Psychological skills gained from adventure sports have helped people cope better with pandemic restriction, a new study has found.
White water kayaking. File photo. Photo: 123RF
The study, published in the Psychology of Sport and Exercise journal, investigated the experience of a number of adventure sport enthusiasts around the world during the Covid-19 pandemic restrictions.
Lead author Patrick Boudreau, from the University of Otago, said people who took part in sports like base jumping, white-water kayaking and rock climbing had qualities which enhanced their psychological resilience.
Participants still experienced uncertainty, fear and boredom under pandemic restrictions which prevented them from doing sports, he said.
However, he said they were able to use skills gained from sports to tackle negative impacts of the lockdown.
“Adventure sports encourage participants to explore and deal with uncertainty, as well as giving them the opportunity to face psychological and physical challenges.
Lead author of the study, Patrick Boudreau from the University of Otago. Photo: Supplied / Paras Wadhwa Photography
“Practising to manage these risks and challenges and develop skills for an activity that requires you to be autonomous and responsible may in turn translate to regulating one’s emotions in other spheres of our lives,
“For example, managing the stress of a pandemic may be easier when you have already managed the stress of jumping off a cliff with a single parachute.”
The study found some of the skills that helped participants included flexibility, managing emotions and focusing on things within their control.
One participant in the study said the experience of kayaking showed one needed to “go with the flow” and sometimes accept there are bigger forces at play.
University of Otago Associate Professor Susan Houge Mackenzie. Photo: Supplied
Associate Professor Susan Houge Mackenzie, who co-authored the paper, said the study also proved the benefits of adventure sports went further than thrill seeking.
She wanted people to see beyond a narrow understanding of adventure.
“There’s a lot of wellbeing benefits that go far beyond that,” she said, adding that it should be a point for the health system and the education system to take into account.
Mackenzie said the mental and physical health purposes of adventure participation could be broadened out to more people, such as older populations.
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