Outdoor adventure education provides experiential learning for young people in remote environments through camping, backpacking, rock climbing, paddling and related experiences. Popular programs, such as Outward Bound and NOLS (the National Outdoor Leadership School), not only teach leadership and wilderness survival skills but also support young people’s mental health, well-being, personal growth, social-emotional learning, connection with nature, and physical, psychological, and social development.

Adventure education enhances youths’ physical, psychological and social development

This systematic review of 18 studies indicated that adventure education programs support young people’s physical, psychological and social development — with the strongest effects on physical and social development. Contributions to psychological development were also positive, except for inconsistent results for self-esteem, self-efficacy and quality of life. Findings sometimes varied by age and between healthy and unhealthy children. However, adventure education clearly yields physical, psychological and social benefits.
Peng & Lau, 2024. Effectiveness of adventure education on health outcomes related to physical, psychological, and social development in children: a systematic review.
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Challenge and peer support can facilitate social-emotional learning in outdoor adventure education

This qualitative study analyzed interview data from 32 students (age 14-18) who completed an Outward Bound expedition course in the U.S. The main findings were that (1) youth learned through struggling with challenges, (2) peer support helped them overcome challenges, and (3) youth embraced a culture of compassion and commitment. The main implication is that programs should encourage peer support to foster youths’ capacity to learn through challenges.
Orson, McGovern & Larson, 2020. How challenges and peers contribute to social-emotional learning in outdoor adventure education programs.
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Youth are more resilient and hopeful and less anxious after an outdoor adventure experience

This U.S. study surveyed 22 youth (age 14-22) to measure mental health outcomes before and after an outdoor adventure education experience. Participants reported more resilience and less anxiety, depression and hopelessness after the course. Total scores pointed to improved mental health overall. These benefits mirror findings from other studies of outdoor adventure and experiential education.
Davidson & Ewert, 2024. Exploring mental health outcome variables in outdoor adventure and experiential education.
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Outdoor adventure experiences can improve young adults’ well-being and life satisfaction

This mixed methods study explored how vocational students’ participation in multi-day canoeing and hiking adventures in a Finnish national park influenced their connection to nature and subjective well-being. Participants (primarily age 17-18) reported strong connections to nature before the course, and those ratings did not change. However, they experienced significant mental health benefits (e.g. mood, restoration, self-confidence, life satisfaction) and social well-being benefits.
Puhakka, 2024. Effects of outdoor adventures on emerging adults’ well-being and connection with nature.
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Lasting impacts of outdoor adventure programs include self-confidence, independence and communication

This systematic literature review summarized studies of outdoor adventure residential programs which documented positive effects at least 12 months after the experience. Participants (primarily age 11-19) reported long-term program impacts including self-confidence, independence, communication, teamwork, life skills, intrapersonal skills, and willingness to try new activities. Results also support a theory of change based on the power of the group and the intensity (not duration) of the outdoor adventure.
Prince, 2020. The lasting impacts of outdoor adventure residential experiences on young people. 
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Wilderness therapy incorporates activities such as  backpacking, climbing, biking or whitewater adventures to promote positive changes in young people with mental health, substance abuse, behavioral and legal problems. These programs are controversial — due to their inherent risks and potential coercion. At their best, however, wilderness therapy programs are voluntary and staffed by supportive guides and counselors who help youth grow personally, socially, emotionally and spiritually through challenging experiences in remote wilderness and backcountry environments.

Adventure therapy provides adolescents with complex trauma opportunities to heal

This literature review examined seven studies from multiple countries in which adventure therapy was an intervention for adolescents who had experienced complex trauma. Overall, adventure therapy improved adolescents’ attachment, skills, schemas and stress management. The review attributes these benefits to the outdoor adventure experience as well as four practice components: participant empowerment, skill development, reflection on the experience, and social-ecological microsystems that contrast with participants’ home systems.
Pringle et al., 2023. Adventure therapy for adolescents with complex trauma: A scoping review and analysis. 
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Social dynamics of wilderness therapy improve adolescents’ skill development, self-concept and health

This qualitative study surveyed 148 adolescents (age 13-19) with addiction and mental health issues about their experiences in a residential wilderness therapy program in remote northern Canada. Participants credited wilderness therapy with improving their psychosocial and outdoor skills, self-concept and physical health. In their view, nature wasn’t the main, direct catalyst for change — the program activities, social dynamics and overcoming adversity (which nature facilitates) were most transformative.
Harper, Mott & Obee, 2019. Client perspectives on wilderness therapy as a component of adolescent residential treatment for problematic substance use and mental health issues. 
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Nature’s role in outdoor therapy remains unclear

This literature review investigated nature’s role in outdoor therapies for children and adults. The 14 studies linked wilderness therapy with positive outcomes but largely lacked explicit explanations of nature’s specific contributions to therapeutic practice. The researchers call for more high-quality, exploratory and theory-generating research to articulate a theoretical framework for wilderness therapy practice underpinned by a more explicit theory of change.
Harper, Fernee & Gabrielsen, 2021. Nature’s role in outdoor therapies: An umbrella review. 
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Young people also pursue wilderness experiences through high-risk nature sports, outdoor adventure travel and even extreme expeditions. Research in this area has focused on young adults, not children. However, we included these studies to capture the wilder end of the backcountry adventure continuum beyond formal youth programming. This research is also relevant because youth access remote outdoor pursuits through nature-based tourism with their families, adult role models, gap years, college experiences, and their immersion in cultures which value wilderness sports.

