Gender differences in adolescents’ help-seeking behaviours and intentions for psychosocial problems in led outdoor activities

ABSTRACT

Many adolescents who experience psychosocial problems do not often seek help. Help-seeking behaviours and intentions are influenced by personal, social, and structural factors, and they differ by gender. Help-seeking has not been investigated in the led outdoor activity (LOA) domain, in which thousands of adolescents participate annually. The present study investigated gender differences in adolescents’ help-seeking behaviours and intentions for psychosocial problems in LOAs. Existing data from the ‘Understanding and Preventing Led Outdoor Accidents Data System’ (UPLOADS) was analysed to investigate adolescents’ help-seeking behaviours. Additionally, data from an online survey was analysed to investigate adolescents’ help-seeking intentions. More female adolescents sought help for a psychosocial problem compared to male adolescents, but more male adolescents were observed to have experienced a psychosocial problem compared to female adolescents. There were no gender differences in help-seeking intentions. It is recommended that the LOA sector develop gender-specific strategies to encourage adolescents’ help-seeking behaviours.

KEYWORDS:

• Adolescents
• gender differences
• help-seeking
• led outdoor activity
• psychosocial

Introduction

Adolescence is a particularly vulnerable period for psychosocial problems to manifest (Australian Bureau of Statistics, 2022; Blakemore, 2019). Psychosocial problems, broadly defined as difficulties in areas of personal and social functioning (Timalsina et al., 2018), can arise from adverse circumstances such as bullying, conflict, stigma, and daily hassles. Psychosocial problems can contribute to not only transient emotional distress but also more severe mental health issues that persist into adulthood (MacLeod & Brownlie, 2014; World Health Organization, 2022). Adequate and appropriate support can minimise the impacts of psychosocial problems. However, psychosocial problems are often ‘invisible’ to observers (WHO, 2022) and many adolescents are reluctant to seek help (Rickwood et al., 2007). One reason for this reluctance is that young people do not recognise the problem as serious enough to require help from others (Cox et al., in press), but even when they do, they are concerned about being stigmatised by others or feeling embarrassed for needing help (Patte et al., 2024). A consequence of not seeking help is that many psychosocial problems remain undetected, and adolescents are left unsupported.

It is well-evidenced that help-seeking intentions can predict help-seeking behaviours (Ajzen & Fishbein, 1980; Hammer & Vogel, 2013) and that there are gender differences in help-seeking intentions and behaviours (e.g. Allouche et al., 2021; Chandra & Minkovitz, 2006; Cotter et al., 2015; Haavik et al., 2019). Research suggests that female adolescents demonstrate greater help-seeking intentions and behaviours compared to male adolescents (e.g. Chandra & Minkovitz, 2006; Cotter et al., 2015; Haavik et al., 2019). Additionally, gender-diverse/non-conforming adolescents demonstrate greater help-seeking intentions compared to male and female adolescents (Allouche et al., 2021). However, other personal and situational factors, including the source of help, can influence this gender difference. For example, males are more likely to seek help from informal sources (e.g. family and friends) but females are more likely to seek help from formal sources (e.g. general practitioners, counsellors, mental health professionals) (Yap et al., 2012). Notably, this finding contradicts the extant evidence that male adolescents are reluctant to seek help, regardless of the source (Merikangas et al., 2011; Reavley et al., 2010). As such, while there are gender differences in adolescent help-seeking, these differences depend on the context in which help is available and evaluated.

Despite the large body of literature, adolescents’ help-seeking behaviours and intentions remain poorly understood. One reason for this relates to the methodology commonly used to study help-seeking behaviours and intentions. More specifically, previous studies have used vignettes or hypothetical scenarios (Aguirre Velasco et al., 2020), often because they desensitise the topic of study (e.g. help-seeking for psychosocial problem), protecting participants from emotional distress (Bradbury-Jones et al., 2014). However, this methodology has been criticised for its generalisability and validity. For example, if vignettes appear more hypothetical than they do in reality, participants may respond in a similarly hypothetical manner (Bradbury-Jones et al., 2014). Another reason for our poor understanding of adolescents’ help-seeking behaviours and intentions is the setting in which help-seeking is being studied. More specifically, previous studies have focused on help-seeking behaviours or intentions in general settings, as opposed to specific settings. Adolescents’ help-seeking behaviours and intentions in general settings (e.g. typical school settings) may differ from those in specific settings such as led outdoor activities (LOAs).

