Barry A. Garst

Youth development and the camp experience.

The organized camp experience has been an important part of the lives of children, youth, and adults for over 150 years. The camp experience is a way for young people to explore and search for an authenticity often missing in other parts of their lives that contributes to their healthy transition into adulthood. Over the past decade, tremendous growth in the volume and rigor of camp-related research has occurred, facilitated by a targeted research agenda conducted by the American Camp Association. This agenda was founded on three national research projects conducted between 2003 and 2007: a study to identify the developmental outcomes of the camp experience, a benchmarking study of the youth development supports and opportunities provided through camp experiences, and a program improvement project directed toward enhancing supports and opportunities provided by camps. The findings from these research projects suggest that camp experiences promote developmental outcomes in both campers and staff and that camps provide the supports and opportunities needed for positive youth development. This article explores the developmental outcomes of the camp experience and the characteristics of the supports and opportunities afforded by camp experiences, including settings, structures, and programs and activities, as a way to provide a clearer understanding of camp as a positive youth development setting. Innovations and opportunities in research related to the provision of quality camp experiences are also considered.

Exploring Early Twenty-First Century Developed Forest Camping Experiences and Meanings

This study examines experiences and associated meanings of 38 family groups participating in developed camping. The analysis is guided by discursive social psychology in which expressed meanings reflect interpretive frames campers use to explain experiences. Key elements of camping experience include nature, social interaction, and comfort/convenience. The most common associated meanings are restoration, family functioning, experiencing nature, special places, self-identity, social interaction, and childrens learning. Comparing these experiences and meanings to findings from the 1960s and 1970s suggests that meanings associated with experiencing nature, social interaction, and family have evolved to reflect their greater discursive importance in contemporary society.

Residential summer camp: a new venue for nutrition education and physical activity promotion.

BackgroundMillions of children attend residential summer camps each year. However, few studies have examined the potential of camps for obesity prevention efforts. Research in the domain of positive youth development has shown that camp programs as short as one week have both short- and long-term positive effects on self-esteem, self-efficacy and other youth outcomes. The objective of the present study was to highlight the potential of resident camps as promising venues for the promotion of healthy eating and physical activity behaviors in the children who attend.MethodsData for this study came from the American Camp Association 2007 Emerging Issues Survey. This survey assessed camp professionals’ perspectives on a diverse array of issues, including the healthy eating and physical activity of children. Data analysis focused on responses from 247 camp professionals whose camps offered resident camp programs.ResultsDescriptive and Chi-square statistics were calculated. Ninety-two percent of camp professionals reported that the healthy eating and physical activity of campers was an “important” or “very important” issue for camps. The majority of camps reported offering vegetarian options, healthy snacks and salad bars, and allergen-free options. Additionally, 86% of camp professionals indicated that they had implemented one or more strategies to address concerns related to the unhealthy eating behaviors of children, with top strategies including increasing the availability of fruits and vegetables, increasing the availability of healthy drink options, and improving the nutritional quality of menus. Fewer camp professionals (50%) indicated they had implemented strategies to increase children’s physical activity levels, but many professionals indicated that their camp programs were inherently active and additional strategies to promote physical activity were not necessary. Associations were found between camp affiliation and food options available to campers.ConclusionsThe majority of camp professionals believe the healthy eating and physical activity of children are important issues for camps and have implemented strategies to address these issues. An important question for future research is to examine whether these strategies are effective in promoting healthy eating and physical activity behaviors in children, as well as ways that camp programs could be improved.

Strengthening Families: Exploring the Impacts of Family Camp Experiences on Family Functioning and Parenting

Research suggests that family camp experiences can enhance family relationships. Families often participate in family camp experiences for a vacation, as part of a therapeutic and/or intervention strategy, or to gain general enrichment or engagement. To better understand the impacts of family camp experiences on family functioning, a mixed-methods study was conducted with 60 families across 18 camps. Respondents shared that family camp experiences benefit families because of the positive impacts of the camp staff, parenting reinforcement, and enhancement of family relationships, with 60% of respondents indicating that family camp experiences reinforced good parenting and 86% of respondents indicating that the family camp experience reinforced family relationships. Recommendations for future research and practice are provided.

