Shared outdoor adventures can help create, maintain, and enhance family well-being.Research on the motivations for and benefits of outdoor adventure tends to focus on individual adults. This study differs by focusing on families who choose to co-participate in outdoor adventure holidays. The primary aim of the study was to determine the role of outdoor adventure tourism in developing and enhancing family well-being (FWB).
Fifteen families participated in interviews focusing on their outdoor adventure experiences. The interviews were conducted in the individual family’s home, with both the parents and children actively participating. The goal of the interview was to collect both parental and children’s perspectives of the outdoor adventure holiday experience. The type of experience varied from family to family and included such fast-paced activities as white-water rafting and slower-paced activities like canoeing and camping. Some families participated in “packaged” adventure programs with a structured itinerary of daily activities; other families created their own adventures. The interviews lasted approximately 75 minutes. A total of 62 people (29 adults and 33 children) participated in the interviews. All interviews were audio taped and transcribed.
Four key themes relating to FWB emerged from the data. The first theme focused on the health and fitness benefits the families gained from their outdoor adventures. The second theme focused on unmediated family time together, that is time where family members focused on each other versus on other aspects of their daily lives, such as work, peer activities, and electronic media. The third theme related to parents’ perceptions of positive personal development for their children. Areas of development noted by the parents included increased confidence in addressing fears and learning from personal mistakes. The fourth theme was about making memories during family outdoor adventures and recollecting these memories after the experience. Families indicated that making and recollecting such memories played an integral role in family bonding.
This research indicates that shared outdoor adventures can help create, maintain, and enhance family well-being. The authors recognize that the families participating in this study represent a narrow population in terms of family structure and socio-economic background and recommend that further research should consider non-traditional families and more diverse socio-economic and cultural groups.
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