Abstract
Outdoors-based youth development programs demonstrate the efficacy to improve indicators of personal growth and mental health in a range of disadvantaged young people. However, the most marginalized young people in society, who stand to benefit the most from such initiatives, remain underrepresented in the research. My Strengths Training for Life (MST4Life) is a positive youth development (PYD) intervention for young people experiencing homelessness that incorporates a life skills program and an outdoor adventure education (OAE) course. The current study presents a qualitative investigation of the OAE course to understand its role in promoting positive changes for participants. Reflexive thematic analysis led to the development of inductively driven themes which were conceptualized based on relevant theories (e.g., relational developmental systems) and models (e.g., 5 Cs of PYD). Findings highlight the benefits of a preceding life skills program to psychologically prepare participants to thrive in the unfamiliar setting of the outdoors and related challenges. During the course, adaptive developmental regulations supported participants’ basic psychological needs and fostered personal growth. Improvements in social competence was a common theme across participants and played a pivotal role in facilitating balanced development across the 5 Cs. In addition, experiences during the course promoted indicators of mental health and intentions to make positive lifestyle changes. Implications of these findings are discussed in relation to making outdoors-based youth development courses more accessible for marginalized young people, as well as how OAE and PYD programs can add value to the youth homeless sector.
Highlights
Outdoors-based youth development programs can promote personal growth and well-being in disadvantaged young people (Bowen & Neill, 2016; Bowers et al, 2019; Mercier et al, 2019; Norton & Watt, 2014)
Adaptive Developmental Regulations The theme of adaptive developmental regulations captured mutually beneficial relations between ecological assets of the outdoor adventure education (OAE) course and the strengths of participants
Balanced development of the five Cs suggested adaptive developmental regulations were fostered during the OAE course, a process facilitated by participants developing the required psychosocial skills from attending Phase 1 of MST4Life and embracing the outdoor environment with a sense of optimism
Summary
Outdoors-based youth development programs can promote personal growth and well-being in disadvantaged young people (Bowen & Neill, 2016; Bowers et al, 2019; Mercier et al, 2019; Norton & Watt, 2014). For those who stand to benefit the most from such interventions, such as young people experiencing homelessness, outdoors-based youth development programs appear to be underutilized (for a review, see Morton et al, 2020). To understand the role of OAE courses in fostering positive outcomes, relational developmental systems is considered an appropriate theoretical framework (Sibthorp & Morgan, 2011)
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