Annually, tens of thousands of adolescents participate in LOAs in Australia, particularly through school camps (McLean et al., 2021). LOAs include instructed outdoor activities such as high ropes courses, orienteering, camp cooking, team building, bike riding, abseiling, and water sports (McLean et al., 2021). A fundamental characteristic of LOAs is the deliberate engagement in activities with increased levels of risk to achieve learning and developmental outcomes (Carden et al., 2017; Dallat, 2009). This increased risk is associated with physical injury and psychosocial incidents in adolescents (McLean, Coventon, Finch, & Salmon, 2022; McLean, Coventon, Finch, Dallat, et al., 2022). The ‘Understanding and Preventing Led Outdoor Accidents Data System’ (UPLOADS) was developed and implemented within the Australian LOA sector to understand adverse incidents and prevent future occurrences of such incidents (McLean et al., 2021). UPLOADS is being used by more than 130 LOA organisations, with over 14,000 injuries, illness, psychosocial, near miss, and environmental and equipment incidents reported (UPLOADS Project, 2023). At the time of this study, there were 383 psychosocial incidents in UPLOADS (UPLOADS Project, 2023), representing an opportunity to understand adolescents’ actual help-seeking behaviours for psychosocial problems in the LOA setting. In particular, whether there are gender differences in adolescents’ help-seeking behaviours for psychosocial problems in the LOA setting.

The present study

The present study had two aims. The first aim was to investigate whether there are gender differences in adolescents’ help-seeking behaviours for psychosocial problems in LOAs. The psychosocial incident data reported to UPLOADS was used to address this aim. It was hypothesised that more female adolescents would demonstrate help-seeking behaviours for psychosocial problems compared to male adolescents (H1).

To further inform our understanding of adolescents’ help-seeking for psychosocial problems, the second aim of this study was to investigate whether there are gender differences in adolescents’ help-seeking intentions for psychosocial problems. An online survey assessing help-seeking intentions was administered to address this aim. It was hypothesised that female adolescents would demonstrate greater help-seeking intentions for psychosocial problems compared to male adolescents (H2). It was also hypothesised that female adolescents would more likely seek help from an adult LOA supervisor compared to male adolescents (H3), and that there would be gender differences in the effect of past help-seeking behaviour on current help-seeking intentions for psychosocial problems (H4).

Method

Design

A quantitative cross-sectional design was adopted for both of the two phases of the present study. Phase 1 was designed to address the first study aim (gender differences in help-seeking behaviours using existing data from UPLOADS) and Phase 2 was designed to address the second study aim (gender differences in help-seeking intentions using data from an online survey). Only binary gender comparisons (i.e. male adolescents’ help-seeking compared to female adolescents’ help-seeking) were made in the present study, as other genders represented less than 1% of the incident data reported to UPLOADS and 0% of the survey data. Additionally, it is noted that data from the two phases of the study were obtained from different cohorts of adolescents.

Phase 1

Participants

Psychosocial incident reports were retrieved from UPLOADS. For inclusion in the present study, incidents had to be reported between the years 2018–2022 and had to involve an adolescent aged between 13–17 years. Ethical approval was obtained from the University’s human ethics committee (A181096).

The retrieved, eligible psychosocial incident reports involved 174 adolescents (participants), of whom 72 were identified as males and 102 as females.

Procedure

Existing incident reports were screened for eligibility using an in-built filter function in the UPLOADS database and eligible reports were downloaded. The eligible incident reports, which included descriptions of the reported psychosocial incidents, were coded into two categories, reflecting whether (i) the participant actively sought help or (ii) a program leader, teacher, or supporting adult (e.g. parent) observed the participant experiencing a psychosocial problem. An incident can only be coded into one of the two categories and not both categories. Example excerpts from the incident descriptions can be found in Table 1. Please note that examples have been redacted due to ethical requirements for anonymous incident reporting.

Table 1. Example excerpts from psychosocial incident descriptions.

Category	Example excerpts
The participant sought help	‘Participant approached teacher coordinating the camp during a session and expressed distress … ’
	‘Student requested permission to go back to base so that she could have some “time out” for … ’
An adult observed the participant experiencing a psychosocial problem	‘Group leaders noticed participant had become very quiet, removed herself from group settings and was unlike her usual personality … ’
	‘After arriving at the campsite, the leader noticed a student becoming overwhelmed and acting out by … ’

The psychosocial incidents were coded by the first author. Inter-rater reliability check for 20% of the incidents was conducted with the second and the third authors (10% of incidents each) independently. The measure of agreement (κ = .707 and .713) was considered substantial (Cohen, 1960).

