‘Now, he will be the leader of the house’: An equine intervention with at-risk Guatemalan youth

Abstract

Equine-facilitated interventions have shown promise for facilitating emotional and behavioural changes in diverse groups. The current study evaluated the effectiveness of an equine workshop for vulnerable Guatemalan youth using a mixed-method approach. The 37 participants (Mage = 18.22, SD = 2.25, 14 girls) came from difficult circumstances including poverty and other risks. Using a wait-list control group design with random assignment, the effects of a 2-day equine-based workshop were evaluated. Participants completed quantitative measures of leadership, emotion regulation, aggression, and interpersonal response to threat. Mentors completed reports of aggression and prosocial behaviour. Self-reported leadership increased significantly in the group receiving the intervention; mentor reports of aggression revealed significant decreases. Focus groups with participants and family members reported multiple benefits, including improved emotion regulation. Equine-based interventions may provide at-risk Guatemalan youth with tools of leadership, reduced violence and aggression, and better emotion regulation.

Full text

INTERNATIONAL JOURNAL OF ADOLESCENCE AND YOUTH, 2017
VOL. 22, NO. 4, 390404
https://doi.org/10.1080/02673843.2016.1202844
‘Now, he will be the leader of the house’: An equine intervention
with at-risk Guatemalan youth
Judith L. Gibbonsa, Catherine A. Cunninghamb, Leslie Paizb, Katelyn E. Poelkera and
Aracely Chajónc
aDepartment of Psychology, Saint Louis University, St. Louis, MO, USA; bLead-Up International, Jocotenango,
Guatemala; cFundación Educando a los Niños, Jocotenango, Guatemala
ABSTRACT
Equine-facilitated interventions have shown promise for facilitating emotional
and behavioural changes in diverse groups. The current study evaluated the
eectiveness of an equine workshop for vulnerable Guatemalan youth using
a mixed-method approach. The 37 participants (Mage = 18.22, SD= 2.25, 14
girls) came from dicult circumstances including poverty and other risks.
Using a wait-list control group design with random assignment, the eects
of a 2-day equine-based workshop were evaluated. Participants completed
quantitative measures of leadership, emotion regulation, aggression, and
interpersonal response to threat. Mentors completed reports of aggression
and prosocial behaviour. Self-reported leadership increased signicantly in
the group receiving the intervention; mentor reports of aggression revealed
signicant decreases. Focus groups with participants and family members
reported multiple benets, including improved emotion regulation. Equine-
based interventions may provide at-risk Guatemalan youth with tools of
leadership, reduced violence and aggression, and better emotion regulation.
Characterized as Latin America’s youngest nation due to its high percentage of youth, Guatemala is
a country in which issues of young people should be at the forefront (Population Reference Bureau,
2011). Of the country’s nearly 15 million people, nearly 60% are aged 25 or younger (Central Intelligence
Agency (CIA), 2016). Although they comprise a large percentage of the population, many Guatemalan
youth live in dicult circumstances. Poverty represents a signicant challenge to their well-being with
two-thirds of the country’s urban population living in slums (United Nations International Children’s
Emergency Fund [UNICEF, 2008]). Categorized by the World Bank (2016) as a lower middle-income
country, over 50% of the population lives below the poverty line. Many problems like malnutrition
(Guatemala has the fourth highest rate in the world) are exacerbated in rural areas and are more severe
for women and girls (World Food Programme (WFP), 2016).
Beyond poverty, physical and sexual violence are major risks for Guatemala’s young people (UNICEF,
2014b). When asked if they had been robbed in the last month, for example, 36% of Guatemalan
sixth graders said yes (UNICEF, 2014a). For victims from birth to 19years, the country has the second
highest homicide rate in the world. Furthermore, homicide is the leading cause of death among the
country’s adolescent boys (UNICEF, 2014a). In addition, approximately 25% of Guatemalan adolescent
ARTICLE HISTORY
Received 18 May 2016
Accepted 14 June 2016
KEYWORDS
At-risk youth; equine
interventions; Guatemala;
leadership
© 2016 The Author(s). Published by Informa UK Limited, trading as Taylor & Francis Group.
This is an Open Access article distributed under the terms of the Creative Commons Attribution-NonCommercial License (http://creativecommons.
org/licenses/by-nc/4.0/), which permits unrestricted non-commercial use, distribution, and reproduction in any medium, provided the original work
is properly cited.
CONTACT Judith L. Gibbons gibbonsjl@slu.edu
* A preliminary version of these results was presented at the 45th annual meeting of the Society for Cross-Cultural Research in Portland,
OR in February, 2016.
OPEN ACCESS

