Related Experiment Video
Updated: Jan 20, 2026
Conducting Pilot Testing in Psychological Research
Published on: April 30, 2023
What are constructive anxiety levels in wilderness therapy? An exploratory pilot study
Leiv Einar Gabrielsen1, Nevin J Harper2, Carina Ribe Fernee1
1Department for Child and Adolescent Mental Health, Sorlandet Hospital Health Enterprise, Avdeling for barn og unges psykiske helse, Sorlandet Sykehus HF, Postboks 416, 4604, Kristiansand, Norway.
Background And Purpose:
Participant state anxiety in outdoor therapeutic practices continues to raise many questions. To help inform this important topic we present and discuss the results of an exploratory pilot study on participant day-to-day state anxiety throughout a Norwegian wilderness therapy intervention.
Materials And Methods:
Thirty-three adolescents from six groups completed a total of 251 state sections of the State-Trait Anxiety Inventory.
Results:
On average, there was a slight decrease in state anxiety as the program progressed and a significant reduction in anxiety between the first and final days. The between-subject range was large, and boys reported significantly lower anxiety than did girls.
Conclusion:
In light of the results, we discuss general understandings of day-to-day state anxiety, gender differences, group differences, the perception of risk, and the relationship between perceived autonomy and state anxiety. The paper concludes with implications for the outdoor therapy field at large.
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