Phase 2

Participants

Adolescents aged 13–17 years, who reside in Australia and have attended a LOA program within the last three years, were the target participants for Phase 2 of the study. The ethical requirements of this phase of the study indicated that parental consent is necessary; therefore, recruitment activities were targeted at parents or caregivers of adolescents. Emails were sent to LOA organisations participating in the UPLOADS project and Australian high schools to promote the study to parents or caregivers of adolescents, and the study information was also shared on social media platforms (e.g. Twitter/X, Facebook) to the general community. Ethical approval was obtained from the University’s human ethics committee (S221781).

A total of 39 adolescents participated in the study. Data for 17 participants were removed due to incomplete responses (n = 15) or lack of consent provided (n = 2). The final sample comprised 22 participants (12 males, 10 females). Their mean age was 14.91 years (SD = 1.3, range = 13–17). The majority of the sample (77.3%) self-identified to be of Oceanian ethnic and cultural background (e.g. Australian Peoples, New Zealand Peoples, Melanesian and Papuan, Micronesian, Polynesian).

Materials

A brief online survey on help-seeking intentions was programmed and administered via Qualtrics (Qualtrics, 2020).

Help-Seeking Intentions Questionnaire

Adolescents’ help-seeking intentions were measured using a 60-item questionnaire (see Supplementary Materials). The items were either obtained from existing validated measures or developed specifically for this study. The items obtained or developed reflected the help-seeking construct proposed by White et al. (2018), which includes the following five aspects: (i) conscious planning to seek help (facets: volitional, future-oriented and anticipated behaviour), (ii) perception of effort to be exerted when seeking help (perceived barriers and resources, control beliefs), (iii) willingness to communicate psychosocial problems (social norms-mental illness, social norms-help-seeking, disclosure versus secrecy), (iv) perceptions about the problem (awareness of the problem, evaluation of the problem, self-identity beliefs), and (v) perceived support, advice or assistance (perceived value of help, evaluation of helper, willingness to accept help).

Each item in this questionnaire was rated on a 7-point Bipolar Likert scale (1 strongly disagree to 7 strongly agree). Some items were reverse-coded (i.e. 1 strongly agree to 7 strongly disagree). The score on each item was summed, with higher scores indicating greater help-seeking intentions. The internal consistency (Cronbach’s α) for this questionnaire in this sample was .92.

General Help-Seeking Questionnaire

Adolescents’ general intentions to seek help from several sources (formal and informal help) were measured using the non-suicidal subscale of the General Help-Seeking Questionnaire (GHSQ; Wilson et al., 2005). The questionnaire was adapted to include a response option for ‘led outdoor activity supervisor’ in the list of help sources. There were nine items in this questionnaire, reflecting help-seeking intentions for nine different help sources (not related to you, parent, other relative/family member, mental health professional, phone helpline, doctor/GP, led outdoor activity supervisor, ‘I would not seek help from anyone,’ ‘I would seek help from another not listed’). Each item (help source) was rated on a 7-point scale (1 extremely unlikely to 7 extremely likely). Higher scores indicate greater help-seeking intentions. The internal consistency (Cronbach’s α) for this questionnaire in this sample was .85.

Procedure

Interested adolescents and parents or caregivers of these adolescents were asked to access the study via a Qualtrics survey link, which contained the participant information sheet that outlined the study background and participant requirements. The parent or caregiver of the adolescent was then asked to provide their consent for their adolescent to participate and for their non-identifiable data to be used in this study (a ‘yes’ or ‘no’ response was required). Following consent, the participant (adolescent) was presented with an animated video (less than 2 minutes in duration), describing the concepts assessed in the survey (e.g. psychosocial problems, LOAs). The participant was then asked to complete a few demographic questions, followed by the Help-seeking Intentions Questionnaire and the General Help-Seeking Questionnaire. At the end of the survey, the participant was provided with contact details for mental health support services in Australia. The consenting parent or caregiver was asked to remain with their adolescent while they completed the survey, which took approximately 20 minutes. The survey was open for participation from January to March 2023.

Statistical analysis plan

For Phase 1 of the present study, a chi-square test of independence was performed to assess the relationship between gender and adolescents’ help-seeking behaviours for psychosocial problems in the LOAs (H1). The variables involved in this analysis were gender (male, female) and help-seeking behaviour (sought help for a psychosocial problem, observed experiencing a psychosocial problem).

