The role of peers and the recreational environment in adolescent emotional safety

ABSTRACT

Emotional safety is important for facilitating positive outcomes in afterschool programmes. Emotional safety is not clearly conceptualised, and participants’ understandings of, and experiences with how the social and built environment contribute to emotional safety in afterschool programmes is not well established. This qualitative case study examined early and middle adolescents’ experiences with their peers and the programme environment, and how those experiences contributed to their feelings of emotional safety, from the perspective of both youth and staff working in afterschool recreational programmes. Ten adolescents between the ages of 11 and 15 along with 10 staff at two afterschool programmes in low-income urban neighbourhoods were interviewed. Data were analysed using thematic analysis. Adolescents described emotional safety as being understood and not feeling like they had to hide their authentic selves. Youth felt emotionally safe among trusted peers and staff who would protect them, when they felt free and had choices, and when they were in spaces where they felt comfortable. Findings have implications for youth afterschool programming and among staff who work with youth.

KEYWORDS:

• Youth
• social relationships
• physical activity
• afterschool
• positive youth development

Acknowledgments

The authors would like to thank Calgary Recreation (The City of Calgary) and the staff and participants of the afterschool program for their support of this research.

Disclosure statement

No potential conflict of interest was reported by the author(s).

Additional information

Funding

This study was funded by the Faculty of Kinesiology, University of Calgary. This project was approved by the University of Calgary Conjoint Health Research Ethics Board.

Notes on contributors

Janet B. Wong

Janet B. Wong completed this research as a Masters student in the Faculty of Kinesiology at the University of Calgary, where she focused on psychosocial aspects of health and sport. She is interested in youth physical activity.

Meghan H. McDonough

Meghan H. McDonough is a Professor in the Faculty of Kinesiology at the University of Calgary. Her research is in the area of exercise and sport psychology, and focuses on social relationships in physical activity contexts.

William Bridel

William Bridel is an Associate Professor in the Faculty of Kinesiology at the University of Calgary. His research is in the area of sociocultural aspects of the body, sport, physical activity, and health. He investigates gender, sexuality and sport, bullying, and sport-related pain and injury.

Nicole Culos-Reed

Nicole Culos-Reed is a Professor in the Faculty of Kinesiology at the University of Calgary. Her research is in the area of exercise psychology, and focuses on physical activity and cancer, particularly developing programs to include exercise as part of standard cancer care, and the effect of exercise on quality of life.