Paradise regained: older adult rock climbers turning space into place in the natural environment
Main Article Content
Abstract
At the time of writing there are over 10 million people aged over 65 living in the UK, and by 2050 the number is predicted to rise to 19 million. This expansion of the ageing population is mirrored worldwide, and over the past ten years has stimulated a growth in age-related studies. However, the idea of a social gerontology of the outdoors is yet to take root. Yet, with the maturing of those born between the years 1946 and 1964, and increased participation in adventurous activities, we suggest that the time is right for scholarship in this specific direction. Accordingly, the aim of this study was to discover how older adult rock climbers perceived their relationship with the natural environment to have changed over the period of their involvement with rock climbing. The investigation used a purposive sample of rock climbers in the north-west of England (n=10) aged between 65 and 74 years (av=69.6) identifying them as ‘young-old’ adults. Oral testimony was collected over two phases, the first with interview-questionnaires, and the second with targeted semi-structured interviews. In order to give a clear voice to participants, manual data handling using was used to establish raw data that were then sorted into themes and verified against internal and external checkers. These were then organized around Peace, Wahl, Mollenkopf and Oswald’s (2014) concept of an ‘environment’ considered within three dimensions: the physical/material, including the natural landscape; the psychological, and the meaning attributed to the place, its evolution across the life course, and how it makes people feel about themselves; and the social/cultural, involving the engagement of people to places, including how the space is used and remembered.
Metrics
Article Details
References
Ashton, J. (2014). The developing role for the outdoor sector driving public health and wellbeing: How does the Outdoor Sector work with health and wellbeing services and funding? Keynote speech given at the Institute for Outdoor Learning National Conference. Loughborough, UK. 17th October.
Barrett, J. and Greenaway, R. (1995). Why adventure? The role and value of outdoor adventure in young people’s personal and social development. Coventry. Foundation for Outdoor Adventure.
Bordieu, P. (1977). Outline of a Theory of Practice. Cambridge. Cambridge University Press.
Brennan, D. (2008). Older Adults in Adventure Education: Making Meaning of Older Adults’ Inner Experience of Experiential Education. Saarbrücken. VDM Verlag Dr. Muller.
Buffel, T. (2015). [Ed]. Researching Age-Friendly Communities: Stories from older people as co-investigators. Manchester. The University of Manchester Library.
Carp, F.M. & Carp, A. (1984). A complimentary/congruence model of well-being or mental health for the community elderly. In Altman, I. & Lawton, M.P. [Eds]. Human Behaviour and Environment. New York. Plenum Press. 279-336.
Chodzko-Zajko, W. and ACSM. (2013). The American College of Sports Medicine’s Exercise for Older Adults. Baltimore, MD. Lippincott, Williams and Wilkins.
Cochran, L.J., Rothschadel, A.M. & Rudick, J.L. (2009). Leisure Programming for Baby Boomers. Champaign, Il. Human Kinetics.
Cohen-Gewerc, E. and Stebbins, R.A. Serious Leisure and Individuality. Montreal. McGill-Queen’s University Press.
Crotty, M. (1998). The foundations of social research: Meaning and perspective in the research process. London. Sage.
Crouch, M. (2006). The logic of small sample sizes in interview based qualitative research. Social Science Information. 45 (4), 483-499. DOI: 1177/65390-18406069584.
Cutchin, M.P. (2013). The Complex Process of becoming At-Home in Assisted Living. In Rowles, G.D. & Bernard, M. [Eds]. Environmental Gerontology: Making Meaningful Places in Old Age. New York. Springer. 105-124.
Dannefer, D. & Phillipson, C. (2010). Preface. In Dannefer, D. & Phillipson, C. The SAGE Handbook of Social Gerontology. London. Sage. xxi-xxiv.
Denzin, N.K. & Lincoln, Y.S. (Eds]. (2005). The SAGE Handbook of Qualitative Research. Thousand Oaks, CA. Sage.
Dytchwald, K. and Flower, J. (1989). Agewave. New York. Putnam.
Gallie, W.B. (1956). Essentially Contested Concepts. Proceedings of the Aristotelian Society. 56, 167-198.
Goffman, E. (1990). The Presentation of Self in Everyday Life. New York. Penguin Putnam.
Elkington, S. and Stebbins, R.A. (2014). The Serious Leisure Perspective: An Introduction. London. Routledge.
Espirito Santo, J.N. & Cordeiro, B.C. (2014). Permanent education about the risks of biological natural disasters in sports: a descriptive study. Online Brazilian Journal of Nursing. 13 (1), 439-441. Available from www.objnursing.uff.br/index.php/nursing/article/view/5043. Retrieved 21st October 2015.