For Phase 2 of the present study, a series of independent-samples t-tests were performed to determine gender differences in help-seeking intentions for psychosocial problems (H2). An independent-samples t-test was also performed to determine gender differences in seeking help from an adult in an LOA setting (H3). A two-way Analysis of Variance (ANOVA) was performed to determine if gender and past help-seeking behaviour influence help-seeking intentions (H4).

Results

Phase 1: gender differences in help-seeking behaviours

The chi-square test of independence performed to determine gender differences in help-seeking behaviour was significant, χ² (1, 174) = 11.85, p < .001, ϕ = .26, indicating an association between gender and help-seeking behaviour for psychosocial problems (H1). Pairwise z-tests (Bonferroni-adjusted) indicated that more female adolescents (n = 52; 51%) sought help for psychosocial problems in LOAs compared to male adolescents (n = 18; 25%), but more male adolescents (n = 54; 75%) were observed experiencing a psychosocial problem compared to female adolescents (n = 50; 49%).

Phase 2: gender differences in help-seeking intentions

The independent-samples t-tests performed to determine gender differences in help-seeking intention scores (H2) were not significant, indicating no gender differences in help-seeking intentions (ps ≥ .53). The lack of gender difference in help-seeking intentions was observed for their overall help-seeking intentions (p = .53) and for each aspect of help-seeking intentions (ps ≥ .107). Results from the series of independent-samples t-tests can be found in Table 2.

Table 2. Statistical results from the independent-samples t-tests on help-seeking intentions.

Intention	Male M (SE)	Female M (SE)	t(20)	p	d
Overall	287.42 (10.24)	276.70 (13.78)	−0.64	.530	0.270
Conscious planning (12 items)	55.50 (3.42)	52.60 (4.39)	−0.53	.301	−0.227
Perception of effort to be exerted (8 items)	41.83 (1.81)	41.40 (1.63)	−0.17	.432	−0.075
Willingness to communicate (16 items)	77.92 (3.30)	76.10 (4.29)	−0.34	.368	−0.146
Perceptions about the problem (12 items)	53.50 (1.31)	52.60 (2.62)	−0.36	.362	−0.154
Perceived support, advice, or assistance (12 items)	58.67 (2.27)	54.00 (2.91)	−1.28	.107	−0.549

Note. M = mean score, SE = standard error, t = t-statistic, p = significance level, d = Cohen’s d effect size.

The independent-samples t-test performed to determine gender differences in seeking help from an adult in a LOA setting (H3) was not significant, t(20) = −0.77, p = .453, d = −0.33, indicating no gender differences in the likelihood of seeking help from an adult in a LOA setting. Finally, the two-way ANOVA on the effect of gender and past help-seeking from an adult for psychosocial problems on help-seeking intentions (H3) revealed that the main effect of past help-seeking from an adult was significant, F(1, 15) = 18.59, p < .001, ${\eta }_p^2$ = .55. That is, irrespective of gender, adolescents who have sought help in the past for a psychosocial problem (M = 307.13, SE = 9.16) had higher mean help-seeking intention scores compared to those who have not (M = 250.18, SE = 9.52). The main effect of gender was not significant, F(1, 15) = 4.96, p = .492, ${\eta }_p^2$ = .03, and the interaction between gender and past help-seeking behaviour was not significant, F(1, 15) = 3.74, p = .07, ${\eta }_p^2$ = .20.

Discussion

The present study investigated gender differences in adolescents’ help-seeking behaviours and intentions for psychosocial problems in LOAs. Findings from the study indicate that there were gender differences in adolescents’ help-seeking behaviours but no gender differences in adolescents’ help-seeking intentions.

Gender differences in help-seeking behaviours

It was hypothesised that more female adolescents would demonstrate help-seeking behaviours for psychosocial problems in LOAs compared to male adolescents. More specifically, it was hypothesised that, compared to male adolescents, more female adolescents would seek help for a psychosocial problem and be observed to have experienced a psychosocial problem. This hypothesis was partially supported. More female adolescents sought help for a psychosocial problem in LOAs compared to male adolescents, but more male adolescents were observed to have experienced a psychosocial problem compared to female adolescents.

