Positive Youth Development Through Outdoor Recreation

Dear Colleagues,

We invite submissions for a Special Issue focused on the intersection of outdoor recreation and positive youth development (PYD). The PYD framework takes a strengths-based approach to achieving positive developmental outcomes, emphasizing the strengths of young people and guiding them to become active and contributing members of society. Recent research underscores the importance of outdoor recreation spaces as a vital context in which positive developmental outcomes among youth can be fostered (Hill, 2022; Ahl et al., 2022).

Youth engagement in outdoor and nature-based activities has been shown to enhance essential life skills such as competence, responsibility, discipline, resilience, and affinity for the natural world (e.g., Hill et al., 2023). Moreover, youth interest in outdoor recreation activities is on the rise. In fact, high school mountain biking recently surpassed youth soccer as the fastest-growing youth sport in the Mountain West in the United States, highlighting the increasing interest in outdoor recreation as a means of youth engagement.

Out-of-school-time (OST) programs also play a crucial role in providing outdoor-based experiences that facilitate youth development. These programs offer unique opportunities for youth to explore, learn, and grow in natural settings, promoting not only physical health but also social and emotional well-being. To highlight one example, building on its youth education curriculum, the Leave No Trace Center for Outdoor Ethics developed Bigfoot’s Playbook, a collection of activities grounded in PYD that help youths connect to the outdoors. Numerous studies have successfully demonstrated the use of this curriculum in effectively connecting youths to nature (e.g., Ahl et al., 2022; Hill, 2022; Miller et al., 2015).

We encourage scholars, practitioners, and educators to contribute research, case studies, and innovative practices that illustrate how outdoor recreation can serve as a powerful tool for positive youth development. Topics of interest may include, but are not limited to, the following:

• The impact of outdoor recreation on youth resilience and personal growth;
• Innovative OST programs that effectively integrate outdoor experiences;
• The role of community partnerships in promoting outdoor recreation for youth;
• Strategies for fostering inclusivity and accessibility in outdoor activities;
• Longitudinal studies examining the effects of outdoor engagement on youth development outcomes.

Dr. Eddie L. Hill
Dr. Amy A. Direnzo
Dr. Edwin Gómez
Guest Editors

Manuscript Submission Information

Manuscripts should be submitted online at www.mdpi.com by registering and logging in to this website. Once you are registered, click here to go to the submission form. Manuscripts can be submitted until the deadline. All submissions that pass pre-check are peer-reviewed. Accepted papers will be published continuously in the journal (as soon as accepted) and will be listed together on the special issue website. Research articles, review articles as well as short communications are invited. For planned papers, a title and short abstract (about 100 words) can be sent to the Editorial Office for announcement on this website.

Submitted manuscripts should not have been published previously, nor be under consideration for publication elsewhere (except conference proceedings papers). All manuscripts are thoroughly refereed through a single-blind peer-review process. A guide for authors and other relevant information for submission of manuscripts is available on the Instructions for Authors page. Behavioral Sciences is an international peer-reviewed open access monthly journal published by MDPI.

Please visit the Instructions for Authors page before submitting a manuscript. The Article Processing Charge (APC) for publication in this open access journal is 2200 CHF (Swiss Francs). Submitted papers should be well formatted and use good English. Authors may use MDPI's English editing service prior to publication or during author revisions.

• PYD
• outdoor recreation
• Leave No Trace
• resilience