INTERNATIONAL JOURNAL OF ADOLESCENCE AND YOUTH 391
girls reported that they were physically mistreated prior to age 15 (Instituto Nacional de Estadística,
2014). The rates of sexual violence are also alarming. Nineteen per cent of adolescent girls aged 15–19
reported forced sexual intercourse and/or other involuntary sexual behaviours by their fathers alone
(UNICEF, 2014a).
Investments in adolescents can serve to combat the cycle of poverty, reduce levels of violence,
promote future societal development, and increase a nation’s ability to thrive (UNICEF, 2011; Wuermli,
Tubbs, Petersen, & Aber, 2015). Despite attempts to intervene with Guatemalan youth who are at risk,
there are few evidence-based programmes that foster their development and reduce their likelihood
of being perpetrators or victims of violence (Oce of Inspector General, 2014). The purpose of the
present study was to empirically investigate the eectiveness of an intervention with at-risk Guatemalan
youth, evaluating whether an equine-based programme fostered leadership and positive interpersonal
communication and decreased aggressive attitudes among Guatemalan youth.
Programmes that involve interactions with horses are used widely for addressing physical disabili-
ties such as cerebral palsy (Tseng, Chen, & Tam, 2013) and ameliorating psychological and behavioural
problems such as substance abuse, schizophrenia, mood and stress disorders, developmental disor-
ders, autism spectrum disorder, insecure attachment, depression, and posttraumatic stress disorder
(Beetz, Winkler, Julius, Uvnas-Moberg, & Kotrschal, 2015; Esbjorn, 2006; McConnell, 2010). In addition,
equine-based interventions have been proposed to improve leadership skills and foster self-awareness,
perceived social support, emotional intelligence, and well-being in individuals without diagnosed psy-
chological disorders (Adams, 2013; Chappell, 2014; Hauge, Kvalem, Berget, Enders-Slegers, & Braastad,
2014; Meola, 2016; Pendry & Roeter, 2013).
Although other animals show benets for enhancing well-being (McCardle, McCune, Grin,
Maholmes, & Freund, 2011), horses have unique qualities that make them especially well suited for
authentic interactions with humans. First, horses are extremely sensitive to human emotion and emo-
tional expression. In a recent study, horses discriminated between photographs of an angry and a happy
human face (Smith, Proops, Grounds, Wathan, & McComb, 2016). In another study, individuals who were
either leading or riding horses were told that in the next lap, an umbrella would be opened as the pair
passed; this was potentially frightening to horses (Keeling, Jonare, & Lanneborn, 2009). Although the
umbrella was not opened, the heart rates of both the horses and their human companions increased
as they passed the indicated spot. In a third study, the behaviour and heart rate of horses changed in
response to stationary humans who were either calm, afraid, or physically stressed by recent exercise
(Merkies et al., 2014). Those three studies demonstrate the extraordinary sensitivity of horses to human
feelings and emotions. Thus, the horse can serve to mirror feelings of the people surrounding them.
Secondly, by nature horses are both herd and prey animals; these qualities predispose them not only
to being sensitive to nonverbal behaviour, but to look for and expect leadership from others (Esbjorn,
2006; Roberts, 2002a, 2002b). Third, the size of horses means that they cannot readily be forced to act;
humans must use other means to elicit their cooperation and desired behaviours. Learning to direct
the behaviour of such a large animal can potentially decrease fearfulness and increase self-condence.
The authors of the many review articles evaluating the literature on equine-facilitated interventions
generally conclude that the programmes show potential, but that additional and better controlled
studies are needed (All, Loving, & Crane, 1999; Anestis, Anestis, Zawilinski, Hopkins, & Lilienfeld, 2014;
Bachi, 2012; Bates, 2002; Beebe, 2008; Brandt, 2013; Cantin & Marshall-Lucette, 2011; Frewin & Gardiner,
2005; Kendall, Maujean, Pepping, & Wright, 2014; Kruger, Trachtenberg, & Serpell, 2004; Lee, Dakin, &
McLure, 2015; Lentini & Knox, 2009, 2015; MacKinnon et al., 1995; May, Seivert, Cano, Casey, & Johnson,
2016; Notgrass, 2011; Notgrass & Petinelli, 2015; Selby & Smith-Osborne, 2013). A critical review pub-
lished in 2014 summarized the state of the art of equine interventions as lacking empirical support
and theoretical basis, with most studies exhibiting multiple threats to validity (Anestis et al., 2014). The
authors argued that equine-assisted interventions should not be oered until better research supports
their use. Since that time, additional, better controlled studies are available (Lentini & Knox, 2015). Here
we focus on the recent and well-controlled research on the eectiveness of equine interventions for
children and youth.

