Climbing is an increasingly popular recreational activity that has attracted interest from a wide variety of populations, likely because of the increasing availability and challenge of climbing. Many children and adolescents are introduced to rock climbing in adventure programming units in their schools. Through physical education, children are…

The purpose of this paper is to explain and establish a link between social-psychological and biological explanations of self-efficacy theory. Specifically, the paper uses a hypothetical rock climbing program to illustrate how a practitioner could enhance the four sources of self-efficacious beliefs (enactive attainment, vicarious experience,…

Background and Purpose: Participation rates in many organised sports are stagnating, yet a rapid growth in participation, commercialisation and institutionalisation has been observed in self-organised sports such as surfing, snowboarding skateboarding, BMX racing and rock climbing over the past five decades. These sports are continuously…

This article examines the use of adventure-based experiential therapy (AET) with child and adolescent psychiatry inpatients. AET environments, indications, practicality, therapeutic effects and research are outlined and clinical findings are reported. Activities such as rock-climbing, exploring a creek and caving are discussed and the limitations…

High-end amenities like rock climbing walls on college campuses have become an easy target for those attempting to explain rising tuitions. This Delta Perspective looks beyond the media attention surrounding these "frills" to examine more serious questions about spending on campus facilities, college spending in general, and the real drivers of…

Today's youths seem to be facing more obstacles and receiving less direction than ever before. Rather than just focusing on trouble prevention and deterrence, many youth development and preparation programs are striving to help youths develop the necessary assets, skills, and qualities to become productive and satisfied adults, as well as…

Leave No Trace (LNT) principles help reduce outdoor recreation users' impacts on the natural and social environment. Rock climbers and climbing organizations have recently embraced LNT principles yet, there is a distinct dearth of research associated with LNT practices and rock climbers' adherence to LNT principles in their self-reported…

Summer vacation from school can bring afternoons at the swimming pool, family vacations, and maybe a spirit-filled summer camp that ignites a passion for art or rock climbing. But for many children, summer also means setbacks in learning that take a tremendous toll on teaching and student performance over time. PTA leaders can make a vital…

In this article, the author describes a rock climbing program at Minneapolis-based Courage Center, a rehabilitation and resource center that advances the lives of children and adults experiencing barriers to health and independence. Rock climbing offered participants a unique opportunity for both personal and physical development. The author…

Recreational sport participation has been promoted as a way for college students to connect to the campus community, improve overall physical health, and moderate anxiety and stress. However, limited research has been conducted with racial and ethnic minority students at colleges and universities in the United States to determine if their…

This study examined the influence of spending time outdoors on young children's physical and socioemotional development. We observed preschoolers' activities in two naturally provisioned outdoor environments over the course of one year. Eleven preschoolers were videotaped continuously for 16 days at a local river and 9 days at a creek adjacent to…

The primary purpose of this study was to examine the effects of performance cues on beginning indoor rock climbers. A secondary purpose was to create a content analysis for the skill of indoor rock climbing. The utility of performance cues has been demonstrated from a pedagogical perspective in traditional physical activity settings. However, no…

This study examined the benefits of all-girls adventure programmes from the perspective of adolescent girls. Participants included 361 girls aged 10-17 years from diverse ethnic and socio-economic backgrounds who completed a variety of adventure programmes. Adventure activities included rock climbing, sea kayaking, mountaineering, backpacking,…

We investigated the risk-taking behaviors of 302 men involved in high-risk sports (downhill skiing, mountaineering, rock climbing, paragliding, or skydiving). The sportsmen were classified using a typological approach to personality based on eight personality types, which were constructed from combinations of neuroticism, extraversion, and…

This article analyzes "McGarry v. Philly Rock Corp." On March 16, 2011, Rebecca McGarry and her husband went to the Philly Rock Corp. (PRC) indoor climbing gym where they had twice climbed previously. The couple decided to try bouldering, a style of climbing lower to the ground in which the climber uses bouldering pads instead of ropes,…