Gender Differences in Psychological Outcomes Following Surf Therapy Sessions among U.S. Service Members
Open accessAbstract
Surf therapy is increasingly being used as an intervention to address various health problems, including psychological symptoms. Although recent research supports the positive impact of surf therapy on psychological outcomes, it is unclear whether these outcomes differ between men and women. This study compared changes in depression/anxiety (Patient Health Questionnaire-4), positive affect (Positive and Negative Affect Schedule), and pain (Numerical Pain Rating Scale) between U.S. service men and women (N = 74) during six weekly surf therapy sessions. Overall, participants reported decreased depression/anxiety (p < 0.001) and increased positive affect (p < 0.001), but no change in pain rating following each session (p = 0.141). Significant gender differences were found in the magnitude of changes in depression/anxiety (B = −1.01, p = 0.008) and positive affect (B = 4.53, p < 0.001) during surf sessions, despite no differences in pre-session scores on either outcome. Women showed greater improvements in depression/anxiety and positive affect compared with men—an important finding, given that surfing and military environments are often socially dominated by men. Future research is needed to replicate these findings in other samples, extend this research to other underrepresented populations, and identify barriers and facilitators of the sustainable implementation of surf therapy across populations.
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Female and male military service members and veterans demonstrate respite from PTSD symptoms utilizing surf therapy, including decreased depression and anxiety, as well as increased positive affect.
“Female and male military service members and veterans demonstrate respite from (PTSD) symptoms utilizing surf therapy, including decreased depression and anxiety, as well as increased positive affect.”
From The Groundswell Community Surf Therapy Intervention for At-Risk Women and Changes in Body Acceptance, Resilience, and Emotional Regulation (2024) · cites this paper as [27]
The Discussion (page not provided) reports that both male and female service members had decreased depression/anxiety and increased positive affect during surf therapy sessions. The Introduction reports PTSD improvements among some service members and veterans, but does not establish PTSD improvement for both genders or the full set of outcomes for veterans. This study’s own session measures did not assess PTSD symptoms. (LLM, conf=0.85)
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- Authors
- Glassman, L. H., Otis, N. P., Michalewicz-Kragh, B., & Walter, K. H.
- Affiliations
- Naval Health Research Center (US)
- Naval Medical Center San Diego (US)
- Corresponding author
- Walter, Kristen H.
- Venue
- International Journal of Environmental Research and Public Health
- Publisher
- MDPI AG
- Published
- 2021-04-27
- Volume
- 18
- Issue
- 9
- Pages
- 4634
- ISSN
- 1660-4601 (ISSN-L)
- PMC
- PMC8123814
- OpenAlex
- W3158050556
- Cited by
- 18
- References
- 42
- Citations by year
- 2026: 2 · 2025: 3 · 2024: 7 · 2023: 3 · 2022: 2 · 2021: 1
- FWCI
- 3.18
- Type
- journal article
- Language
- en
- Open access
- gold
- doi.org
- Licence
- Locations
- International Journal of Environmental Research and Public Health (publishedVersion, cc-by)
- PubMed Central (publishedVersion, cc-by)
- PubMed (publishedVersion)
- RePEc: Research Papers in Economics (submittedVersion)
- DOAJ (DOAJ: Directory of Open Access Journals) (submittedVersion, cc-by-sa)
- Funders
- U.S. Navy Bureau of Medicine (Work unit no. N1600)
- Topics
- Social Sciences › Psychology › Social Psychology › Adventure Sports and Sensation Seeking
- Social Sciences › Psychology › Social Psychology › Outdoor and Experiential Education
- Social Sciences › Arts and Humanities › Conservation › Art Therapy and Mental Health
- Keywords
- surf therapy, gender differences, military personnel, depression, anxiety, positive affect, pain, psychological outcomes, aquatic therapy, implementation barriers and facilitators
- MeSH terms
- Anxiety, Depression, Female, Humans, Male, Pain, Sex Characteristics, Sex Factors, Sports
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