The Correlation between Physical Training for Adventure Experiences and Self-efficacy

Previous research has suggested that physical training or exercise improves the development of self-efficacy. Additionally, separate research has suggested that engaging in adventure experiences such as a whitewater rafting, rock-climbing, and mountaineering may also improve the development of self-efficacy. However, there is no existing research that measured the effectiveness of both physical training in conjunction with an adventure experience in respects to self-efficacy. The aim of the research was to measure the cumulative development of self-efficacy in participants who physically trained for an adventure experience then participated in that adventure experience versus those who did not physically train for that adventure experience. Twenty-one adventure education students (n=21) who volunteered for the study (ages 18-37) were surveyed prior to and after their adventure experience. The adventure experience consisted of either a weekend long winter expedition or one day of backcountry telemark skiing. The survey questions were based on the General Self-Efficacy Scale (Bandura, A., 2006) and responses were measured on a Likert scale (1-5). Participants were also asked about their physical training regime leading up to the adventure experience. Slightly over half of all the participants (n=11 of 21) self-reported some form of physical training such as general exercise for 1-3 months prior to the experience. A t-test was used to analyze the gains of both groups after each adventure experience. Results of the study showed modest gains in self-efficacy in both groups after the adventure experience with the physically trained group demonstrating higher gains than the non-physically trained. However, the statistical analysis proved that gains in both groups were statistically insignificant, the physically trained group (p=0.088), the non-physically trained group (p=0.139). Though the data proved to be statistically insignificant, restructuring the sample demographic may yield more definitive results in future studies