392 J. L. GIBBONS ET AL.
Equine-facilitated psychotherapy for children and youth varies in duration, the nature of the activ-
ities involved, and reported outcomes (Lentini & Knox, 2015). Of 47 studies published between 2008
and 2014, including a total of 672 treatment participants, the typical intervention was a 1-h session per
week for 12weeks. Only four studies met the rigorous scientic criteria of (1) including more than 10
participants, (2) implementing random-assignment to treatment and control groups, and (3) utilizing
standardized outcome measures. Two of those measured behavioural eects of an equine intervention.
Bass and colleagues found that 19 children with autism spectrum disorder, compared to a wait-list
control group showed more social motivation, as well as cognitive and sensory changes following
a therapeutic riding programme (Bass, Duchowny, & Llabre, 2009). Forty-nine typically developing
Norwegian adolescents reported signicant increases in perceived social support following a 4-month
mounted and unmounted equine programme (Hauge et al., 2014). Ten additional studies with fewer
participants and/or controls showed positive changes for at-risk adolescents (Bachi, Terkel, & Teichman,
2012; Burgon, 2011; Chaplin, 2010; Dell et al., 2011; Ecken, 2012; Maujean, Kendall, Lillan, Sharp, & Pringle,
2013; Meek, 2012; Trotter, Chandler, Goodwin-Bond, & Casey, 2008). Of those studies, the largest with
a sample of 164 child and adolescent participants, demonstrated changes in 17 behaviours, including
externalizing, internalizing, maladaptive, and adaptive behaviours (Trotter et al., 2008).
Since the studies reviewed by Lentini and Knox (2015), there has been additional research on equine
interventions with youth. A 2015 study (Frederick, Hatz, & Lanning, 2015) randomly assigned 26 at-risk
adolescents to a nonmounted treatment group (14 participants) and control group (12 participants).
Following the 5-week programme the treatment group showed lower levels of depression and higher
levels of hope. In addition, less well-controlled equine interventions have demonstrated more secure
attachment (Balluerka, Muela, Amiano, & Caldentey, 2014), less endorsement of aggressive behaviour
(Gibbons, Cunningham, Paiz, Poelker, & Montufar Cardenas, 2015), greater serenity and condence
(Hemingway, Meek, & Hill, 2015), more self-determination (Grimm, 2015), and fewer symptoms of PTSD
(McCullough, Risley-Curtiss, & Rorke, 2015) among youth.
Leadership abilities have also been fostered by equine interventions. Although the evidence is limited
and the research uncontrolled or poorly controlled, there are many accounts of the value of equine-
assisted interventions in increasing leadership abilities (Adams, 2013; Chappell, 2014; Dyk et al., 2013;
Grootveld, 2015; Meola, 2016; Pohl, 2015; West, 2015). Overall, those researchers argue that through
interacting with horses, individuals can gain self-condence and improve their emotional intelligence,
especially emotion regulation. Because those qualities are essential for eective, authentic leadership,
the equine-based programmes provide valuable experiences (e.g. Adams, 2013).
All equine-based programmes rely on experiential learning including the assumption that learning
is a continuous process grounded in transactions between the person and the environment (Kolb,
2015). Typically, in equine-based programmes, participants must solve problems in real time, such as
how to elicit behaviours in horses without the use of touch or force. Beyond those basic principles pro-
grammes vary greatly, and can include ground work, riding, and vaulting. Some inventions, especially
those aimed at producing empowered leaders use a Join-Up® exercise, developed by Monty Roberts
(About Join-Up®, 2016; Roberts, 2002a, 2002b). During the exercise that occurs in a round pen, a horse
is encouraged to choose a person as the leader, show signs of respect, and begin to follow that person.
Although few researchers use the Join-Up® designation because of its proprietary nature, many make
reference to similar exercises in the round pen (e.g. Adams, 2013; Burgon, 2011; Chappell, 2014; Dell et
al., 2011; Dyk et al., 2013; Esbjorn, 2006; Kelly, 2014; Meola, 2016; Pohl, 2015).
In a previous community study in Guatemala, the Join-Up® experience served as the centrepiece
of a 4-week equine-assisted programme, designed to reduce attitudes towards violence (Gibbons et
al., 2015). Not only did the attitudes of the participants change in the expected direction, but their
female relatives reported calmer, less aggressive behaviour and their horses were less reactive to the
participants’ approach. Although 10 of the 18 participants were adolescents, the programme was not
aimed specically at youth. The present study was designed as a follow-up to that study. First, would
the workshop be eective if delivered in two whole-day workshops and a feedback session, rather than
spread over 4weeks? Second, would it be useful for at-risk youth who, unlike the previous community

