Outdoor Orientation Programs: Recreation Socialization, Social Support and Identity Development in Emerging Adulthood
Open Access
- Author:
- Cooper, Robert J
- Graduate Program:
- Recreation, Park and Tourism Management
- Degree:
- Doctor of Philosophy
- Document Type:
- Dissertation
- Date of Defense:
- October 05, 2012
- Committee Members:
- Alan R Graefe, Dissertation Advisor/Co-Advisor
Andrew Justin Mowen, Committee Member
Harry Zinn, Committee Member
Edgar Paul Yoder, Committee Member - Keywords:
- Outdoor Orientation Programs
Recreation Socialization
Emerging Adulthood
Social Support
Identity Development - Abstract:
- Outdoor orientation programs can be found at over 160 universities in the United States. These programs serve to ease the transition to college by providing opportunities to meet other students and develop bonds that will allow for greater social support at an important and often difficult time in a student’s life. These programs have been studied in the past, resulting in evidence that suggests that the programs do increase perceived feelings of social support, which eases this transition and translates to improved academic performance in college. Other studies have shown that short, intense outdoor recreation programs may serve to provide a vehicle for identity development through novel experiences that involve overcoming challenges and attaining goals. While previous studies have examined programs as short in duration as 2 weeks, this study will examine the effects of a program that is only 6 days in length. This study examines the ORION Wilderness Experience program, an outdoor orientation program at The Pennsylvania State University. The aims of the study are to examine potential effects of the program upon leisure behavior, social support and identity development. In addition to examining potential outcomes of ORION similar to previous program evaluations, this study also examines the effects of the program as an agent to recreation socialization by exposing students to new outdoor activities and social circles within which to pursue recreation experiences. Conceptually, this study frames the program experience and outcomes within the emerging adulthood life stage, which adds a new dimension to the existing theoretical foundations of recreation socialization research. iii This investigation included a self-administered survey of ORION program participants immediately before and after the program, as well as approximately six to ten weeks later in a follow-up survey. Results of this study support the hypotheses that the ORION program serves as a vehicle of recreation socialization by introducing participants to new activities, increasing their level of involvement in outdoor recreation, providing social circles within which to recreate. ORION participants also reported an increase in the importance of outdoor activities in their lives. While outdoor orientation programs have been examined in previous research, no study to date has examined the effects of these programs on participants’ outdoor recreation behavior. The group of ORION program participants was compared to two other groups: a comparison group comprised of students who received an alternate university orientation program (USE) and a control group of students who received no orientation program. Findings related to social support and identity development were compared between these three groups. Findings support the hypothesis that participation in the ORION program increases participants’ feelings of social support and identity development. Planned contrasts were limited by inequality in sample sizes and baseline differences, and results suggest that students in the alternate orientation program also receive benefits related to social support and identity development. However, participants in both ORION and USE felt more supported than students in the control group.