Tuesday, 17 April 2012

How can we optimise personal enhancement in self-esteem in the adventure environment?






There are many aspects of life that reflect upon how we feel about ourselves, namely relationships at home, our physical appearance or our social acceptance amongst peers yet it is often difficult to really understand how we improve what can be described as our ‘self-esteem’.

James (1890) described self-esteem with reference to a similar term named self-concept. James suggested self-esteem was made up of what a person wishes to achieve, and what they actually achieve. The latter is what is termed self concept, what a person perceives as their actual self.

The way, in which an individual values himself or herself, can be known as self-esteem.

The world we live in has encountered many social changes through time, which in turn can affect our self-esteem. Marsh (1999) highlights the fact that youth and adults interact less frequently, single-parent households have increased and budgetary conditions have meant schools cannot meet both educational and developmental needs of students.

The outdoors therefore, specifically wilderness adventure therapy programs, aims to provide opportunities where participants can learn to adapt to new environments and gain a sense of personal satisfaction through control of their experiences. These programmes as stated by Bandenoch (1984) are shown to enhance self-esteem, challenge, risk taking, reflection and social experiences through the use of adventure activities.

An example can be seen through ropes courses, which provide appropriate risk taking behaviours for students with lower self-esteem, who are likely to succeed and see personal achievement. The group context creates opportunities for social interactions, and transfer of skills to daily life (Moote 1997).

Hopkins and Putnam (1993) support this finding stating that the overall goal of adventure-based activities appears to be enhancement of self-esteem. In a study, 16 of 19 programs reported positive results with increased self-esteem (Sale 1992).

Bandoroff (1989) was first to use wilderness adventure therapy. Crisp and Hinch (2004) more recently did a study on 39 adolescents who didn’t respond to traditional therapy. 36 of these participants were ‘at risk’; the outcomes were significant in reductions of mental health symptoms and similarly increased protective factors such as self-esteem, social-competence and family functioning. Kumpfer (1999) supports this finding suggesting family are responsible for providing emotional support, learning opportunities and building self-esteem. Consequently the effects of the adventure activities and wilderness program provide improvements in self-esteem that relate to daily life. The experience was reported to push participants above their comfort zones, create emotional experiences they may not have previously shared with peers and develop personal responsibility through planning 3 day expeditions.


It is clear research on adventure activities promoting factors for increasing self-esteem is evident. Through personal efforts and a desire to improve self-esteem, challenging activities and self-directed tasks can motivate participants. Optimising this is achieved through participants seeing the success in themselves (Roberts and Suren 2010). As outdoor facilitators, by setting realistic goals and challenges with appropriate follow up reviews of successful and positive impacts, we can optimise the enhancement of self-esteem.



Further reading:

Faust, V., 1980. Self-esteem in the classroom. San diego CA: Thomas paine press.

Roberts, N.S., and Suren, A.T., 2010. Through the eyes of youth: A qualitative evaluation of outdoor leadership programs. Journal of park and recreation administration, 28(4), pp.59-80.

Swanbrick, N., Estwood, G. and Tutton, K., 2004. Self-esteem and successful interaction as part of the forest school project. Support for learning, 19(3), pp 142-146.

References:

Bandenoch, 1984, In. Harper, N.J. A mixed methods examination of family involvement in adolescent wilderness therapy. Minesota University.

Bandoroff, 1989. In. Harper, N.J. A mixed methods examination of family involvement in adolescent wilderness therapy. Minesota University.

Crisp, S.J.R. and Hinch, C., 2004. Treatment effectiveness of wilderness adventure therapy: a comprehensive evaluation. Melbourne: Neo psychology publications.

Hopkins, D. and Putnam, R., 1993. Personal growth through adventure. GB: David Fulton publishers.

Kumpfer, K. L. (1999a). Factors and processes contributing to resilience: the resilience framework. In: Glantz M.D., Johnson, J. L., eds. Resilience and Development: Positive Life Adaptions, New York: Kluwer Academic/Plenum Publishers, pp. 179–224.

Marsh, P.E., 1999. Does camp enhance self-esteem: good news for the future of camping. Camping Magazine, 72(6).

Moote, J.R., Woodarki, G.T., and John. S., 1997. The acquisition of life skills through adventure activities and programs. Adolescence, 32(125), pp.143.

Roberts, N.S., and Suren, A.T., 2010. Through the eyes of youth: A qualitative evaluation of outdoor leadership programs. Journal of park and recreation administration, 28(4), pp.59-80.

Sale, P.L., 1992. Ego and self-concept development among juvenile delinquent participants in adventure-based programs. Dissertation abstracts international, 53.

1 comment:

  1. Another very good BLOG, you have shown some understanding of how SE can be best enhanced in the Outdoor Sector. You might expand this more to question some of the previous research eg Hattie et al.

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