Fade, S. (2004). Using interpretative phenomenological analysis for public health nutrition and dietetic research: a practical guide. Proceedings of the Nutrition Society. 63 (4), 647-653. DOI: org/10.10.79/PNS2004398.
Fiennes, R. (2013). Cold: Extreme Adventures at the Lowest Temperature Extremes on Earth. London. Simon and Schuster.
Flick, U. (2014). An Introduction to Qualitative Research. London. Sage.
Gilleard, C. & Higgs, P. (2014). Ageing, Corporeality and Embodiment. London. Anthem.
Grant, B.C. and Kluge, M.A. (2012). Leisure and Physical Well Being. In Gibson H.J. and Singleton, J.F. Leisure and Ageing: Theory and Practice. Champaign, Il. Human Kinetics.
Hickman, M. & Doherty, P. (2015). A life on the rocks: a methodology for understanding the older adult’s experiences of rock climbing. Journal of Qualitative Research in Sports Studies, 9, 1, 63-81.
Hooper, H. & Hickman, M. (2015). Notes from the underground: Using caving to understand physical activity participation in under represented groups. Paper Presented at the International Adventure Conference. Sheffield Hallam University. 9th – 11th September.
Inkster, A., Hickman, M. & Beard, C. (2015a). Sea kayaking and ageing: expanding the agenda for research into the physically active older adult. Paper Presented at the International Adventure Conference. Sheffield Hallam University. 9th – 11th September.
Inkster, A., Hickman, M. & Beard, C. (2015b). Sustaining adventure as we age: Exploring stories as a means to understand the ageing process in older adult sea kayakers from the Scottish Highlands and Islands. Paper Presented at the International Sea Kayaking Educators Conference. Monash University and Outward Bound Hong Kong. Hong Kong. 30th November – 4th December.
Johnson, M.L., Bengtson, V.L., Coleman, P.G. & Kirkwood, T.B. (Eds]. (2005). The Cambridge Handbook of Age and Ageing. Cambridge. Cambridge University Press.
Kim, J.E. & Moen, P. (2001). Is retirement good or bad for subjective well-being? Retirement as a life course transition in time and in ecological context. Current Directions in Psychological Science. 10 (3), 83-86.
Kuh, D., Cooper, R., Richards, M., Gale, C., von Zglinicki, T. & Guralnick, J. (2012). A life course approach to healthy ageing: The HALCyon programme. Public Health. 126 (3), 193-195. DOI: 10.1016/j.puhe.2012.01.025.
Lawton, M.P. & Simon, B.B. (1968). The ecology of social relationships in housing fro the elderly. Gerontologist. 8 (2), 108-115.
Leary, M.R. (1996). Self-Presentation: Impression Management and Interpersonal Behaviour. Boulder, CO. Westview.
Levine, R. (2008). Ageing with Attitude: Growing Older with Dignity and Vitality. Westport, CT. Prager.
Lundkvist, E., Gustafsson, H., Hjalm, H. & Hassmén, P. (2012). An interpretative phenomenological analysis of burnout and recovery in elite soccer coaches. Qualitative Research in Sport, Exercise and Health. 4 (3), 400-419. DOI: 10.1080/2159676X.2012.693526.
Maslow, A.H. (1987). Motivation and Personality. New York. Longman.
McAdams, D.P. (1993). The Stories We Live By: Personal Myths and the Making of the Self. New York. Guildford Press.
McDaniel, S.A. & Zimmer, Z. (2013). Global Ageing in the Twenty First Century. Surrey. Ashgate.
Mesquita, I., Coutinho, P., De Martin-Silva, L., Parente, B., Faria, M. & Afonso, J. (2015). The Value of Indirect Teaching Strategies in Enhancing Student-Coaches’ Learning Engagement. Journal of Sports Science Medicine. 14 (3), 657-668.
Nimrod, G. (2007). Retirees’ Leisure: Activities, benefits and their contribution to life satisfaction. Leisure Studies. 26 (1), 65-80.
Nimrod, G. (2011). The impact of leisure activity and innovation on the well being of the very old. In Poon, L.W. and Cohen-Mansfield, J. (Eds). Understanding the well being in the oldest-old. New York. Cambridge University Press. 240-257.
Norman, K.A. (2010). Exercise and Wellbeing for Older Adults. Champaign, Il. Human Kinetics.
OECD (2012). Thematic Follow-Up Review of Policies to Improve Labour Market Prospects for Older Workers – United Kingdom. www.oecd.org/els/older%20Workers%20UK-MOD.pdf (Retrieved 31st July 2015).
Peace, S., Wahl, H., Mollenkopf, H. & Oswald, F. (2014). Environment and ageing. In Bond, J., Peace, S., Dittmann-Kohli, F. & westerhof, G. [Eds]. Ageing in Society. London. Sage. 209-234.
