Harrington, Renee M. (2019) The psychological mechanisms involved in adventure therapy and its effectiveness for treating trauma-related difficulties in youth: A systematic literature review. Honours thesis, University of Southern Queensland. (Unpublished)
Abstract
Aim: To conduct a systematic literature review to examine the effectiveness of Adventure Therapy with youth (12-25 years) who have had traumatic experiences. Furthermore, to identify the mechanisms of change that could be operating in Adventure Therapy. Background: Trauma is commonly experienced in youth with up to two-thirds of young people being exposed to at least one traumatic event by the age of 16 years. The most common forms of trauma in a young person’s life are abuse or neglect. The effects of trauma can impact the development and daily functioning of youth. Adventure therapy is an innovative intervention that can help individuals who have experienced traumatic events, and also those with a range of psychosocial and behavioural difficulties. Adventure therapy is a multidimensional and holistic approach that engages youth in outdoor environments through adventurous activities that challenge and assist youth on social, cognitive, emotional, behavioural, and physical levels. Methods: Following the PRISMA guidelines, EBSCOHost, ScienceDirect, SAGE journals, Web of Science, and Scopus databases were searched. Included studies were peer-reviewed, in English, adventure-based, and focussed on youth between 12 and 25 years old. Results: Three studies met eligibility criteria for the effectiveness of Adventure Therapy, and ten studies met eligibility criteria for mechanisms of change. Six key mechanisms were found: engaging activities, therapeutic relationships, social support, physical and emotional challenges, nature, and time. There were no articles found that examined the effectiveness of the intervention for trauma and mechanisms. Conclusion: It appears to be the unique combination of the key mechanisms operating together that make Adventure therapy effective, however efforts need to be made to understand if these mechanisms transfer to treating youth who have trauma experiences.
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| Item Type: | Thesis (Non-Research) (Honours) |
|---|---|
| Item Status: | Live Archive |
| Additional Information: | Current UniSQ staff and students can request access to this thesis. Please email research.repository@unisq.edu.au with a subject line of SEAR thesis request and provide: Name of the thesis requested and Your name and UniSQ email address |
| Faculty/School / Institute/Centre: | Historic - Faculty of Health, Engineering and Sciences - School of Psychology and Counselling (1 Jan 2015 - 31 Dec 2021) |
| Supervisors: | Erich Fein; Amy Mullens |
| Qualification: | Bachelor of Science (Honours) |
| Date Deposited: | 02 Sep 2025 04:16 |
| Last Modified: | 02 Sep 2025 04:16 |
| Uncontrolled Keywords: | Adventure Therapy; trauma; youth; mechanism of change |
| Fields of Research (2008): | 17 Psychology and Cognitive Sciences > 1799 Other Psychology and Cognitive Sciences > 179999 Psychology and Cognitive Sciences not elsewhere classified |
| Fields of Research (2020): | 52 PSYCHOLOGY > 5299 Other psychology > 529999 Other psychology not elsewhere classified |
| URI: | https://sear.unisq.edu.au/id/eprint/52386 |
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