findings, the behavioural observations by the camp facilitators indicated that there were positive gains made by the delinquent participants in both self-esteem and prosocial orientation.