Role Shifts and Equalizing Experiences Through Father-Child Outdoor Adventure Programs

Abstract

This study explores father-child relationship development through participation in an Outward Bound (OB) family course, using the lens of identity theory. Data were collected through participant observation and in-depth interviews of fathers, children, and instructors (n = 21). Grounded theory techniques were used to portray participant and instructor perceptions of course participation and the subsequent impact on father-child relationships. Specific attention was given to the ways in which the OB course functioned as a perceived disruption to established roles and the ways in which mutually understood roles and obligations were renegotiated in response to the demands of the situation. Elements of fear and care-taking were identified as contributing to this process, and the potential emergence of role conflict was considered. The OB course was found to function as an equalizing experience, enabling fathers and children to reframe their perceptions of one another and positively impact their relationships.

Keywords:

• Adventure education
• family leisure
• fatherhood
• identity theory
• relationship development

Notes

1 Of these, two families participated in a course that I instructed the previous year.

2 I instructed this course prior to beginning this study and collected data in an interview the next year.