IDEAS home Printed from https://ideas.repec.org/a/gam/jijerp/v21y2024i2p241-d1341605.html
   My bibliography  Save this article

Gender Differences in Psychological Outcomes Following Surf versus Hike Therapy among U.S. Service Members

Author

Listed:
  • Lisa H. Glassman

    (Health and Behavioral Sciences, Naval Health Research Center, San Diego, CA 92106, USA
    Leidos, Inc., San Diego, CA 92121, USA)

  • Nicholas P. Otis

    (Health and Behavioral Sciences, Naval Health Research Center, San Diego, CA 92106, USA
    Leidos, Inc., San Diego, CA 92121, USA)

  • Kim T. Kobayashi Elliott

    (Department of Public Health, Naval Medical Center San Diego, San Diego, CA 92134, USA)

  • Betty Michalewicz-Kragh

    (Department of Public Health, Naval Medical Center San Diego, San Diego, CA 92134, USA)

  • Kristen H. Walter

    (Health and Behavioral Sciences, Naval Health Research Center, San Diego, CA 92106, USA)

Abstract

Background: Surf and hike therapies have demonstrated effectiveness as adjunct interventions for service members with major depressive disorder (MDD). This study explores gender differences in intervention outcomes following a pragmatic, randomized controlled trial of Surf and Hike Therapy for service members with MDD ( N = 96; men, n = 46; women, n = 50). Methods: Clinician-administered and self-report measures (depression, anxiety, positive affect, negative affect, resilience, and pain) were completed at preprogram, postprogram, and 3-month follow-up; brief measures (depression/anxiety and positive affect) were completed before and after each session. Results: Multilevel modeling results showed that anxiety decreased from pre- to postprogram and significantly differed by gender (B = −2.26, p = 0.029), with women reporting greater reductions. The remaining outcomes from pre- to postprogram demonstrated significant improvements that did not differ by gender ( p s = 0.218–0.733). There were no gender differences through follow-up ( p s = 0.119–0.780). However, within sessions, women reported greater improvements in depression/anxiety (B = −0.93, p = 0.005) and positive affect (B = 3.73, p = 0.001). The change in positive affect scores within sessions was greater for women in Hike Therapy compared to men ( p = 0.016). Conclusions: Overall, results demonstrate that both genders benefit from adjunctive Surf and Hike Therapies, but women exhibit a better response in terms of longer-term anxiety and immediate psychological outcomes.

Suggested Citation

  • Lisa H. Glassman & Nicholas P. Otis & Kim T. Kobayashi Elliott & Betty Michalewicz-Kragh & Kristen H. Walter, 2024. "Gender Differences in Psychological Outcomes Following Surf versus Hike Therapy among U.S. Service Members," IJERPH, MDPI, vol. 21(2), pages 1-15, February.
    • Handle: RePEc:gam:jijerp:v:21:y:2024:i:2:p:241-:d:1341605
    as

    Download full text from publisher

    File URL: https://www.mdpi.com/1660-4601/21/2/241/pdf
    Download Restriction: no
    File URL: https://www.mdpi.com/1660-4601/21/2/241/
    Download Restriction: no
    ---><---

    References listed on IDEAS

    as
    1. Lisa H. Glassman & Nicholas P. Otis & Betty Michalewicz-Kragh & Kristen H. Walter, 2021. "Gender Differences in Psychological Outcomes Following Surf Therapy Sessions among U.S. Service Members," IJERPH, MDPI, vol. 18(9), pages 1-12, April.
    2. Shen, Y.-C. & Arkes, J. & Williams, T.V., 2012. "Effects of Iraq/Afghanistan deployments on major depression and substance use disorder: Analysis of active duty personnel in the US military," American Journal of Public Health, American Public Health Association, vol. 102(S1), pages 80-87.
    Full references (including those not matched with items on IDEAS)

    Most related items

    These are the items that most often cite the same works as this one and are cited by the same works as this one.
    1. Vogt, Dawne & Borowski, Shelby C. & Godier-McBard, Lauren R. & Fossey, Matt J. & Copeland, Laurel A. & Perkins, Daniel F. & Finley, Erin P., 2022. "Changes in the health and broader well-being of U.S. veterans in the first three years after leaving military service: Overall trends and group differences," Social Science & Medicine, Elsevier, vol. 294(C).
    2. Marigee Bacolod & Jesse M. Cunha & Yu‐Chu Shen, 2020. "When young soldiers drink: The impact of legal access to alcohol among U.S. Army soldiers," Southern Economic Journal, John Wiley & Sons, vol. 87(2), pages 576-607, October.
    3. Ariane Gerami & Charlie Foster & Joey Murphy, 2022. "“Virtual Surf Booth”: Assessment of a Novel Tool and Data Collection Process to Measure the Impact of a 6-Week Surf Programme on Mental Wellbeing," IJERPH, MDPI, vol. 19(24), pages 1-18, December.
    4. Jesse M. Cunha & Yu-Chu Shen & Zachary R. Burke, 2018. "Contrasting the Impacts of Combat and Humanitarian Assistance/Disaster Relief Missions on the Mental Health of Military Service Members," Defence and Peace Economics, Taylor & Francis Journals, vol. 29(1), pages 62-77, January.
    5. Martina Burtscher & Easkey Britton, 2022. "“ There Was Some Kind of Energy Coming into My Heart ”: Creating Safe Spaces for Sri Lankan Women and Girls to Enjoy the Wellbeing Benefits of the Ocean," IJERPH, MDPI, vol. 19(6), pages 1-17, March.
    6. Resul Cesur & Joseph J. Sabia & W. David Bradford, 2024. "The effect of combat deployments on veteran opioid abuse," Health Economics, John Wiley & Sons, Ltd., vol. 33(6), pages 1284-1318, June.

    Corrections

    All material on this site has been provided by the respective publishers and authors. You can help correct errors and omissions. When requesting a correction, please mention this item's handle: RePEc:gam:jijerp:v:21:y:2024:i:2:p:241-:d:1341605. See general information about how to correct material in RePEc.

    If you have authored this item and are not yet registered with RePEc, we encourage you to do it here. This allows to link your profile to this item. It also allows you to accept potential citations to this item that we are uncertain about.

    If CitEc recognized a bibliographic reference but did not link an item in RePEc to it, you can help with this form .

    If you know of missing items citing this one, you can help us creating those links by adding the relevant references in the same way as above, for each refering item. If you are a registered author of this item, you may also want to check the "citations" tab in your RePEc Author Service profile, as there may be some citations waiting for confirmation.

    For technical questions regarding this item, or to correct its authors, title, abstract, bibliographic or download information, contact: MDPI Indexing Manager (email available below). General contact details of provider: https://www.mdpi.com .

    Please note that corrections may take a couple of weeks to filter through the various RePEc services.

    IDEAS is a RePEc service. RePEc uses bibliographic data supplied by the respective publishers.