Document Type
Journal Article
Publication Title
Journal of Adventure Education and Outdoor Learning
Publisher
Taylor & Francis
School
School of Medical and Health Sciences
Funders
Australian Government Research Training Program
Abstract
This study examines the effects of OAE on adolescent social and emotional wellbeing and their contributors. Intervention studies (single or multi-arm) assessing the effects of OAE on wellbeing were included. Meta-analysis was conducted on outcomes of interest, and the Cochrane Risk of Bias (RoB) Tool assessed RoB in multi-arm studies. Four studies assessed within-group change (n = 368), and six assessed between-group change (n = 1,143). Findings indicate significant between-group improvements in resilience, self-esteem and social belonging when OAE was compared to no intervention, but no self-efficacy and overall wellbeing changes were observed. Studies were at high risk of bias, and the credibility of the presented evidence was very low. OAE may benefit adolescents’ interpersonal connectedness and psychological strengths, but we cannot be confident in effect estimates due to bias and low-quality evidence. As such, this study is significant in highlighting the need for more research rigour in OAE.
DOI
10.1080/14729679.2024.2386350
Creative Commons License
This work is licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution-Noncommercial-No Derivative Works 4.0 License.
Comments
Down, M. J., Picknoll, D., Edwards, T., Farringdon, F., Hoyne, G., Piggott, B., & Murphy, M. C. (2024). Outdoor adventure education for adolescent social and emotional wellbeing: A systematic review and meta-analysis. Journal of Adventure Education and Outdoor Learning. Advance online publication. https://doi.org/10.1080/14729679.2024.2386350