INTERNATIONAL JOURNAL OF ADOLESCENCE AND YOUTH 393
members, had little or no experience with horses? Would the programme improve leadership skills?
Was emotion regulation a key mechanism of change? We designed the current study to address those
key issues.
Method
Participants
The original sample in the current study included 40 youth; however, because three of the participants
did not participate beyond the rst pre-test, they were dropped from the study. Thirty-seven adoles-
cents and young adults (Mage = 18.22, SD=2.25, range=15–23, 14 girls) were included in the analysis.
The average household size (including the participant) was 9.24 people (range of 2–20). Of the 32
participants reporting ethnicity, 28 identied as Ladino (mixed Indigenous and European descent) and
four identied as Indigenous. Participants were either current students (n=29) or recent graduates
(n=8) of a school in Jocotenango, Guatemala that serves economically disadvantaged youth. Families
must demonstrate severe economic need for enrolment. The school educates children in kindergarten
through middle school. The graduates who participated in this study were still given some nancial and
social support from the school while they completed their secondary education elsewhere. Participants
were chosen for this study based on the recommendation of the school psychologist. She selected
students who were coming from particularly dire circumstances (e.g. abuse and violence at home).
Materials
Data were collected from three sources: participants, participant mentors at the school, and parents.
Participants completed the self-report measures described below at three time points. Some also par-
ticipated in focus groups at the end of the study once the experimental group and wait-list controls
had completed the horse workshops. Mentors completed behavioural reports of their mentees also
detailed below. Parents participated in focus groups after the nal post-test.
Participant questionnaires
The measures, all originally developed in English, were translated to Spanish by the third author bilingual
in Spanish and English. Another native Spanish speaker, also uent in English, veried the translations
and minor discrepancies were reconciled via discussion. Because youth participants may not have had
much exposure to Likert-style scales, slight modications were made by including illustrations with
scale points to indicate the magnitude of agreement/disagreement. The range in Cronbach’s alpha
values for each questionnaire reects the internal consistency reliability estimates across the three
testing administrations.
Youth Leadership Life Skills Development (YLLSD; Ricochet Leadership Skills Survey, n.d.; Smith, Gentry,
& Ketrig, 2005; adapted from Seevers, Dormody, & Clason, 1995). The YLLSD is a 30-item self-report
measure of leadership ability (see Ricochet Leadership Skills Survey, n.d.; Smith et al., 2005). Participants
responded to each item on a 4-point Likert scale ranging from 1 (no ability) to 4 (a lot of ability). Circles
of various sizes were presented along with the scale anchors to illustrate the magnitude of agreement/
disagreement. Sample items included ‘I feel I can set realistic goals’ and ‘I feel I can listen eectively’. In
the current study, alphas were excellent ranging from .92 to .96.
Transgression-Related Interpersonal Motivations Inventory (TRIM; McCullough et al., 1998). The TRIM
is a 12-item scale that assesses reactions to interpersonal transgressions. Responses are rated on a
5-point Likert scale ranging from 1 (strongly disagree) to 5 (strongly agree). Response options were
illustrated as follows: NO/no/maybe/yes/YES (see Chaplin & John, 2010). Higher scores indicate higher
tendency for retaliation and ill will for the transgressor. Before answering the items, participants were

