The ACA Research Forum is an opportunity for researchers and camp professionals to share and discuss new research related to campers, camp staff, camp programs, and a wide variety of other camp-related topics. Studies are blind, peer-reviewed, and accepted based on their relevance to the camp field and the rigor of their methods, and presented both orally and in a poster session each year at the ACA National Conference.
Submissions from 2018
Beyond Spirituality: Measuring Faith Outcomes At Religiously Affiliated Camps, Jacob Sorenson
Structuring Youth Experiences For Quality: Effect Of Theme, Personalization, Multisensory Appeal, And Memorabilia, Allen Taggart, Gary D. Ellis, Andrew Lacanienta, and Toby Lepley
Supporting Girls’ Resilience: One Camp At A Time, Anja Whittington and Jalisa Danhof
Examining The Role Of Summer Camps In Developing College And Career Readiness, Cait Wilson and Jim Sibthorp
Reliability And Validity Of The Digital Youth Outcomes Battery 2.0, Jay Woodward, Matthew Bowen, and Dorothy Pang
2019, Camp Research Forum Book of Abstracts, American Camp Association
Submissions from 2019
Medical Specialty Camps: Campers Perceptions Using The Aca Youth Outcomes Battery, Asiah Allen, Eddie Hill, Emmanuel Smith, and Ron Ramsing
How To Engage Staff In Data Analysis For Program Improvement, Marianne Bird, Jennifer Henkens, Kendra Lewis, and John Borba
A Survey Of Summer Camp Directors On Current Behavior Management Practices And Needs, Samantha A. Blair and Joseph A. Anistranski
Benefits Of Winter Adventure Camp For Military Dependent Youth With And Without Disabilities, Erin Brooks and Christopher Harrist
Exploring The Effects Of A Program-Specific Camp On Sense Of Community In University Undergraduate Students, Marisa Buchanan, Barb Hamilton-Hinch, and Karen Gallant
Positive Outcomes In Youth Campers With Hemophilia And Other Inherited Bleeding Disorders, Deniece Chevannes, Kim Williams, and Danielle Shojaie
Cit/Lit Program Prevalence And Characteristics In Residential Camp Settings, Calvin Crisler and Jeff Turner
“Unfreezing” Year-Round Programming: A Case Study Of Organizational Change In Summer Camps, Hannah Dabrowski and Mary Breunig
Sherwood Forest Book Club: Promoting Intrinsic Motivation For Life Long Learning, Megan Davis
“I Felt Like I Was In A Story”: Effect Of The Theme, Lived Experience Of Theme, And Activity On Quality Of Structured Experiences Of 4-H Campers, Gary Ellis, Jingxian Jiang, Andrew Lacanienta, John Mark Carroll, and Allen Taggart
When Overparenting Is Regular Parenting: The Relationship Between Child Disability And Overparenting, Ryan J. Gagnon and Barry A. Garst
Parental Anxiety Associated With Summer Camp: A Comparative Analysis Across Camp Staffing Models, Barry A. Garst, Ryan J. Gagnon, Lisa K. Olsen, and Megan L. Owens
Building Organizational Affinity: The Relationship Between Affinity For College And Youth Outcomes Within The Context Of University-Based Summer Camps, Barry A. Garst, Ryan J. Gagnon, Jay Woodward, and Matthew Bowen
Possibilities And Limitations Of Summer Camps To Address Summer Learning Loss: A Mixed Method Study, Ta-yang Hsieh
Mindful Reflection On Daily Structured Experiences: Evaluation Of A Strategy For Enhancing Learning At Residential Camps, Travel Camps, And Related Programs For Youth, Andrew Lacanienta, Billy Zanolini, Gary D. Ellis, Darlene Locke, and Dottie A. Goebel
Transformational Education Through Poverty Simulations: Camp Activities For Team Building And Empathy Development, Darlene Locke, Gary D. Ellis, Montza Williams, and Andrew Lacanienta