The finding that more female adolescents sought help for a psychosocial problem compared to male adolescents is consistent with previous help-seeking research (e.g. Bosco et al., 2020; De Luca et al., 2019). This result suggests that females are more willing and feel more comfortable disclosing their psychosocial problems to others compared to males. On the contrary, the finding that more male adolescents were observed to have experienced a psychosocial problem compared to female adolescents is inconsistent with previous help-seeking research. Existing literature suggests that females display emotions more often than males (e.g. Fischer & LaFrance, 2015; Jellesma & Vingerhoets, 2012; Polce-Lynch et al., 1998). For example, the study by Jellesma and Vingerhoets (2012) reported that girls (aged 9–13 years) had a greater crying frequency and crying proneness compared to boys and that their emotional display was positively associated with seeking help. However, this gender difference may vary whether the emotional display was an internalising emotion (e.g. sadness, anxiety) or an externalising emotion (e.g. anger). Male adolescents may communicate their psychosocial problems through externalising emotions or ‘acting out’ (e.g. fighting with others) while female adolescents may communicate their psychosocial problems through internalising emotions (e.g. crying) or by disclosing their problems to others more directly (e.g. Branney & White, 2008; Kantor, 2007; Kilmartin, 2005). Thus, findings from the present study suggest that male adolescents may acknowledge the need for help to address psychosocial problems in LOAs at a similar rate to female adolescents, but the manner in which they communicate the need for help differs. LOA practitioners may benefit from training to understand and identify gender-specific expressions for psychosocial problems. Such training could help reduce the severity of psychosocial incidents, which may assist in preventing subsequent, related incidents in LOAs, including injuries.

Gender differences in help-seeking intentions

It was hypothesised that female adolescents would demonstrate greater help-seeking intentions for psychosocial problems in LOAs than male adolescents. Results from the present study did not support this hypothesis. There were no gender differences in help-seeking intentions. This finding is inconsistent with the gender differences in help-seeking intentions well-evidenced in previous studies (Eritsyan et al., 2021; Yap et al., 2012).

The lack of gender differences in help-seeking intentions may be attributed to a general increase in mental health literacy and awareness among adolescents. In the last few years, there have been substantial efforts in increasing mental health literacy and awareness in Australia. For example, mental health campaigns and initiatives to increase help-seeking in the general community (e.g. Head to Health), and in males more specifically (e.g. Healthy Male, MensLine Australia) have been introduced. Tailored programs to increase mental health literacy and help-seeking have also been implemented in schools (e.g. Perry et al., 2014). Although gender differences in mental health literacy have been reported in the literature, there has been minimal to no evaluation of mental health literacy and awareness programs, in particular among male and female adolescents, in recent years. Nevertheless, these programs may have affected the help-seeking intentions of male adolescents, such that they are more willing and have greater intentions to seek help for psychosocial problems than they were previously. Evidently, more research is necessary to better understand mental health literacy and awareness of adolescents.

Another finding in the present study was that adolescents who self-reported to have sought help in the past had greater help-seeking intentions compared to those who have not. This finding did not differ by gender. Previous studies had found past help-seeking behaviour positively associated with one’s intention to seek help in the future, but only when the past help-seeking experience was positive (Rickwood et al., 2007). In the present study, the only information collected on past help-seeking experiences was whether the adolescent had or had not sought help in LOAs in the past. No information was collected on the nature of these past experiences.

Help-seeking behaviours versus help-seeking intentions

In the present study, there were gender differences in adolescents’ help-seeking behaviours for psychosocial problems in LOAs but no gender differences in their help-seeking intentions. Dominant social cognitive theories have suggested a close relationship between intentions and behaviour (e.g. Ajzen & Fishbein, 1980; Fishbein & Ajzen, 1975; Hammer & Vogel, 2013). For example, one’s intention to perform a behaviour (e.g. intending to seek help for a psychosocial problem) strongly influences whether one performs a behaviour (e.g. seek help for a psychosocial problem). Based on this notion, gender differences in adolescents’ help-seeking intentions should be observed, since there were gender differences in adolescents’ help-seeking behaviours in this study.

While this intention-behaviour relationship is generally supported, studies have reported an intention-behaviour gap, which is when one intends to perform a behaviour but does not (Sheeran & Webb, 2016). Intentions do not always result in behaviour (Sheeran & Webb, 2016). Previous research has suggested that the size of the intention-behaviour gap is quite large (e.g. Rhodes & de Bruijn, 2013; Sheeran & Webb, 2016), with intention only predicting 30–40% of the behaviour being performed (Faries, 2016). The intention-behaviour gap in this study may be more apparent in male adolescents compared to female adolescents. That is to say that male adolescents’ intentions to seek help may not be any different from female adolescents’ intentions, but the barriers to help-seeking may be greater and more difficult for male adolescents to overcome (when compared to female adolescents), reducing the likelihood of them seeking help. Understanding the gender-specific barriers that prevent help-seeking behaviour is needed to support adolescents in seeking help. Additionally, the implementation of strategies (e.g. ‘if-then’ plans or progress monitoring interventions) can reduce the intention-behaviour gap (e.g. Sheeran & Webb, 2016). Utilising strategies such as these within the LOA setting could be beneficial in closing the intention-behaviour gap and assisting more adolescents (particularly male adolescents) to seek help.

