Q: What is your overall goal with this research?
A: The study looks at the outcomes that can be achieved from relatively short-term outdoor or adventure-based activities. We steered away from semester-long programs to focus on programs that are shorter, such as a weekend. We are interested in finding out whether these programs are good at reducing stress in college students.
Q: You have conducted other studies that touch on related topics. What led you to this specific focus?
A: I had done a number of studies that used surveys and questionnaires to measure outdoor program participants’ stress, anxiety, and fear, and I was always suspect about how accurate they were. From an industry standard, we don’t really know what happens to people’s biochemistry. Students will indicate on a form that they are not stressed out, but their biochemistry says they are. We’re interested in finding out the congruence between questionnaires that students fill out and their biochemistry.
Q: Why is this important?
A: Our feeling is that if we can demonstrate that these types of experiences can reduce stress and have carryover to AORE types of programs, these findings will help justify these experiences to college administrators. Also, outdoor instructors need to know whether what students say about their stress levels is accurate.
Q: How do you measure whether an activity reduces stress?
A: We measure cortisol through saliva. At the end of March, we are taking students on canoeing, sea kayaking, and backpacking trips and testing their cortisol levels right before and right after the activity. Using a biochemical marker gives a very precise measurement; questionnaires are a bit less precise. From a scientific perspective, this kind of data are looked at more highly than surveys. That’s important for the vitality of our field.
Q: How is the study looking at diversity?
A: In late February, we finished the first of several focus groups on diversity. We interviewed several African Americans to find out why they chose to—or why they chose not to—participate in outdoor recreation and education programs.
Q: What are your own favorite stress-reducing outdoor escapes?
A: I go to a rock-climbing site 10 miles outside of Bloomington, or I take a boat and go out on the lake.