| This researcher sought to examine the role of helping others as a means to building positive self-concept in adolescence. Specifically, this paper presents the findings of a research study that explored the impact of a youth service trip and the role that altruism had for adolescents enrolled in a therapeutic boarding school. A palpable loneliness borne from a lack of purpose pervades the community of at-risk youth. Knowing the effect altruism has on group therapy it seemed probable that allowing two disenfranchised groups to help one another could be helpful. The research will show that the self-concept of at-risk adolescents who participated in a trip to help residents of an Indian reservation while living and learning the culture improved.;Keywords: adolescents, existentialism, altruism, Indian reservation, therapeutic boarding school... |
