Effects of an Adventure Therapy Mountain Bike Program on Middle School Students’ Resiliency

Early adolescence is an important developmental period marked by educational transitions and significant physical, mental, social, emotional, and cognitive changes. During this time, the prevalence of mental health issues begins to accelerate, and perceived support declines. Adventure therapy (AT), a group-based approach to counseling that uses kinesthetic activities to promote therapeutic progress, has the potential for increasing resiliency, thus protecting adolescents from these mental health issues and their potential long-term effects. The purpose of this study was to examine the effects of mountain biking on middle school students’ resiliency. Specifically, we were interested in comparing a mountain biking program with integrated AT concepts (AT-MTB) to the same mountain biking program without integrated AT concepts (MTB). Using a randomized-controlled design, we randomly assigned participants (n = 30) into a treatment group (AT-MTB) or a comparison group (MTB). Results of a multilevel growth curve analysis indicated that participants in the AT-MTB group experienced an increase in resiliency, while those in the MTB group experienced a decrease. Implications for practice and future research are discussed.