Principal Researchers: Kylie Agnew Assoc MAPS (Youth Psychology SA / ConnectedSelf) & Dr Will Dobud (Charles Sturt University)
Human Research Ethical Approval: Based on the guidelines in the National Statement on Ethical Conduct in Human Research (Australia), Charles Sturt University's Human Research Ethics Committee approved this study on 30 April 2024 until 30 April 2026. The study's protocol number is H24054.
Useful Links:
Participant Information Sheet
Consent Form
Human Research Ethical Approval: Based on the guidelines in the National Statement on Ethical Conduct in Human Research (Australia), Charles Sturt University's Human Research Ethics Committee approved this study on 30 April 2024 until 30 April 2026. The study's protocol number is H24054.
Useful Links:
Participant Information Sheet
Consent Form
Funding: The authors did not receive support from any organization for the submitted work. No funding was received for conducting this study.
Special Thanks: Thanks to Unda Avota, Nicky Treadway, Wayne Enright, Johanna Bechtle, and Kylie Wielechowski for aiding in developing this research project, providing supplementary materials, and co-facilitation.
Special Thanks: Thanks to Unda Avota, Nicky Treadway, Wayne Enright, Johanna Bechtle, and Kylie Wielechowski for aiding in developing this research project, providing supplementary materials, and co-facilitation.
Project Description
Background
Adventure therapy (AT) is a diverse mode of therapeutic services delivered by a range of clinicians, paraprofessionals, and outdoor adventure facilitators (Alvarez & Stauffer, 2001). While AT literature has grown in the previous decade, little is understood about how AT providers tailor their work to different target populations. For example, the majority of AT literature focuses on adventure therapy with adolescents (Carpenter & Pryor, 2020), though AT has been effectively delivered with adult combat veterans, younger children with disabilities, and for mothers of newborns.
This study aims to bridge the gap between AT practice and research knowledge. The majority of outcome research in AT relates to a specific industry council of adolescent wilderness therapy programs in the United States creating a void of research literature focused on how most AT providers tailor their work to specific populations from international contexts. For example, Dobud et al. (2020) argued for practitioners to become evidence-builders to increase the diversity of knowledge about AT practice.
This study will explore the considerations for AT practice with various target age groups. Focus groups with the international community of AT practitioners will be conducted to engage in an experiential conversation (Baker et al., 2005) to discuss consideration for tailoring specific AT activities, such as paddle boarding or rock climbing, based on participants’ age.
Justification
Therapy providers are required to tailor their model of therapy to the whole person. AT providers also must consider how to structure outdoor/adventure so they are appropriate to various age groups. Learning how AT providers modify these activities is a gap missing in the practice literature. This study will provide implications for future practice for structuring AT practice based on the lived experience of AT providers.
Research Question
This study is informed by the following research question: How do adventure therapy providers tailor their practice for target age groups?
Aims
The study aims to conduct multiple focus groups with a range of AT providers to build knowledge about age-specific recommendations for AT practice.
Objectives
The research team will conduct and record multiple focus groups with AT providers and conduct a thematic analysis of the data collection.
Project Description
Participants
Participants will be AT providers from diverse backgrounds, over the age of 18, and able to speak conversational English (or have the presence of a translator in the focus group). We intend to work with a minimum of 30 participants from at least three focus groups. In-person focus groups will occur at AT conferences, such as the Outdoor Health Australia Forum and the Gathering of Adventure Therapy Europe in Latvia. Online focus groups will occur after the conferences via Zoom to improve access to participation for those who did not attend the conferences.
Recruitment Strategies and Timeframes
The research team will post social media posts (attached in the application) of relevant pages, such as the International Adventure Therapy Facebook group, to recruit participants to online focus groups. In-person focus groups will occur at AT conferences as part of the conference program. This process is described in the following section.
Data Collection
Consent to Participate: Attendees of the in-person or online focus groups will be provided a participant information sheet from the research team about the study and collect informed consent. The consent forms will also collect the participants' nationality, gender, age, level of education, job title, years of AT practice, theoretical orientations, and the target age group they work with. This information will be collected simply for descriptive purposes of the sample participating in this study.
Structure of the Focus Groups: Focus groups can continue to be conducted online after the conferences until the research team reach data saturation. The focus groups will take 20-30 minutes for each age group. The focus groups will be recorded via Zoom, including the face-to-face groups
Age Groups in Focus
0-5 Year Olds
5-10 Year Olds
10-15 Year Olds
15-20 Year Olds
20-30 Year Olds
30-60 Year Olds
60+ Year Olds
Gathering Notes: Along with recording the audio of these focus groups, one of the researchers will take handwritten notes of particular suggestions provided by the participants in the focus groups, as a form of qualitative memoing. Notes will include specific considerations or implications for AT practice with various age groups. No identifying information will be collected in the note taking process.
