Delinquency in the wilderness: patterns of outdoor recreation activities and conduct problems in the general adolescent population

Abstract

Based on a sample of 5412 Norwegian adolescents, this study identified two patterns of outdoor recreation activities. These patterns were differently related to three patterns of conduct problems that emerged in the same sample. Negative associations were found between an outdoor recreation pattern labelled ‘exercise/appreciation’ and the conduct problem patterns, whereas the associations between a pattern labelled ‘adventurous’ and the conduct problem patterns were found to be positive, although not strong. The paper argues that outdoor recreation is a very heterogenous concept, comprising activities that may take place in diverse social and cultural contexts. Some of these activities may in certain contexts convey meanings resembling those conveyed by some forms of delinquency.