Skip to main content

Advertisement

SpringerLink
Log in

Adventurous Physical Activity Environments: A Mainstream Intervention for Mental Health

  • Current Opinion
  • Published:
Sports Medicine Aims and scope Submit manuscript

Abstract

Adventurous physical activity has traditionally been considered the pastime of a small minority of people with deviant personalities or characteristics that compel them to voluntarily take great risks purely for the sake of thrills and excitement. An unintended consequence of these traditional narratives is the relative absence of adventure activities in mainstream health and well-being discourses and in large-scale governmental health initiatives. However, recent research has demonstrated that even the most extreme adventurous physical activities are linked to enhanced psychological health and well-being outcomes. These benefits go beyond traditional ‘character building’ concepts and emphasize more positive frameworks that rely on the development of effective environmental design. Based on emerging research, this paper demonstrates why adventurous physical activity should be considered a mainstream intervention for positive mental health. Furthermore, the authors argue that understanding how to design environments that effectively encourage appropriate adventure should be considered a serious addition to mainstream health and well-being discourse.

This is a preview of subscription content, log in via an institution to check access.

Access this article

Log in via an institution

Subscribe and save

Springer+ Basic
$34.99 /Month
  • Get 10 units per month
  • Download Article/Chapter or eBook
  • 1 Unit = 1 Article or 1 Chapter
  • Cancel anytime
Subscribe now

Buy Now

Price excludes VAT (USA)
Tax calculation will be finalised during checkout.

Instant access to the full article PDF.

Institutional subscriptions

References

  1. Lyng S. Risk-taking in sport: edgework and the reflexive community. In: Atkinson M, Young K, editors. Tribal play: subcultural journeys through sport. Bingley: Emerald; 2008. p. 83–109.

    Chapter  Google Scholar 

  2. Shoham A, Rose GM, Kahle LR. Practitioners of risky sports: a quantitative examination. J Bus Res. 2000;47(3):237–51.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  3. Stranger M. The aesthetics of risk. Int Rev Sociol Sport. 1999;34(3):265–76.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  4. Creyer E, Ross W, Evers D. Risky recreation: an exploration of factors influencing the likelihood of participation and the effects of experience. Leis Stud. 2003;22:239–53.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  5. Puchan H. Living ‘extreme’: adventure sports, media and commercialisation. J Commun Manage. 2004;9(2):171–8.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  6. Brymer E. Risk and extreme sports: a phenomenological perspective. Ann Leis Res. 2010;13(1&2):218–39.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  7. Malone K. The bubble-wrap generation: children growing up in walled gardens. Environ Educ Res. 2007;13(4):513–27.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  8. Monasterio E. The risks of adventure sports/people. The Alpinist; 2007.

  9. Le Breton D. Playing symbolically with death in extreme sports. Body Soc. 2000;6(1):1–11.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  10. Bennett G, Henson RK, Zhang J. Generation Y’s perceptions of the action sports industry segment. J Sport Manag. 2003;17(2):95–115.

    Google Scholar 

  11. Laurendeau J. “Gendered risk regimes”: a theoretical consideration of edgework and gender. Sociol Sport J. 2008;25(3):293–309.

    Google Scholar 

  12. Zarevski P, Marusic I, Zolotic S, et al. Contribution of Arnett’s inventory of sensation seeking and Zuckerman’s sensation seeking scale to the differentiation of athletes engaged in high and low risk sports. Pers Individ Dif. 1998;25:763–8.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  13. Schrader MP, Wann DL. High-risk recreation: the relationship between participant characteristics and degree of involvement. J Sport Behav. 1999;22(3):426–31.

    Google Scholar 

  14. Straub WF. Sensation seeking among high and low-risk male athletes. J Sport Psychol. 1982;4(3):246–53.

    Google Scholar 

  15. Robinson DW. Stress seeking: selected behavioural characteristics of elite rock climbers. J Sport Psychol. 1985;7:400–4.

    Google Scholar 

  16. Rossi B, Cereatti L. The sensation seeking in mountain athletes as assessed by Zuckerman’s sensation seeking scale. Int J Sport Psychol. 1993;24:417–31.

