Examining the Role of Expectations and Perceived Job Demand Stressors for Field Instructors in Outdoor Behavioral Healthcare

Abstract

One career option available to those seeking outside work exists in outdoor behavioral healthcare programs for adolescent youth. However, there is a growing number of evidence that the job demands are often too challenging to be sustainable and lead to high turnover rates of employees. One possible reason is that field instructors have unrealistic expectations about their job demands. Using a retrospective pretest, this study examined current and expected job demand stressors in relation to newcomers' expectations specific to outdoor behavioral healthcare programs and the relationship these variables have to instructors' job satisfaction. Results indicated that instructors who had underestimated their job demand stressors generally had lower job satisfaction. The practical implications of this research are discussed, including alleviating stress and increasing tenure, which could result in better services to youth.

Keywords:

• job satisfaction
• outdoor behavioral healthcare
• newcomer
• wilderness therapy
• turnover
• job demand
• expectations