A longitudinal study of psychosocial changes among Thai adolescents participating in a Buddhist ordination program for novices.

Little is known about the effects of intense spiritual practice among teenage youth. In the present study, 170 adolescent males in Thailand were assessed regarding the immediate and long-term behavioral, emotional, and devotional consequences of participation in a six-week Buddhist monastic program. An additional 114 males of equivalent age, who were assessed in regard to changes following a demanding extracurricular English language course, served as controls. Their parents' perceptions were also examined. The results indicated that the changes reported by the youths in the ordination group were highly positive, enduring, and of a different pattern from that of the controls. The ratings of the two parent groups were also significantly different from each other, and analogous to those of their children. The practical and theoretical implications of the findings are discussed.