Boys Adventure Weekend Evaluation

In 2003, the Boys to Men Mentoring Network adopted the BarOn Emotional Quotient Inventory (EQi®) to measure the impact of the Boys Adventure Weekend. 525 boys were tested before and after each weekend program. The results from these tests reveal remarkable changes in levels of emotional intelligence, including an average increase of 28.9%.

The test given, the BarOn Emotional Quotient Inventory: Youth Version, was chosen in 2003 to measure boys’ improvement. The BarOn Eqi: YV instrument defines emotional intelligence “as an array of emotional, personal, and interpersonal abilities that influence one’s overall ability to cope with environmental demands and pressures (1997, Parker in press)”.

The BarOn short version (consisting of thirty items) was used to maintain reliability by testing a cross-section of abilities in a short testing time. Adolescents from age 11 through 18 were pre and post tested at the start of Boys to Men training and at the end of the weekend on Sunday.


The boys improved in each of the sub-test scales, as shown in attached charts.

Major Findings:

  • All improvements in mean scores are statistically significant (see appendix A).
  • The Intrapersonal improvement score is particularly large.  This indicates that positive self-regard and the ability to identify and understand one’s feelings is the most provable outcome of the weekend, although improvements in each of the other areas are all statistically significant.

The BarOn Emotional Quotient Inventory (Youth Version) has been administered to a normative sample of 9,172 respondents age 7 to 18. The following charts show pre vs. post-weekend (Boys Adventure Weekend) improvement measured by Boys to Men participants against the normative sample population of BarOn test respondents.  The Boys to Men participants were segmented into three equal-size sub-groups: Low, Medium, and High, for each scale based on their pre-weekend weekend scores.  To the right of these segments, measurements for the total population appear.

Appendix A: Statistical Analysis of BarOn Test Results

For this analysis, the data was pooled and all youth were examined together. The change scores from pre-post testing were subject to a series of t-tests to explore the significance of the change. The results are provided in Table 1. As can be seen, the change in scores was highly significant in all areas of Emotional Intelligence. These results indicate that the intervention was successful in establishing change, and that the EQ-i scores were sensitive to the changes that occurred.

Table 1. Overall Change on Emotional Intelligence dimensions (N = 70)

Mean Change

Std. Dev.








p < .001





p < .001





p < .001





p < .001





p < .001

Data in Table 1 shows the overall change in Total EQ was highly significant and the evaluator wanted to compare the composite scores to find out which of the four areas changed the most.  Comparing the other composite scores, the largest change appears to be in the Intrapersonal composite area. However, to test this hypothesis, the change values were standardized and pair wise statistical comparisons were conducted. These analyses confirmed the hypothesis. There was significantly more change on the Intrapersonal composite from pre- to post-test than on any other EI scale (all p < .05).

There were no differences in the amount of change between the other scales (Interpersonal, Stress Management, or Adaptability). There was positive change on all scales (see Table 1), but based on these data the intervention program seems to have its largest impact on Intrapersonal functioning (and Total EQ). This means that positive self-regard and the ability to identify and understand ones’ feelings is the statistically provable outcome of the Boys to Men weekend.

These results are highly encouraging. Positive change was observed in virtually all of the analyses for all of the areas of emotional intelligence. Based on these data, the Boys to Men intervention program that was administered seems effective in producing change.  In terms of the validity of the EQ-i, the test proved effective and sensitive to the improvements made by the youth.

Intrapersonal skills: Positive self-regard and the ability to identify and understand one’s own feelings.

EQ intrapersonal chart

* Segmentation: Participants were separated into three groups based on their pre-weekend scores.

Interpersonal skills: Empathy for and understanding of others’ feelings; social responsibility, cooperation; and the ability to establish and maintain mutually satisfying relationships characterized by intimacy.


Adaptability: Three related abilities of reality testing, flexibility, and problem solving.


Stress management: Two related abilities of stress tolerance and impulse control–the ability to control one’s emotions under stress.


EQ Score: the above four scores combine to give a total EQ score.

Boys Emotional Quotient