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. 2022 Oct 27;17(10):e0276665.
doi: 10.1371/journal.pone.0276665. eCollection 2022.

The effects of Swiss summer camp on the development of socio-emotional abilities in children

Yves Gerber  1 , Edouard Gentaz  2 , Jennifer Malsert  2   3
Affiliations

The effects of Swiss summer camp on the development of socio-emotional abilities in children

Yves Gerber et al. PLoS One. .

Abstract

This quasi-experimental research explores the relationship between participation in two-week summer camps and changes in children's altruism and self-esteem. Data were collected from 256 children aged 6 to 16 years. A self-reported altruism scale, a self-evaluation questionnaire and a temperament measure (EAS) were administered on two occasions either two weeks apart during the summer holidays or in class before and after the autumn holidays. The responses of 145 children attending summer camps were compared with those of 111 pupils. A significant increase in the altruism score was found between the pre-test and post-test in the camp condition, but no change in the children's self-esteem was found with the entire sample. Exploratory analyses suggest variables that may be associated with more favourable participation in summer camps; certain dimensions of temperament are among them, as well as factors related to the camps themselves. Differences in the increase of altruism and self-esteem scores in summer camp were observed according to the identified child profiles. The limitations of this work are highlighted before proposing perspectives for future research.

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Conflict of interest statement

The authors have declared that no competing interests exist.

Figures

Fig 1
Fig 1. Altruism (A) and self-esteem (B) scores with standard error for pre-test and post-test in the camp and control conditions.
Fig 2
Fig 2. Variables importance plot for altruism gain score in the camp condition.
Fig 3
Fig 3. Variables importance plot for self-esteem gain score in the camp condition.
See this image and copyright information in PMC

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