Current Research News

2007 Camp Enrollment Survey
The spring camp enrollment survey was distributed in March. Complete the enrollment survey. Results will be available by end of May via a Web-based report.

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Healthy Camp Project
The Healthy Camp Project is ACA's five-year study of injuries and illnesses in U.S. camps funded by Markel Insurance. ACA is currently preparing for year two data collection that will begin in June of 2007.  Recruitment of new camps for the study is ongoing. Join this study.

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Spirituality and Camps Survey
ACA is currently involved in a project conducted in cooperation with Search Institute and the National Collaboration for Youth (NCY) to explore the youth development needs and strategies of faith-based and community-based staff. A survey was distributed to ACA members in March and 305 members responded. A preliminary report has been produced. The ACA camp dataset will be integrated into what Search and NCY have learned from their spirituality survey respondents to inform a more comprehensive strategy for serving the needs of youth development staff.

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Camp Evaluation Outcomes Tools
ACA is producing three different camp outcomes tools for use in camp evaluation. These tools, which include a "Camper Learning Questionnaire" (for six- to nine-year-olds), "Basic Camper Outcomes Questionnaires" (for ten- to seventeen-year-olds) and "Detailed Camper Outcomes Questionnaires" (for ten- to seventeen-year-olds) are being finalized this month and will be available in PDF and Word formats on ACA's Research Web page.

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Creating Positive Youth Outcomes
A resource pack titled, "Creating Positive Youth Outcomes" will soon be available through ACA's publisher, Healthy Learning. The pack includes a staff training workbook, facilitator's guides for directors or other leaders, and a resource CD that includes ACA's outcomes tools. The workbook, built on a logic model framework, was written using sample goals in the four supports and opportunities areas: Supportive Relationships, Safety, Youth Involvement, and Skill Building.

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Checking-in on Daring Teen Behavior
Dictionary.com defines risk as "to expose oneself to the chance of injury or loss; put oneself in danger; hazard; venture." What do teens say about risk? How well does the current population of twelve- to nineteen-year-olds subscribe to this definition and apply it to everyday life.  Media bombards us with sensational stories detailing rebellious teens performing crazy stunts, committing senseless crimes, and a combination of both.

The 2007 TRU spring study of teens reveals a population less comfortable with appearing on CNN or the local paper because of their nonconforming behavior. Today's teems are generally pragmatic and relatively uncomfortable with high levels of risk. They are more willing to "color inside the lines" and leave the coloring book as they found it.

Teens were asked whether or not they agreed with the following statements. The numbers in the table below show the percentage of teens that agreed with each statement.

Notice how 41 percent of the teens agreed that they like "things" that are risky or dangerous. You can also see that more males than females indicated they like new experiences but on total, 51 percent of teens said they don't much care for breaking rules. Females, on the other hand, were 8 percent points higher than males when it came to creating their own sense of style. And despite their claimed interest in action and adventure, less than half (41 percent) said they liked to do things that could be considered risky or dangerous.

As you consider this data, think about the impact of the camp experience. Camp provides a place where teens can engage in activities that are challenging and that can stimulate their sense of risk-taking in a safe environment (adventure/challenge, performing arts, or even leadership activities). Furthermore, camp allows teens to channel their desire for risk without having to break rules.

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