    Google Scholar 

  17. Breivik G. Personality, sensation seeking and risk taking among Everest climbers. Int J Sport Psychol. 1996;27:308–20.

    Google Scholar 

  18. Slanger E, Rudestam KE. Motivation and disinhibition in high risk sports: sensation seeking and self-efficacy. J Res Pers. 1997;31:355–74.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  19. Goma M. Personality profiles of subjects engaged in high physical risk sports. Pers Individ Dif. 1991;12(10):1087–93.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  20. Zuckerman M. Sensation seeking and risky behavior. Washington: American Psychological Association; 2007.

    Book  Google Scholar 

  21. Self DR, Henry ED, Findley CS, et al. Thrill seeking: the type T personality and extreme sports. Int J Sport Manag Market. 2007;2(1–2):175–90.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  22. Hunt JC. Diving the wreck: risk and injury in sport scuba diving. Psychoanal Q. 1996;LXV:591–622.

  23. Lois J. Peaks and valleys: the gendered emotional culture of edgework. Gender Soc. 2001;15(3):381–406.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  24. Schroth ML. A comparison of sensation seeking among different groups of athletes and nonathletes. Pers Individ Dif. 1995;18(2):219–22.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  25. Farley F. The type-T personality. In: Lipsitt L, Mitnick L, editors. Self-regulatory behavior and risk taking: causes and consequences. Norwood: Ablex Publishers; 1991.

    Google Scholar 

  26. Elmes M, Barry D. Deliverance, denial, and the Death Zone: a study of narcissism and regression in the May 1996 Everest climbing disaster. J Appl Behav Sci. 1999;35(2):163–87.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  27. Brymer E. Extreme dude: a phenomenological exploration into the extreme sport experience [doctoral dissertation]. Wollongong: University of Wollongong; 2005.

    Google Scholar 

  28. Brymer E. The role of extreme sports in lifestyle enhancement and wellness. In: Cuddihy TF, Brymer E, editors. Creating active futures. Edited proceedings of the 26th ACHPER International conference 7–10 July 2009. Brisbane: Queensland University of Technology; 2009. p. 285–300.

  29. Brymer E, Schweitzer R. Extreme sports are good for your health: a phenomenological understanding of fear and anxiety in extreme sport. J Health Psychol. 2013;18(4):477–87.

    Article  PubMed  Google Scholar 

  30. Brymer E, Schweitzer R. The search for freedom in extreme sports: a phenomenological exploration. Psychol Sport Exerc. 2013;14(6):865–73.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  31. Epstein I. Adventure therapy: a mental health promotion strategy in pediatric oncology. J Pediatr Oncol Nurs. 2004;21(2):103–10.

    Article  PubMed  Google Scholar 

  32. Lima R, Rosa G, Braga de Mello DB, et al. Cardiovascular parameters and body composition of professional female surfers. Int Sports Med J. 2011;12(3):104–12.

    Google Scholar 

  33. Brymer E, Oades L. Extreme sports a positive transformation in courage and humility. J Humanist Psychol. 2009;49(1):114–26.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  34. Kerr JH, Houge Mackenzie S. Multiple motives for participating in adventure sports. Psychol Sport Exerc. 2012;13(5):649–57.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  35. Willig C. A phenomenological investigation of the experience of taking part in ‘extreme sports’. J Health Psychol. 2008;13(5):690–702.

    Article  PubMed  Google Scholar 

  36. Houge Mackenzie S, Hodge K, Boyes M. The multiphasic and dynamic nature of flow in adventure experiences. J Leis Res. 2013;5(2):214–32.

  37. Houge Mackenzie S, Hodge K, Boyes M. Expanding the flow model in adventure activities: a reversal theory perspective. J Leis Res. 2011;43(4):519–44.

  38. Woodman T, Cazenave N, Le Scanff C. Skydiving as emotion regulation: the rise and fall of anxiety is moderated by alexithymia. J Sport Exerc Psychol. 2008;30:424–33.