Living Without Boys: A Retrospective Analysis of the Benefits and Skills Gained at All-Female Camps:

The purpose of this study was to investigate the outcomes of all-female camp experiences on women’s lives. Using a retrospective approach, this study collected qualitative data from 131 women to examine the benefits of all-female camp experiences, to analyze the skills they gained at camp, and to understand how they apply these skills to their adult lives. Benefits of an all-female camp experience identified through qualitative analysis included focused time, supportive environment, and challenging gender norms. Skills that the women gained at camp and apply to their everyday lives were developed into the following themes: social development (communication, teamwork, cultural sensitivity, respect for others, community building, tolerance, working with diverse personalities), career development (leadership, perseverance, time management, influenced career direction), and personal development (resilience, sense of self, self-reliance, self-esteem, confidence, independence). Study findings suggest that these skills have personal and professional applications across women’s lives.

Influences of Resident Camp Experiences on Career Choice: A Case Study of Female Alumnae

Abstract: Few studies have explored the long-term impacts of camp experiences on career choice, although there is a need to better understand how camp experiences may influence this decision to guide staff recruitment and retention efforts. The purpose of this study was to examine the influence of camp experiences on future career paths for women. Twenty-two camp alumnae who attended an all-girls camp completed a retrospective online survey. Salient themes related to career impacts included human service career interest, outdoor career interest, leadership and interpersonal skill development, and social-emotional skill development. Considerations for future research include a national study of a more representative sample of camp alumni to shed greater light on occupational choice and career path for camp alumni.

Enhancing Youth Outcomes and Organizational Practices Through a Camp-Based Reading Program

Many children experience summer learning loss during the summer as measured by grade-level equivalents on standardized tests. Camp-based reading programs are a promising strategy to reduce summer learning loss. Situated within a positive youth development (PYD) theoretical approach, this study explored the efficacy of a U.S. camp-based reading program called Explore 30 and examined promising practices for reading interventions in camps as a mechanism for enhancing youth reading outcomes. Youth and director surveys were used to collect quantitative and qualitative data about program impacts. Approximately 70% of participants read for at least 30 min each day. A paired-samples t test found a significant difference (in the positive direction) in feelings about reading from pretest (M = 2.09, SD = 1.20) to posttest (M = 1.89, SD = 1.08), t(590) = 5.96, p < .001. Findings suggest that the program was an appropriate model for enhancing camp organizational capacity for summer reading. Implications for practice and recommendations for research are addressed.

Interpreting perceived constraints to ethnic and racial recreation participation using a recreation systems approach

Ethnic and racial minority groups continue to experience limited access to leisure activities, resources, and services. To reverse this trend, leisure scholars have developed numerous models of constraints to recreation participation. The present article introduces an alternative systems approach to modeling constraints, which organizes constraints by their component parts – functions, mechanisms, or capacities – as well as their mode: social, psychological, or biological. Specifically, the article advances More and Averill’s Recreation Systems Model and recommends the model as a guide for the design, analysis, and interpretation of ethnic and racial constraints research. The utility of the model is discussed in the context of open-ended questionnaire data collected from indoor competition climbers during the winter of 2014. The authors contend that modeling constraints in a Recreation Systems framework may assist practitioners in efficiently prioritizing and consequently addressing constraints. Future research that quantitatively tests the model and investigates its use by policymakers is needed.

Efficacy of online training for improving camp staff competency

ABSTRACT Preparing competent staff is a critical issue within the camp community. This quasi-experimental study examined the effectiveness of an online course for improving staff competency in camp healthcare practices among college-aged camp staff and a comparison group (N = 55). We hypothesized that working in camp would increase competency test scores due to opportunities for staff to experientially apply knowledge learned online. Hierarchical linear modeling was used to analyse the cross-level effects of a between-individuals factor (assignment to experimental or comparison group) and within-individual effects of time (pre-test, post-test #1, and post-test #2) on online course test scores. At post-test #2, the difference in average test scores between groups was ~30 points, with the treatment group scoring lower on average than the comparison group. Factors that may have influenced these findings are explored, including fatigue and the limited durability of online learning. Recommendations for research and practice are discussed.

Exploring overparenting in summer camp: adapting, developing, and implementing a measure

ABSTRACT This study explores the development and validation of a measure of overparenting (OP) within a common youth leisure context, residential summer camp. A sample of 1140 parents (primarily mothers (89%)) of campers from 18 residential camps completed an online questionnaire pertaining to behaviours commonly associated with OP including parental support, control, and parental anxieties associated with nature and people in nature. The results of the multi-phase confirmatory factor analysis (CFA) of the measure indicated convergent and discriminant validity of the finalized measure. Additionally, the modifications generated from the multi-phase CFA process provided preliminary evidence of an additional component of OP, excessive parental problem solving, and suggested the need for more investigation of the multiple dimensions of parental behaviour and beliefs that may contribute to OP in leisure settings.