Pelletier, K. (1984). Longevity: Fulfilling our biological potential. In Opatz, J. (Ed). Wellness Promotion Strategies. Dubuque, IA. Kendall Hunt. 46-61.
Perrault, R. (1983). Opening Remarks. Proceedings of the National Conference on Fitness in the Third Age. Ottawa. November 8-10. 3.
Pipher, M. (2000). Another Country: Navigating the Emotional Terrain of Our Elders. New York. Riverhead Books.
Principi, A., Jensen, P.H. & Lamura, G. [Eds]. (2014). Active Ageing: Voluntary Work by Older People in Europe. Bristol. Policy Press.
Rowles, G.D. (1983). Geographical dimensions of social support in rural Appalachia. In Rowles, G.D. & Ohta, R.J. [Eds]. Aging and Milieu: Environmental Perspectives on Growing Old. New York. Academic Press. 111-130.
Rowles, G.D. & Watkins, J.F. (2003). History, habit, heart and hearth: On making spaces into places. In Schaie, K.W., Wahl, H.W., Mollenkopf, H. & Oswald, F. [Eds]. Aging Independently: living arrangements and mobility. New York. Springer. 77-96.
Rutherford, T. (2012). Population ageing: Statistics – Commons Library Standard Note. www.parliament.uk/briefing-papers/SNO3228/population-ageing-statistics (Retrieved 5th December 2014).
Scheidt, R.J. & Schwartz, B. (2010). Environmental Gerontology: A Sample of Issues and Applications. In Cavanaugh, J.C. & Cavanaugh, C.K. [Eds]. Aging in America. Santa Barbara, CA. Praeger. 156-176.
Small, B. & Gillies, J. (2012). Studying Leisure in the Context of Aging. In Gibson, H.J. & Singleton, J.F. Leisure and Aging: Theory and Practice. Champaign, Il. Human Kinetics. 67-93.
Sood, S., Gallagher, I.J., Lunnon, K., Rullman, E., Keohane, A., Crossland, H., Phillips, B.E., Cederholm, T., Jensen, T., van Loon, L.J.C., Lannfelt, L., Kraus, W.E., Atherton, P.J., Howard, R., Gustafsson, T., Hodges, A. & Timmons, J.A. (2015). A novel multi-tissue RNA diagnostic of healthy ageing relates to cognitive health status. Genome Biology. 16, 185. Doi:10.1186/s13059-015-0750-x. http://genomebiology.com/2015/16/1/185 (Retrieved 7th September 2015).
Somerville, M.A., Davies, B., Power, K., Gannon, S. & de Carteret, P. (2011). Place Pedagogy Change. Rotterdam. Sense Publishers.
Spirduso, W., Poon, L. and Chodzko-Zajko, W. (2007). Exercise and its Mediating effects on Cognition (Ageing, Exercise and Cognition). Champaign, Il. Human Kinetics.
Stebbins, R.A. (2005). Challenging Mountain Nature: Risk, Motive and Lifestyle in Three Hobbyist Sports. Calgary. Detselig.
Stebbins, R.A. (2006). Serious Leisure: A Perspective for Our Time. New Jersey. Transaction.
Stuart-Hamilton, I. (2011). An Introduction to Gerontology. Cambridge. Cambridge University Press.
Taylor, A. and Johnson, M. (2008). Physiology of Exercise and Healthy Ageing. Champaign, Il. Human Kinetics.
Toepoel, V. (2013). Ageing, Leisure and Social Connectedness: How could Leisure Help Reduce Social Isolation of Older People? Social Indicators Research. 113 (1), 355-372. DOI: 10.1007/s11205-012-0097-6.
Twigg, J. & Martin, W. (2015). Routledge Handbook of Cultural Gerontology. London. Routledge.
Varney, J. & Whyte, G. (2015). Physical Activity and the Outdoors Market. Key note speech given at the Outdoor Industries Association European Summit. Sheffield, UK. 14th October.
Vertinsky, P. (1995). Stereotypes of ageing women and exercise: A historical perspective. Journal of Ageing and Physical Activity. 3 (3), 223-237.
Wattchow, B. & Brown, M. (2011). A Pedagogy of Place: Outdoor education for a changing world. Victoria. Monash University Publishing.
Anderson, L. (2006). Analytic autoethnography. Journal of Contemporary Ethnography. 35 (4), 373-395.
Anderson, L. (2006). Analytic autoethnography. Journal of Contemporary Ethnography. 35 (4), 373-395.
Anderson, L. (2006). Analytic autoethnography. Journal of Contemporary Ethnography. 35 (4), 373-395.
Anderson, L. (2006). Analytic autoethnography. Journal of Contemporary Ethnography. 35 (4), 373-395.