394 J. L. GIBBONS ET AL.
prompted to think of someone who recently hurt them and answered the questions with the person in
mind. Sample items included ‘I cut o the relationship with him/her’ (avoidance) and ‘I am going to get
even’ (revenge). Items are divided into two subscales: Avoidance (α=.85–.91) and Revenge (α=.86–.90).
Normative Beliefs about Aggression Scale (NBAS; Huesmann & Guerra, 1997). The NBAS is a 20-item
measure that addresses approval of physical and verbal aggression in youth. For nine items, the scale
ranged from 1 (it’s perfectly okay) to 4 (it’s really wrong) and for the remainder, the scale was reversed
and lower scores indicated disagreement (i.e. lower acceptance of aggressive responses). For analysis,
the 11 items were reversed such that higher scores indicated greater acceptance of aggression. Smiling
or frowning faces that varied in size to illustrate magnitude of agreement/disagreement accompanied
scale points. Participants were given eight brief scenarios (e.g. ‘Suppose a boy says something bad to
a girl’ and ‘Suppose a girl hits another girl, Maria’) and answered questions about the acceptability of
responses to those situations. A question posed in response to the rst example is ‘Do you think it’s
wrong for the girl to scream at home’ and in response to the second, ‘Do you think it is wrong for Maria
to hit her back?’ The remaining seven questions addressed more general views on aggression (e.g. ‘In
general, it is okay to yell at others and say bad things’.) Alphas ranged from .69 to .85.
Emotion Regulation Questionnaire (ERQ; Gross & John, 2003). The ERQ is a 10-item scale of emotion
regulation with two subscales. The Reappraisal subscale includes six items (e.g. ‘I control my emotions
by changing the way I think about the situation I’m in’) and the Suppression subscale includes four (e.g. ‘I
control my emotions by not expressing them’). All items are rated on a 7-point Likert scale ranging from
1 (strongly disagree) to 7 (strongly agree). Participants were presented with these response options: NO/
NO/no/maybe/yes/YES/YES (Chaplin & John, 2010). Higher scores indicate greater emotion regulation.
Alphas for the Reappraisal subscale ranged from .64 to .81 and from .22 to .60 for the Suppression
subscale.
Cognitive Emotion Regulation Questionnaire – Blaming Others (CERQ; Garnefski, Kraaij, & Spinhoven,
2001). Participants also completed the Blaming Others subscale of the CERQ. This subscale consists
of four items and participants responded using same 7-item Likert scale that was used for the ERQ
(Gross & John, 2003). These items emphasized that others were often responsible when something bad
happens. For example, ‘When something bad happens to me, I think about the mistakes others have
made in this matter’. Cronbach’s alphas were good and ranged from .79 to .84.
Mentor evaluations
Mentors rated prosocial and aggressive behaviours of the participants at three time points.
Child Behaviour Checklist (CBS; Ladd & Prolet, 1996). Participant mentors completed the Aggressive
(seven items, e.g. ‘taunts, teases’) and Prosocial behaviours (seven items, e.g. ‘cooperative with peers’)
subscales of the CBS (Ladd & Prolet, 1996). Although originally developed for use with younger
children, this measure has been used to evaluate the behaviour of adolescents (see Kataoka & Vandell,
2013). Mentors responded on a 3-point scale ranging from 1 (doesn’t apply – student seldom displays the
behaviour) to 3 (certainly applies – student often displays the behaviour). Alphas for the prosocial items
ranged from .85 to .92 and from .79 to .90 for the aggressive items.
Demographic questionnaire
In addition to basic demographic information (e.g. age, ethnicity), participants also provided a proxy
for socio-economic status by indicating whether or not their household owned or had access to certain
objects (e.g. stove, book shelf with books) and amenities (e.g. electricity, hot water).

INTERNATIONAL JOURNAL OF ADOLESCENCE AND YOUTH 395
Participant focus groups
Seventeen of the youth participants attended one of two focus groups 2weeks after the post-test
assessment at Time 3. They were asked to describe what they had learned from the workshop and how
they have applied that knowledge to their lives.
Focus groups with family
Eighteen relatives participated in one of two focus groups after the Time 3 post-test. Participants
included two fathers, three sisters, and 13 mothers. Family members were asked to describe changes
in their relative’s behaviour since participating in the workshop. Specically, they were asked if they
had noticed any changes in how the participant was behaving with family, friends and/or classmates.
Coding
Focus groups were audio recorded and later transcribed. Responses were coded using thematic anal-
ysis (Braun & Clarke, 2006). Each of the authors rst read the focus group transcripts independently
in Spanish. The team then came together and developed codes related to the youth and family focus
groups. Once the codes were created, each team member read through the focus group transcripts
again, organizing the responses into the established codes. Any disagreements were resolved through
discussion. Then the ve team members grouped the lower level codes into higher level themes.
Workshop curriculum
The workshops centred on a Join-Up® exercise developed by natural horsemanship trainer Monty
Roberts (About Join-Up®, 2016; Roberts, 2002a, 2002b). The Join-Up® experience is designed to foster
trust and leadership between the equine and his human handler (here, the youth participants) through
non-violent communication (About Join-Up®, 2016; Roberts, 2002a, 2002b). By utilizing the horse’s natu-
ral herd instinct and sensitivity to human nonverbal behaviour, the Join-Up® experience fosters trust and
respect between the horse and handler. This condence then allows the handler to eectively handle
the horse without the use of violence or physical force and a human–equine partnership is formed. In
the end, the equine and the handler form a partnership, with the human emerging as the horse’s leader.
The 2-day workshops included PowerPoint and video presentations as well as question-
and-answer sessions between the participants and workshop facilitators. After observing a Join-Up®,
participants performed a mock-join up with a person substituting for a horse, followed by a Join-Up®
with a horse. In addition, youth participants groomed horses and led them around obstacles. Participants
also engaged in a breathing exercise; in close contact with a horse, they concentrated on breathing
and self-awareness for 20–30min, recording the horse’s hear t rate before and after the contact. A short
session 2weeks later included participants’ feedback on how the new skills had been applied to their
lives and a role-playing exercise.
Procedure
This study utilized a wait-list control design. Participants were randomly assigned to one of two groups:
experimental (n=18) or wait-list control (n=19). The experimental group received the 2-day workshop
rst, followed by the wait-list control group approximately one week later. For each group, there were
approximately ve days between Day 1 and Day 2 of the workshop. Data were collected at three time
points from participants and mentors. Time 1 was the pre-test for both groups. Time 2 was the rst
post-test for the experimental group and the second pre-test for the wait-list controls. Time 3 served as
the second post-test for the experimental group and the sole post-test for the wait-list controls. There
were 4weeks between testing at Time 1 and Testing at Time 2 and 2weeks between Times 2 and 3. The
pre-testing at Time 1 occurred several weeks prior to the experimental group receiving the workshop.
The experimental group received the workshop between Time 1 and Time 2, while the wait-list control