Autonomy, Competence, And Relatedness Among Residential Summer Camp Staff: Using Self Determination Theory To Understand The Relationship Between Basic Need Fulfillment And Staff Retention, Myles Lynch, Nate Trauntvein, Cindy Hartman, and Robert ‘Bob’ Barcelona
Creating Resilient Youth Through Triathlon: A College Campus Pilot Study, Taylor McIntosh, Kayla Cooper, Eddie Hill, Meg Duncan, and Duston Morris
Classification Of Camps Based The Levels Of Novelty When Strangers Come Together, To Do Strange Things, In A Strange Place, Lisa K-P Olsen
Using Mindfulness Exercises To Build Counselor Self-Awareness, Self- Management, And Responsible Decision-Making, Megan Owens and Amanda Wahle
Examining Adolescent Smartphone Use And Separation Anxiety At Residential Summer Camp, Victoria Povilaitis
College For Kids' 2018 Summer Camp: Improving Perceptions Of Science And Shaping Lifestyle Choices, Samuli M.O. Rauhalammi, Jamie C. Wolgast, Elissa F. Craig, and Theresa M. Radke
Employment Motivations And Barriers For Seasonal Summer Camp Staff, Dan Richmond, Jim Sibthorp, and Josh Cochran
Summer Camp As An Advantageous Setting For Long-Lasting Youth Development: A National Retrospective Study, Cait Wilson and Jim Sibthorp
2020, Camp Research Forum Book of Abstracts, American Camp Association
Submissions from 2021
2021, Camp Research Forum Book of Abstracts, American Camp Association
Submissions from 2022
2022, Camp Research Forum Book of Abstracts, American Camp Association
Submissions from 2023
2023, Camp Research Forum Book of Abstracts, American Camp Association
Submissions from 2024
2024, Camp Research Forum Book of Abstracts, American Camp Association
Submissions from 2025
Camp Research Forum Book of Abstracts - 2025, American Camp Association
Submissions from 2026
2026, ACA Camp Research Forum Book of Abstracts, American Camp Association
Bridging The Gap: Targeted Staff Training For Camps Serving Individuals With Disabilities, Bill Joe Averitt and Jo An Zimmerman-Somoza
Beyond Borders: An Exploration of Cultural Perceptions and Crossovers in Pediatric Therapeutic Recreation Camps in Japan and Vietnam, Isabel Nicole Bellon, Frank H. Netter, and Ann Gillard
Exploring Leisure Attitutdes, Work-Leisure Similarity, and Staff Resilience, Daniela Berry, C. Scott Shafer, and Daniel Pilgreen
Creating Space for Childhood: Camp as a Source of Play and Belonging for Youth from Families with Substance Disorders, Edmond P. Bowers, Theresa N. Melton, Brian J. Maus, and Tori A. Garcia
Validating the My View Youth Care and Engagement Scale for Pre-Camp Screening, Barry A. Garst, Alexandra Skrocki, John Hamilton, and Tracey Gaslin
How Campers with Profound Intellectual and Multiple Disabilities and Their Camp Counselors Attune During a Medical Specialty Camp, Jonathan Gerth
Assessing the Burden of Care for Parents Whose Children Attend Diabetes Camp, Eddie Hill, Justin Haegele, Xihe Zhu, Ron Ramsing, and Carla Cox
High Impact Service Learning: College Student Reflections on Out-of-School Programming for Youth with Type 1 Diabetes, Eddie Hill, Ron Ramsing, and Rowan Williams
From Forest Aversion to Pro-Environmental Attitudes and Behaviors: Impacts of a 3-Day Culturally Informed Camp, Candace Jones and Xiangyou Shen
Exploring the Conceptual Value of Different Program Models in SeriousFun Children's Network, Gemma Kiernan, Suzanne Guerin, Nina Meret Zumbrunn, Monika Hernek, and Ann Gillard
"Everyone Was Like Me": Summer Camp as an Affinity Group for Youth with Albinism, Maria Lepore-Stevens
What Keeps Counselors-in-Training on the Pathway to Camp Counselor: Examining Intention to Return and Identity at Culturally Responsive Camp, Lisa Meerts-Brandsma, Carly Knudson, Emily Millbrooks, Sasha Mader, Paul Estabrooks, Briston Posatko, and Miray Seward