Data Analysis
After the focus groups, the researchers will transcribe the recordings into a Microsoft Word document and store the transcript and note data in NVivo for qualitative thematic analysis (Braun & Clarke, 2012). The data will be co-coded by the research team to improve trustworthiness of the analysis (Hemmler et al., 2022).
Results, Outcomes & Future Plans (plans to return results to participants?, dissemination, other uses for data?, follow-up research)
The findings will be presented in a peer-reviewed paper for submission to high ranking academic journals, such as the Journal of Outdoor and Environmental Education. Participants will be invited to a voluntary, free Online Zoom webinar to present the study’s findings.
The data will not be used for any other purpose other than this study.
Adventure therapy (AT) is a diverse mode of therapeutic services delivered by a range of clinicians, paraprofessionals, and outdoor adventure facilitators (Alvarez & Stauffer, 2001). While AT literature has grown in the previous decade, little is understood about how AT providers tailor their work to different target populations. For example, the majority of AT literature focuses on adventure therapy with adolescents (Carpenter & Pryor, 2020), though AT has been effectively delivered with adult combat veterans, younger children with disabilities, and for mothers of newborns.
This study aims to bridge the gap between AT practice and research knowledge. The majority of outcome research in AT relates to a specific industry council of adolescent wilderness therapy programs in the United States creating a void of research literature focused on how most AT providers tailor their work to specific populations from international contexts. For example, Dobud et al. (2020) argued for practitioners to become evidence-builders to increase the diversity of knowledge about AT practice.
This study will explore the considerations for AT practice with various target age groups. Focus groups with the international community of AT practitioners will be conducted to engage in an experiential conversation (Baker et al., 2005) to discuss consideration for tailoring specific AT activities, such as paddle boarding or rock climbing, based on participants’ age.
Justification
Therapy providers are required to tailor their model of therapy to the whole person. AT providers also must consider how to structure outdoor/adventure so they are appropriate to various age groups. Learning how AT providers modify these activities is a gap missing in the practice literature. This study will provide implications for future practice for structuring AT practice based on the lived experience of AT providers.
Research Question
This study is informed by the following research question: How do adventure therapy providers tailor their practice for target age groups?
Aims
The study aims to conduct multiple focus groups with a range of AT providers to build knowledge about age-specific recommendations for AT practice.
Objectives
The research team will conduct and record multiple focus groups with AT providers and conduct a thematic analysis of the data collection.
Project Description
Participants
Participants will be AT providers from diverse backgrounds, over the age of 18, and able to speak conversational English (or have the presence of a translator in the focus group). We intend to work with a minimum of 30 participants from at least three focus groups. In-person focus groups will occur at AT conferences, such as the Outdoor Health Australia Forum and the Gathering of Adventure Therapy Europe in Latvia. Online focus groups will occur after the conferences via Zoom to improve access to participation for those who did not attend the conferences.
Recruitment Strategies and Timeframes
The research team will post social media posts (attached in the application) of relevant pages, such as the International Adventure Therapy Facebook group, to recruit participants to online focus groups. In-person focus groups will occur at AT conferences as part of the conference program. This process is described in the following section.
Data Collection
Consent to Participate: Attendees of the in-person or online focus groups will be provided a participant information sheet from the research team about the study and collect informed consent. The consent forms will also collect the participants' nationality, gender, age, level of education, job title, years of AT practice, theoretical orientations, and the target age group they work with. This information will be collected simply for descriptive purposes of the sample participating in this study.
Structure of the Focus Groups: Focus groups can continue to be conducted online after the conferences until the research team reach data saturation. The focus groups will take 20-30 minutes for each age group. The focus groups will be recorded via Zoom, including the face-to-face groups
Age Groups in Focus
0-5 Year Olds
5-10 Year Olds
10-15 Year Olds
15-20 Year Olds
20-30 Year Olds
30-60 Year Olds
60+ Year Olds
Gathering Notes: Along with recording the audio of these focus groups, one of the researchers will take handwritten notes of particular suggestions provided by the participants in the focus groups, as a form of qualitative memoing. Notes will include specific considerations or implications for AT practice with various age groups. No identifying information will be collected in the note taking process.
Data Analysis
After the focus groups, the researchers will transcribe the recordings into a Microsoft Word document and store the transcript and note data in NVivo for qualitative thematic analysis (Braun & Clarke, 2012). The data will be co-coded by the research team to improve trustworthiness of the analysis (Hemmler et al., 2022).
Results, Outcomes & Future Plans (plans to return results to participants?, dissemination, other uses for data?, follow-up research)
The findings will be presented in a peer-reviewed paper for submission to high ranking academic journals, such as the Journal of Outdoor and Environmental Education. Participants will be invited to a voluntary, free Online Zoom webinar to present the study’s findings.
The data will not be used for any other purpose other than this study.
