Relatedness for Youth With Disabilities Testing a Recreation Program Model

The purpose of this study was to test and assess the merits of a recreation program model designed to foster a sense of relatedness among youth with disabilities. This program model depicts the relationship between five program mechanisms (i.e., challenging experiences, peer role modeling, meaningful roles, learning new skills, meaningful roles, and informal social experiences with similar peers) and the program outcome relatedness. These program mechanisms were investigated in a camp and noncamp context for two samples: a sample of youth with disabilities (n=109) and a sample of youth with no self-identified disability (n=100). From these data, comparisons between camp and noncamp settings and between youth with and without disabilities were possible.