The Effects of a Forest Therapy Program on the Self-Esteem and Resilience of Juveniles Under Protective Detention

Abstract

Background and objective: Juvenile crimes tend to intensify and become habitual in South Korea and juvenile delinquencies must be corrected during adolescence. This study aimed to investigate the effects of a forest therapy program on the self-esteem and resilience of juveniles under protective detention. Methods: We designed the forest therapy program titled "A Dreamy Child, One More Forest!" for one night and two days and a total of 122 juveniles under protective detention participated in the program. Self-esteem scale (SES) and resilience scale for adolescents (RSA) were used and the collected data were analyzed using frequency analysis and T-test. Results: Most of the participants were male (96.7%), and the number of those aged 17 years was highest (35, 28.7%). The number of those enrolled in middle and high school was 69 (56.0%) and that of those who dropped out was 39 (31.9%). Their self-esteem significantly increased from 3.102 before participation to 3.636 (p < .001) after participation in the forest therapy program. Resilience also increased remarkably from 2.950 before participation to 3.829 (p < .001) after participation, showing positive changes after participation in both cases. Conclusion: The results indicated the forest therapy program could enhance the self-esteem of juveniles under protective detention, provide them with an opportunity for developing their inner positive power and reinforcomg resilience, helping them return to society in a healthy state. Further research needs to be conducted on how the effects over the program period will differ from one another and how long the positive effects will last.

Effectiveness of a natural wellness group program using interactive real-time video for unmarried mothers: A quasi-experimental study

“…Quantitative analysis showed that the program significantly improved self-esteem in UMs. These findings are supported by previous findings (third theme in Table 5) that individuals were provided with the opportunity to develop positive energy that enhances self-esteem and helps with social integration [33].…”

The influence of Self-Guided and Guided Forest Therapy Program on Students’ Psychological Benefits

“…In other words, this research showed that the guided forest therapy program increased participants' self-esteem more than daily life activities. This result is consistent with previous research on forest therapy programs for self-esteem (Lim et al, 2014;Lee et al, 2017;Kim et al, 2020). However, the self-guided forest therapy program showed higher self-esteem than daily life, but there was no statistically significant difference.…”

Forest Therapy Trails: A Conceptual Framework and Scoping Review of Research

“…While there was some overlap between higher-order concepts for which these and other psychological measures were designed and employed, in Table 1 we attempted to classify measures used in the studies into broader psychological categories. As the table indicates, the studies in our sample sought to assess a wide variety of concepts related to psychological health and wellbeing, from commonly used concepts such as moodemotion [76,77] and depression-anxiety-stress [67,78] to less-common concepts such as nature connectedness [79,80], self-esteem [81,82], mindfulness [83,84], and environmental learning [85,86]. While some of the qualitative studies tapped into similar concepts through the use of unstructured and semi-structured techniques, they also uncovered unique outcomes including an understanding of the "lived experience" of forest therapy including activity preferences and favorite places [87], improvements in the "capacitative body" of knowledge, skills, and motor-sensory capabilities [88], and "embodied spirituality" in experiencing the immensity and interconnectedness of nature [89].…”

“…A few of these targeted populations matched with particular health or wellbeing concerns that were the focus of a subset of studies (n = 76). We categorized this smaller set of studies into five areas of concern: mental health issues (n = 28, 36.9%) such as severe stress/exhaustion [105,106] and trauma/PTSD [34,87]; chronic diseases (n = 24, 31.4%) such as hypertension [65,72] and cancer [47,107]; youth issues (n = 10, 13.0%) such as youth who are placed at-risk [82,108] and those with learning difficulties [109,110]; individuals dealing with chronic pain or fatigue (n = 8, 10.4%) [111,112]; and those dealing with addictions (n = 4, 5.2%) [113,114].…”

“…A strength of the studies we reviewed is the attention paid to particular groups of individuals with major health and wellbeing challenges, with more than a quarter of articles in our set focusing on some targeted population, ranging from older people living with chronic diseases [111,230], to veterans suffering post-traumatic stress [87,124], to youth who are placed at-risk [82,108]. Although the findings from these targeted investigations are highly encouraging in demonstrating the positive outcomes of forest therapy engagements, there is also a need to identify and begin to distinguish the characteristics of programs and facilities that are effective for groups facing different challenges.…”