A Meta-Analysis of Outdoor Adventure Programming with Adolescents

Abstract

Adventure practitioners asked to justify their work with adolescent populations have no one study to point to that statistically sums up major findings in the field. Whether it be a school board, treatment facility, or funding agency, one study is needed which can combine statistics from many studies into a format to show overall effectiveness of adventure programming. This study used the statistical technique of meta-analysis to demonstrate that adolescents who attend adventure programming are 62% better off than those who do not. While combining various populations and outcomes resulted in an overall effect that could be considered small by some accounts, the study did point to major problems with current research and offers some direction for future researchers to explore.

‘Adventure therapy’ combined with cognitive-behavioral treatment for overweight adolescents

“…Studies utilizing 'adventure therapies' have documented significant positive effects on self-concept, locus of control, and sociability, 22,27,28 which in turn have been related to increased levels of physical activity in adolescents, 29 and are expected to contribute to weight loss. Furthermore, social functioning has been observed to be an area of difficulty for overweight children and adolescents, 30,31 and social support for eating and exercise was found to be a significant predictor of long-term weight loss in a 10-year follow-up of children treated for obesity.…”

Experiences with international informal education course 1 - preparation of the course and description of conditions for recreation in Balkan

“…Nejvíce lze najít v zahraniční literatuře a to výzkumy projektů sdružení Outward Bound (Berman & Davis-Berman, 1996;Bunting & Kuhn & Williams, 1992;Cason & Gillis, 1994;Dismore & Bailey, 2005;McKenzie, 2000;Hattie, Marsch, Neil & Richards, 1997). Zde se objevila již velká spousta prací, zabývající se kurzovní tématikou.…”

Quasi-experimental Study of the Effect of an Adventure Education Programme on Classroom Satisfaction, Physical Self-Concept and Social Goals in Physical Education

“…Some studies on AE have been criticised for using only quantitative or qualitative methods (Cason & Gillis, 1994;Pommier & Witt, 1995), or for using unreliable assessment tools. Given existing criticisms, it was decided to use instruments with a proven validity and reliability factor structure to enable us to collect measures in accordance with the approach of this study.…”