An Investigation of the Connection Between Outdoor Orientation and Thriving
Abstract
This study explored the contribution of outdoor orientation experiences to student thriving. Participants included 295 first-year college students from three institutions across North America. A thriving model was tested using structural equation modeling and included the following variables: outdoor orientation, thriving, involvement, spirituality, psychological sense of community, student–faculty interaction, and control variables. Although the predictive importance of outdoor orientation is modest (? = .048), it contributes significantly to a model explaining 72.8% of the variance in thriving levels. Outdoor orientation directly predicted campus involvement (? = .246) and spirituality (? = -.146). Findings indicate that participating in an outdoor orientation may create a propensity for students to become more involved in campus life, which may foster a greater sense of campus community, culminating in thriving. These results suggest that practitioners should enhance both a psychological sense of community among students and the durability of outdoor experiences back on campus.
Department
Kinesiology
Publication Date
5-22-2017
Journal Title
Sagamore Publishing LLC
Publisher
Journal of Outdoor Recreation, Education, and Leadership
Digital Object Identifier (DOI)
Document Type
Article
Recommended Citation
Rude, W., Bobilya, A., Bell, B. (2017). An investigation of the connection between outdoor orientation and thriving. Journal of Outdoor Recreation and Leadership. Vol. 9 (2).