    PubMed  Google Scholar 

  39. Woodman T, Hardy L, Barlow M, et al. Motives for prolonged engagement high-risk sports: an agentic emotion regulation perspective. Psychol Sport Exerc. 2010;11:345–52.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  40. Gass MA, Gillert HL, Russell KC. Adventure therapy: theory, research, and practice. New York: Routledge; 2012.

  41. Hattie J, Marsh HW, Neill JT, et al. Adventure education and outward bound: out-of-class experiences that make a lasting difference. Rev Educ Res. 1997;67:43–87.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  42. Russell KC. An assessment of outcomes in outdoor behavioral healthcare treatment. Child Youth Care Forum. 2003;32:355–81.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  43. Miesel ME, Potgieter JR. The experience of fear in high-risk sport. S Afr J Res Sport Phys Ed Recr. 2003;25(2):49–56.

    Google Scholar 

  44. Priest S, Gass M. Effective leadership in adventure programming. Champaign: Human Kinetics; 1997.

    Google Scholar 

  45. Ewert A, Yoshino A. The influence of short-term adventure-based experiences on levels of resilience. J Advent Educ Outdoor Learn. 2011;11(1):35–50.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  46. Brannigan A, McDougall AA. Peril and pleasure in the maintenance of a high risk sport: a study of hang-gliding. J Sport Behav. 1983;6:37–51.

    Google Scholar 

  47. Berman D, Davis-Berman J. The role of therapeutic adventure in meeting the mental health needs of children and adolescents: finding a niche in the health care systems of the United States and the United Kingdom. J Exp Educ. 2013;36:51–64.

    Google Scholar 

  48. Kerr JH. Arousal-seeking in risk sport participants. Pers Individ Dif. 1991;12(6):613–6.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  49. Deci EL, Ryan RM. The “what” and “why” of goal pursuits: human needs and the self-determination of behavior. Psychol Inq. 2000;11:227–68.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  50. Neill JT, Dias KL. Adventure education and resilience: the double-edged sword. J Advent Educ Outdoor Learn. 2001;1(2):35–42.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  51. Crust L. A review and conceptual re-examination of mental toughness: implications for future researchers. Pers Individ Dif. 2008;45:576–83.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  52. Horsburgh V, Schermer J, Veselka L, et al. A behavioral genetic study of mental toughness and personality. Pers Individ Dif. 2009;46:100–5.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  53. Clough PJ, Strycharczyk D. Developing mental toughness: improving performance, wellbeing and positive behaviour in others. London: Kogan Page; 2012.

    Google Scholar 

  54. Clough PJ, Earle K, Sewell D. Mental toughness: the concept and its measurement. In: Cockerill I, editor. Solutions in sport psychology. London: Thompson; 2002.

    Google Scholar 

  55. Perry JL, Clough PJ, Crust L, et al. Factorial validity of the Mental Toughness Questionnaire-48. Pers Individ Dif. 2013;54:587–92.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  56. Crust L, Clough PJ. Developing mental toughness: from research to practice. J Sport Psychol Action. 2012;2:21–32.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  57. Gerber M, Kalak N, Lemola K, et al. Adolescents’ exercise and physical activity are associated with mental toughness. Ment Health Phys Act. 2012;5:35–42.

  58. Crust L, Keegan R. Mental toughness and attitudes to risk-taking. Pers Individ Dif. 2010;49:164–8.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  59. Crust L, Swann C. The relationship between mental toughness and dispositional flow. Eur J Sport Sci. 2013;13(2):215–20.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  60. Csikszentmihalyi M. Beyond boredom and anxiety: experiencing flow in work and play. 25th Anniversary Edition ed. San Francisco: Jossey-Bass; 2000.

  61. Brymer E, Cuddihy T, Sharma-Brymer V. The role of nature-based experiences in the development and maintenance of wellness. Asia Pac J Health Sport Phys Educ. 2010;1(2):21–7.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  62. Brymer E, Downey G, Gray T. Extreme sports as a precursor to environmental sustainability. J Sport Tourism. 2009;14(2–3):1–12.

