Evaluation de séjours de rupture pour des adolescents en grandes difficultés : approches méthodologique et théorique

Evaluation of outdoor education and/or therapy programs for adolescents with major difficulties : methodological and theorical approach

• Auteur / Autrice : Carine Saint-Martin
• Direction : Henri Chabrol, Patrick Bonvin
• Type : Thèse de doctorat
• Discipline(s) : Psychopathologie
• Date : Soutenance le 24/01/2012
• Etablissement(s) : Toulouse 2 en cotutelle avec Université de Fribourg (Fribourg, Suisse). Institut de pédagogie curative
• Ecole(s) doctorale(s) : École doctorale Comportement, Langage, Éducation, Socialisation, Cognition (Toulouse)
• Partenaire(s) de recherche : Laboratoire : Laboratoire de NeuroPsychoLinguistique (Toulouse ; 2007-...)
• Jury : Rapporteurs / Rapporteuses : Joël David Swendsen, Grégory Michel

Mots clés

Mots clés contrôlés

Protection de l'enfance

Adolescents -- Psychopathologie

Adolescents difficiles

Mots clés libres

Séjours de rupture

Difficultés

Protection de l'enfance

Evaluation

Méthodologie

Social/family/educational difficulties

Outdoor education/therapy

Child Protection Services

Evaluation

Résumé

Les adolescents difficiles préoccupent de plus en plus nos politiques et interrogent particulièrement les différents professionnels œuvrant auprès d’eux (travailleurs sociaux, psychologues, etc.). Ces jeunes sont essentiellement repérés par notre société au travers de leurs actes oppositionnels et délinquants, voire violents, mais moins pour leurs souffrances pourtant multiples. Les spécialistes du soin et du travail social cherchent par ailleurs à pouvoir prendre en charge cette jeunesse et leurs familles de façon la plus adaptée possible en fonction des problématique relevées. La Protection de l’Enfance repère les enfants et adolescents en danger dans leur environnement et/ou dans leur famille et propose des placements et des accompagnements médico-sociaux et éducatifs par le biais de l’Aide Sociale à l’Enfance ou de la Protection Judiciaire de la Jeunesse. Notre étude s’intéresse à l’évaluation de la trajectoire des adolescents accueillis au sein de l’association Second Souffle proposant des séjours de rupture à des jeunes en grandes difficultés sociales, scolaires, familiales et personnelles. Ainsi, nous avons étudié l’évolution éducative et psychopathologique de 47 adolescents et adolescentes ayant participé à des séjours courts et longs en France et à l’étranger.

Adolescents with difficulties preoccupy our politicians more and more, and question different professionals working with them (social workers, psychologists, etc.). They essentially call for our society’s attention through oppositional, delinquant, or worse, violent actions, less through the extent of their suffering. With regard to the observed needs, specialists try to provide the best care possible to those youths and their families. Child Protection Services (Protection de l’Enfance) identify children and adolescents at risk in their institutional or family environment and suggest placements and social and medical measures through Child Social Help Services (Aide sociale à l’Enfance) or Judicial Protection Services for Youth (Protection Judiciaire de la Jeunesse).The historical development of outdoor education and/or therapy programs in France and abroad reveals an growing interest with innovating programs intended for children, adolescents and families with severe difficulties. Wether anglo-saxon or originating in the antipsychiatric or judicial context in France, such programs share the objectives of offering a temporary removal from a pathogenetic environement to the adolescent, valuing their individual potential by « looking elwewhere », and remaining part of the youth’s educational trajectory. However, in a social and economical context where the assessment of professional practices is becoming systematic, no scientific evaluation of such experimental placements has been conducted to this day in France. Educational evaluations have been led in Belgium, following a political demand, and in Switzerland, through a university study. However, some methodological difficulties limit the scope of such evaluations and their results; on the one hand, one has to point out the shortage of standardised evaluation tools; on the other hand, one should bear in mind the complexity and uniqueness of such programs as well as of the individual situations of the concerned youth. Our study evaluates the trajectory of adolescents cared for within a specific program (the Second Souffle association) providing outdoor educational/therapeutical experiences to youth with major social, educational, family and personal difficulties. We studied the educational and psychopathological evolution of 47 adolescents that participated in short and long outdoor educationm/therapy programs in France and abroad. Our methodology was adapted to the specific context (Second Souffle program) and to the psychopathological particularities of the reference population, as well as to existing research pertaining to adolescent psychopathology. Our study protocol develops a longitudinal evaluation involving several measurement times : before and after short and long outdoor programs, during long programs, dans two months after all pograms. Results show a global improvement of the adolescents’ trajectories at the end of the programs, as well on educational as on psychopathological asepcts. With regard to the longitudinal evaluation, those positive evolutions tend to be maintained, especially in cases where follow up recommendations are implemented after the adolescents return. Besides, personal and family problems are related to educational and psychopathological outcomes. However, the small size of our study sample has resulted in reduced power for our statistical analyses; however several results showing the efficiency of the program are statistically significant. In conclusion : Our study shows interesting relationships between organisation, functioning, educational objective attainment, and the evolution of adolescents which benefit from the measures. Considered within a given time frame and with this limited sample, the outdoor education/therapy program studied seems to positively impact the adolescents’ educational and psychopathological trajectories.