396 J. L. GIBBONS ET AL.
received the workshop between Time 2 and Time 3. Focus groups with the family members and with
the participants themselves occurred following the post-test at Time 3, and the feedback session.
Prior to the start of data collection, written parental consent was obtained for youth participants
under age 18. Adolescent assent was also sought in those cases. For youth participants over age 18, for
parents, and for teachers, written consent was obtained at the start of the study. Participants completed
their questionnaire packets in a classroom of the school. Each of the focus groups lasted approximately
two hours.
Results
The mixed-method approach resulted in quantitative and qualitative data from three sources. We have
both types of data from the workshop participants, quantitative data from mentors, and qualitative
data from participants’ relatives. The quantitative analyses are presented rst, followed by the coding
analyses of the focus groups.
To assess the eectiveness of the workshop, a series of one-way analyses of covariance (ANCOVAs)
with condition (experimental vs. wait-list control group) as the between-subjects independent variable
were run to compare experimental group participants with wait-list control participants at Time 2 on
the measures described above. Time 1 scores on those same measures served as the covariate. Recall
that at Time 2 the experimental group had received the programme while the wait-list control group
had not. Adjusted means, after taking the covariate into account, are presented for signicant analyses
only. When the ANCOVA was signicant, follow-up paired-samples t-tests compared experimental group
participants only at Time 2 and Time 3 to test whether the eects held for approximately two weeks
between Time 2 and Time 3 assessments.
Participants’ quantitative self-reports
Participants’ self-reported leadership ability was signicantly higher for the experimental group
(M= 103.85) at Time 2 compared to the wait-list control group (M=94.61), F(1, 34) = 6.39, p= .016,
partial η2=.156. The paired-samples t-test indicated that those in the experimental group maintained
those advances in leadership from Time 2 to Time 3 because there was no signicant dierence between
the two time points, t(17) = −.67, p>.05. See Figure 1.
Dierences in TRIM scores between the experimental and wait-list control groups were not signi-
cant at Time 2, F(1, 34) = 1.35, p>.05. Self-reported attitudes towards aggression on the NBAS did not
reveal a signicant between-condition dierence at Time 2, F(1, 34) = .15, p> .05. See Figure 2. With
respect to emotion regulation, only the Repression subscale of the ERQ and the Blaming Others CERQ
were analysed due to the poor alpha of the ERQ Suppression subscale. Neither measure of emotion
80
85
90
95
100
105
110
Time 1 Time 2 Time 3
Total Leadership Score
Experimental
Wait-List Control
Figure 1.Participants’ self-reported leadership ability across time points.

INTERNATIONAL JOURNAL OF ADOLESCENCE AND YOUTH 397
regulation revealed signicant dierences between conditions at Time 2, F(1, 34) = .56, p>.05 (ERQ
Repression) and F(1, 34) = 2.50, p>.05 (CERQ Blaming Others).
Mentors’ reports
Mentor reports of aggressive behaviour as measured by the aggression subscale of the ABS indicated
that there were signicant dierences between groups at Time 2 for aggressive behaviour, F(1, 34) = 4.82,
p<.035, partial η2=.12. Means indicated that experimental group participants (M=1.26) were lower
on aggression at Time 2 than wait-list control group participants (M=1.43). A paired-samples t-test
suggested that experimental group participants retained those lower aggression scores from Time
2 to Time 3 as the analysis was not signicant, t(17) = .74, p>.05. The dierence between groups on
prosocial behaviour at Time 2 was not signicant, F(1, 34) = .92, p>.05
Participant focus groups
Three central themes emerged from participant focus groups: Emotion Regulation, Empowerment, and
Positive Emotion. All themes were guided by the overarching idea that participants learned valuable
lessons from the workshop. See Figure 3. With respect to Emotion Regulation, participants spoke often
about applying the breathing exercises during conicts or challenges as a tool to remain calm. They
also described how participation in the workshop helped them to be less angry and to ght less with
others. For example, a boy indicated that, ‘Before, I used to beat my brothers because they used to tease
me but now I’ve calmed down a lot and I just ask them not to bother me’.
Participants spoke often of Empowerment that encouraged them to assume leadership roles at home
and to share what they learned in the workshop with other family members. When talking about the
breathing exercises, one girl oered, ‘… so, I taught my mother the breathing technique’. Furthermore,
this sense of empowerment promoted better interpersonal interactions and encouraged future per-
sonal growth. In one case, a boy explained, ‘I can grow more as a person. To have condence in myself
is what will help me to succeed’. Similarly, when discussing Positive Emotions, youth mentioned how
they were happier and laughing more, while feeling less scared and more condent. One girl shared,
‘Now I am calmer and happier’.
Family focus groups
The focus groups with parents and siblings yielded four themes: Emotion Regulation, Better Interpersonal
Interactions, Empowered Leaders, and Learning from Horses. Those themes were guided by an overall
0.9
1
1.1
1.2
1.3
1.4
1.5
1.6
1.7
1.8
1.9
2
2.1
2.2
Time 1Time 2Time 3
Mean Aggressive Behavior Scor
e
Experimental
Wait-List Control
Figure 2.Mentors’ reports of participants’ aggression across time points.