    Google Scholar 

  63. Brymer E, Gray T. Dancing with nature: rhythm and harmony in extreme sport participation. J Advent Educ Outdoor Learn. 2010;9(2):135–49.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  64. Brymer E, Gray T. Developing an intimate “relationship” with nature through extreme sports participation. Loisir. 2010;34(4):361–74.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  65. Pryor A, Townsend M, Maller C, et al. Health and well-being naturally: ‘contact with nature’ in health promotion for targeted individuals, communities and populations. Health Promot J Austr. 2006;17(2):114–23.

    PubMed  Google Scholar 

  66. Sibthorp J. An empirical look at Wals and Golin’s adventure education process model: relationships between antecedent factors, perceptions of characteristics of adventure education experience, and changes in self-efficacy. J Leis Res. 2003;35(1):80–106.

    Google Scholar 

  67. Csikszentmihalyi M. The flow experience and its significance for human psychology. In: Csikszentmihalyi M, Csikszentmihalyi I, editors. Optimal experience: psychological studies of flow in consciousness. NY: Cambridge University Press; 1988. p. 15–35.

    Chapter  Google Scholar 

  68. Delle Fave A, Bassi M, Massimini F. Quality of experience and risk perception in high-altitude climbing. J Appl Sport Psychol. 2003;15:82–98.

  69. Gilchrest P, Wheaton B. Lifestyle sport, public policy and youth engagement: examining the emergence of parkour. Int J Sport Pol Polit. 2011;3(1):109–31.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  70. Brymer E. Transforming adventures: why extreme sports should be included in adventure programming. In: Martin B, Wagstaff M, editors. Controversial issues in adventure programming. Champaign: Human Kinetics; 2012. p. 165–74.

    Google Scholar 

  71. Staempfli MB. Reintroducing adventure into children’s outdoor play environments. Environ Behav. 2009;41(2):268–80.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  72. Rawlinson C, Guaralda M. Play in the city: parkour and architecture. In: The first international conference on engineering and developing the built environment for sustainable wellbeing. Brisbane: Queensland University of Technology; 2011. p. 19–24.

  73. Cordovil R, Araújo D, Pepping G-J, et al. An ecological stance on risk and safe behaviors in children: the role of affordances and emergent behaviors. New Ideas Psychol. 2015;36:50–9.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  74. Fiskuma TA, Jacobsen K. Outdoor education gives fewer demands for action regulation and an increased variability of affordances. J Advent Educ Outdoor Learn. 2013;13(1):76–99.

    Article  Google Scholar 

Download references

Author information

Authors and Affiliations

  1. Department of Psychology, Manchester Metropolitan University, Manchester, UK

    Peter Clough

  2. Department of Recreation, Parks, and Tourism Administration, California State Polytechnic University, San Luis Obispo, USA

    Susan Houge Mackenzie

  3. Department of Science, Natural Resources and Outdoors, University of Cumbria, Ambleside, UK

    Liz Mallabon

  4. School of Sport, Leeds Beckett University, Leeds, UK

    Eric Brymer

Authors
  1. Peter Clough
    View author publications

    You can also search for this author in PubMed Google Scholar

  2. Susan Houge Mackenzie
    View author publications

    You can also search for this author in PubMed Google Scholar

  3. Liz Mallabon
    View author publications

    You can also search for this author in PubMed Google Scholar

  4. Eric Brymer
    View author publications

    You can also search for this author in PubMed Google Scholar

Corresponding author

Correspondence to Peter Clough.

Ethics declarations

Funding

No sources of funding were used to assist in the preparation of this article.

Conflict of interest

Peter Clough, Elizabeth Mallabon, Susan Houge Mackenzie and Eric Brymer declare that they have no conflicts of interest relevant to the content of this review.

Additional information

This article is part of the Topical Collection on Designing environments to enhance physical and psychological benefits of physical activity: A multi-disciplinary perspective.

Rights and permissions

Reprints and permissions

About this article

Check for updates. Verify currency and authenticity via CrossMark

Cite this article

Clough, P., Houge Mackenzie, S., Mallabon, L. et al. Adventurous Physical Activity Environments: A Mainstream Intervention for Mental Health. Sports Med 46, 963–968 (2016). https://doi.org/10.1007/s40279-016-0503-3

Download citation

  • Published:

  • Issue Date:

  • DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/s40279-016-0503-3

Keywords

Search

Navigation