Studies in this section suggest these adventures aren’t only about fun and thrill-seeking. These backcountry pursuits can lead to personal growth, resilience, stronger social connections and experiences of awe and self-actualization, if not transcendence. Plus, these nature engagements pose physical and psychological challenges and provide peak experiences that can transform people — physically, personally and socially — and strengthen their connection with nature.

High-risk nature-based sports can be gateways to pro-environmental attitudes and behaviors 

This South African study interviewed young adults (age 18+) who participate in high-risk, nature-based sports to interpret how those activities influence their relationships with nature. Participants demonstrated stronger connections with nature, which changed their environmental attitudes and behaviors. Findings suggest that outdoor adventure sports can help people shift from egocentric to ecocentric relationships with others and the natural world.
Human & Steyne, 2024. Psychological transformation of the ‘self’ towards eco-sensitivity through high-risk nature-based sports: a South African context.
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Outdoor adventure sports can be personally and socially transformative for females

This Norwegian study interviewed young women skiers (age 20-30) to analyze how the discourse of freeride skiing structured possible ways of being a ski girl. Participants navigated masculine definitions of performance and female identities where women also could be “badass,” extremely active and fit, self-confident, nature loving, and hardcore. The participants found self-realization, social connections and social status through freeride skiing — identifying more with nature and skiing than with school and work.
Malterud, Engelsrud & Vereide, 2023. Super stoked girls: a discourse analysis of girls’ participation in freeride skiing.
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The psychological benefits of outdoor expedition adventures outweigh the risks

This study interviewed extended-period expeditionary adventurers in the U.K. (age 23-55) to understand why they chose extreme outdoor experiences — such as polar expeditions, 6,000 mile runs, and global sailing trips — and what perceived benefits they gained from them. Participants chose expeditions for their psychological benefits and capacities to expand their geographical, physical and psychological boundaries. The autonomy, resilience, post-adventure growth, unity with nature, self-actualization and transcendence made the risks, challenges and pain worthwhile.
Reid & Kampmann, 2020. Exploring the psychology of extended-period expeditionary adventurers.
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Guides must mediate slow adventures to enhance clients’ well-being and connection to nature

This qualitative study interviewed Scottish guides to understand how slow adventures — such as stargazing, foraging and canoeing — might facilitate psychological well-being and connection to nature. From the guides’ perspectives, slow adventures can enhance mental and spiritual health, reduce stress and anxiety, build social connections, and help tourists connect with nature and practice environmental stewardship. However, guides must actively mediate social dynamics and meaningful moments in nature to make slow adventures potentially restorative or transformative.
Farkic, Filep & Taylor, 2020. Shaping tourists’ wellbeing through guided slow adventures. 
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Across these different contexts, outdoor adventures can accelerate growth — with backcountry and wilderness environments posing unpredictable, dynamic challenges that can lead to physical and subjective well-being. However, only a few literature reviews and theoretical articles have proposed conceptual frameworks that explain how and why backcountry adventures can support young people’s physical, mental and social-emotional health.

As a conclusion, this section highlights conceptual frameworks that point to psychological and social dimensions of outdoor adventures that can make these experiences restorative, or even transformative.

Thematic model summarizes how outdoor adventures support subjective well-being

This systematic literature review analyzed 125 studies thematically to build a conceptual model that explains how outdoor adventures support subjective well-being. This model proposes that outdoor adventures with at least one of the following characteristics have the capacity to enhance subjective well-being in dynamic natural settings: extraordinary experiences, physical and mental balance, personal development, immersion and transformation, and community. These five themes provide a research-based framework for outdoor recreation and tourism practitioners.
Pomfret, Sand & May, 2023. Conceptualizing the power of outdoor adventure activities for subjective well-being.
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Positive psychology helps explain how outdoor adventure education promotes well-being

This qualitative study analyzed data from three outdoor adventure contexts for youth (age 9-19) using the PERMA framework of positive psychology. PERMA stands for Positive emotion, Engagement, Relationships, Meaning, and Accomplishment. All five PERMA elements were prominent across the three contexts. Facing fears, embracing uncertainty, and struggling through challenges were gateways to accomplishment. The authors argue a PERMA lens can help outdoor educators focus on experiences which support psychological well-being.
Ingman, 2025. Adventure education as a pathway to wellbeing: rethinking adventure through the lens of PERMA.
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Adventure sports satisfy basic psychological needs while providing pleasure, meaning and purpose

Rooted in a review of relevant research, this theoretical article argues that outdoor adventure sports satisfy people’s needs for autonomy, competence and relatedness to enhance their hedonic well-being (fun and pleasure) and eudaimonic well-being (meaning and purpose). This psychological model recommends supporting adventures by providing participants with choices and rationales for tasks, acknowledging negative affect, limiting overt controls, and supporting independence and social connections.
Mackenzie, Hodge & Filep, 2023. How does adventure sport tourism enhance well-being? A conceptual model. 
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