398 J. L. GIBBONS ET AL.
observation of change in participants following the workshops. Family members often spoke of ‘cambió
bastante’ in Spanish, which means ‘he (she) changed a lot’. See Figure 4.
Family members described increased Emotion Regulation much like participants did. They spoke
often of participants being calmer and more peaceful (mas tranquilo/a) and using less aggression.
Describing her brother, a sister explained, ‘As my father was aggressive, he learned to behave aggres-
sively, but [after the workshops] he decided to make a change and not be aggressive like my father’.
When describing her daughter’s improvement in managing conicts with her sister, one mother
recounted, ‘She tries to control herself as she was taught and she tells me how it is done’.
Examples and narratives suggested that the workshops allowed participants to become Empowered
Leaders. Family members spoke of budding leadership skills and condence, ‘You told him, “you are
the leader of the horse”, and now he will be the leader of the house’. At home participants were more
responsible and also readily shared what they had learned in the workshops with siblings and parents.
When commenting on changes she has noticed in her son, one mother said, ‘Now he is responsible.
Before [the workshop] he was irresponsible’. A mother shared that her daughter, ‘is sharing what she
learned … exactly’.
Given the positive changes in the participants themselves post-workshop, it is not surprising that
family members noticed improved interpersonal interactions. Specically, family members mentioned
better communication skills and greater evidence of compassion with others. A mother shared about
her son, ‘In his way of communicating he was very timid and distant, he didn’t trust people, now he
Figure 3.Themes from participants’ focus groups.

INTERNATIONAL JOURNAL OF ADOLESCENCE AND YOUTH 399
chats more and comes to tell me personal things’. Finally, family members noted that participants had
learned directly from the horses, (e.g. ‘… then she [the daughter] says to me [the mother] “calm down”
and says how beautiful it feels to be with the horses and how much they taught her’, suggesting that
the opportunity for human–equine interaction was an integral component of the workshop’s success.
Discussion
Using random assignment to treatment and control groups, multiple sources of information, and psy-
chometrically sound instruments, we found evidence for the eectiveness of an equine-facilitated
workshop in changing the attitudes and behaviour of at-risk Guatemalan adolescents. Compared to
a wait-list control group, youth who experienced the programme reported more condence in their
leadership abilities. In addition, their mentors indicated that they showed less aggressive behaviour.
During focus groups family members also reported more leadership among the participants, as well
as better interpersonal interactions and emotion regulation. Participants themselves reported better
emotion regulation, a sense of empowerment, and more positive emotions. That is, we were able to
answer the rst two guiding questions armatively: the equine-facilitated workshop was eective
with adolescents who had little or no experience with horses. The answer to the third question – was
emotion regulation a key mechanism of change – was less denitive. Although quantitative measures
revealed no changes, focus groups with both the participants themselves and family members sug-
gested that emotion regulation was a critical feature. Both the youth participants and family mem-
bers narrated examples of improved emotion regulation. Participants talked about implementing the
breathing exercises when in dicult situations (e.g. when having an argument with a sibling). Family
members added that they witnessed less aggression and a sense of calmness among the youth who
had received the intervention.
This discrepancy between the quantitative and qualitative results may be attributed to diculties
with the quantitative measures of emotion regulation (i.e. the ERQ, Gross & John, 2013 and the CERQ,
Figure 4.Themes from family members’ focus groups.