Strengths and potential limitations

There are several strengths and limitations of note in the present study.

A strength of the present study is the use and analysis of secondary data from UPLOADS. While the psychosocial incident data was not collected for the purposes of this study (i.e. to investigate help-seeking behaviours), this data allowed the analysis of adolescents’ help-seeking behaviours in a naturalistic LOA setting. Additionally, the large number of LOA organisations across Australia participating in the UPLOADS project meant that there was a large number of psychosocial incidents and that these incidents reported were from LOAs across Australia. Thus, it can be argued that the findings from Phase 1 are generalisable to adolescents participating in Australian LOAs.

Another strength of the present study is the development and administration of the Help-seeking Intentions Questionnaire. This questionnaire was developed in line with a comprehensive help-seeking intention construct and framework proposed by White et al. (2018) and included the assessment of the facets making up the help-seeking intention construct. Not all the facets have been measured in previous studies (see White et al., 2018). Additionally, this questionnaire included items from well-established, validated measures (see Supplementary Materials). A preliminary assessment of the questionnaire demonstrated a high internal consistency in this sample, but given that the questionnaire is newly developed, a thorough psychometric validation should be conducted prior to future use.

A limitation of the present study is the small sample size in Phase 2, which limited the statistical analyses. Despite significant efforts to recruit adolescents from multiple avenues (e.g. through LOA organisations, schools, social media platforms), the present study faced recruitment challenges. These challenges are not unique to the present study (see also Lamb et al., 2001). Because of their age, adolescents are often recruited through a third party (e.g. LOA organisations, schools) and this comes with complex levels of administration and an extended period to navigate this process. Additionally, in the case of the present study, adolescents were not targeted directly, but rather their parents or carers. This means that the study had to engage the interest of the parents or caregivers. These recruitment challenges may have contributed to the low participation of adolescents in the present study. Better-practice approaches to improve research recruitment, engagement, and retention of adolescents would progress research in this area. Additionally, researchers could consider the use of different research methodologies, such as qualitative research methods (e.g. interviews) or mixed-methods research methods (e.g. a survey followed by interviews) to overcome issues relating to smaller sample sizes. Nevertheless, the small sample size in the present study is a limitation, as such the results should be interpreted with caution and future research should attempt to replicate the findings.

Conclusion

The present study extends research on adolescent help-seeking, by being the first study to have investigated gender differences in adolescents’ help-seeking behaviours and intentions for psychosocial problems in LOAs. Findings from this study indicate that there are gender differences in adolescents’ help-seeking behaviour for psychosocial problems in LOAs but no gender differences in adolescents’ help-seeking intentions. For future help-seeking research, it may be beneficial to explore adolescents’ help-seeking behaviours and intentions in specific settings rather than general settings. For the LOA sector, it would be beneficial to consider the implementation of gender-appropriate strategies, such as strategies to assist male adolescents on how to recognise and communicate their need for help or the use of help-seeking role models who are male. The LOA sector should also consider implementing LOA practitioner training, such as training to help LOA practitioners identify adolescents who may be experiencing psychosocial problems and manage psychosocial incidents in a safe and appropriate manner.

Disclosure statement

No potential conflict of interest was reported by the author(s).

Supplementary material

Supplemental data for this article can be accessed online at https://doi.org/10.1080/14729679.2024.2353171

Additional information

Funding

This research project was supported by the Australian Research Council LP150100287.

Notes on contributors

Jolene A. Cox

Jolene A. Cox is a Research Fellow at the Centre for Human Factors and Sociotechnical Systems (CHFSTS), University of the Sunshine Coast, Australia. She received a Doctor of Philosophy degree from the Australian National University, Australia.

Melissa M. Trapp

Melissa M. Trapp was an undergraduate student researcher at the CHFSTS. She received a Bachelor of Psychology (Honours) degree from the University of the Sunshine Coast.

Scott McLean

Scott McLean is a Senior Research Fellow and the research theme leader for Sport and Outdoor Recreation at the CHFSTS. He received a Doctor of Philosophy degree from the University of the Sunshine Coast.