400 J. L. GIBBONS ET AL.
Garnefski et al., 2001). Those measures were developed in the USA and the EQR had relatively poor
reliability in this sample of youth. School professionals thought that the participants might have had dif
-
culty understanding the items. Signicant instrument adaptation may be necessary to not only ensure
that the wording of the items is appropriate for Guatemalan youth, but also to ensure that the breadth
and depth of the construct is adequately addressed for this sample (e.g. Ægisdóttir & Einarsdóttir, 2012).
Another implication of the ndings from the focus groups is that there may be a ripple eect, the
diusion of the use of nonviolent conict resolution to other family members. For example, one partic-
ipant reported, ‘I taught [my mother] the breathing exercises and that is helping her a lot; now I want
to teach my sister to do the same’. Family members also noted this spread of knowledge as described
above. The spread of behaviours to other situations and settings had been reported in a previous study
with young prisoners (Hemingway et al., 2015).
Still unknown is the exact mechanism by which the intervention changed youth’s attitudes and
behaviour. What experiences are essential – the Join-Up® itself, other interactions with the horse, the
breathing exercise, the group discussions, or nonspecic aspects such as attention and support? In
focus groups, participants often mentioned the breathing exercise – a task based on slow, controlled
breathing and awareness of the present moment, a technique very similar to mindfulness exercises
(e.g. Bluth et al., 2016; Broderick & Metz, 2009). A ‘Learning to BREATHE’ mindfulness programme has
had good success in relieving depression and stress and increasing calmness and self-acceptance in
at-risk adolescents (Bluth et al., 2016; Broderick & Metz, 2009). Identifying the critical elements of the
programme is an important next step.
Limitations and future directions
Although this study has many strengths, it is not without limitations. First, the sample size is relatively
small and rather homogeneous. Participants were enrolled in school and were from families with very
limited economic resources. This was the target group of interest in the current study, but those sample
characteristics should be taken into consideration before generalizing these results to all Guatemalan
youth or all at-risk youth more broadly.
Second, the participant focus groups were conducted by the programme director, immediately
following the feedback session, allowing for the possibility of demand characteristics in the responses.
Third, as noted the very low alpha levels of some subscales of the emotion regulation measures indicated
the questions might not have been appropriate for our participants. Therefore, the evidence of quanti-
tative non-signicant changes in emotion regulation should not yet be interpreted as an inadequacy
of the workshops to address this issue, but instead that the measures were not adequately adapted for
the sample. The focus group data support this conclusion.
Despite these limitations, the ndings strengthen the results of previous research that used less
rigorous methods. In the present study, an equine-based intervention, based on the Join-Up® procedure
was eective in promoting leadership and emotion regulation and in reducing aggressive behaviour.
It successfully fostered empowered leadership among at-risk youth in Guatemala. The programme can
provide tools for youth to address the many problems that they face. Those tools may not only promote
success for the individual participants, but also for their family members, classmates, and Guatemalan
society at large.
Notes on contributors
Judith L. Gibbons is Professor Emerita of Psychology at Saint Louis University. She is the founding editor of the American
Psychological Association Division 52 journal International Perspectives in Psychology: Research, Practice, Consultation,
the past-president of the Interamerican Society of Psychology (SIP) and a former Fulbright scholar at the Universidad del
Valle de Guatemala. Her research interests include adolescent development in the majority world, especially in Guatemala,
intercountry adoption, gender roles and violence prevention. In collaboration with other researchers, she has published
over 100 journal articles and chapters and 2 books, The Thoughts of Youth and Intercountry Adoption: Policies, Practices,
and Outcomes.

INTERNATIONAL JOURNAL OF ADOLESCENCE AND YOUTH 401
Catherine A. Cunningham is the founder of Lead-Up International. She is an advanced student of Monty Roberts and an
advocate of Join-Up and non-violence. In 2014, Catherine collaborated with fellow researchers to conduct a scientic study
of a Join-Up themed horse-handling program. The research produced evidence of reduced violence and abuse towards
horses and humans following the program (Gibbons, Cunningham, Paiz, Poelker, Montufar, HAIB 2015). These eorts led
to the creation of Lead-Up International, Aliate Program of Join-Up International.
Leslie Paiz is an equine enthusiast and advocate for non-violence. She is a member of the Lead-Up International team.
Leslie continues to work with programmes addressing the challenges faced by at-risk youth and communities with high
rates of interpersonal violence. In 2015, she was a co-author of an article demonstrating the eectiveness of a non-vio-
lent horse training program to reduce violence in a rural Guatemalan community (Gibbons, Cunningham, Paiz, Poelker,
& Montufar, 2015).
Katelyn E. Poelker is a doctoral candidate in Developmental Psychology at Saint Louis University. Currently, her research
is focused on Guatemalan adolescents' socio-emotional development and how gratitude and envy relate to well-being.
She has published articles on adolescents’ social and emotional development in the US and Guatemala as well as inter-
generational change in adolescents’ ideals.
Aracely Chajón is a psychologist working with at-risk children and adolescents at Fundación Educando a los Niños in
Guatemala. She provides social support services to youth and their families facing challenges due to living with limited
economic resources. In her role, Aracely ensures that in addition to their education in the classroom, students are receiving
the mental health and social support services that they need to thrive.
ORCID
Judith L. Gibbons http://orcid.org/0000-0002-9263-3096
Katelyn E. Poelker http://orcid.org/0000-0002-1139-7213
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