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Just a note, it appears this was conducted in the UK which doesn't have a bear population, and barely has a raccoon population.
Most states in the US have no bears. Even California, which has a Grizzly on their state flag, has the joke "There is one more bear on the state flag that there is in the state of California"
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More details on the study from NewScientist [1] They analysed data from a long-running study of almost 10,000 people across the UK who were born in November 1958. They found that 28 per cent of the study’s participants had been involved in the Scouts or Guides, and that these were 15 per cent less likely to suffer from anxiety or mood disorders at the age of 50 than their peers who didn’t join. Scouts or Guides were…
There is a selection bias issue here. E.g. if there were some underling genetic disorder that causes anxiety, then that person is less likely to join a group.
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This is almost certainly the case. Being a scout/guide strongly correlates with parental income in the US at least – I don't know how it is in the UK. But if that is true, the headline might as well be "Being rich provides a mental health boost for life".
My scouts (was Scoutmaster for 20 years) definitely did not fit the 'rich kid' profile. Farm kids, rural community, parents working 2 jobs or driving a truck. We went to mountains, deserts, rivers and lakes. We swam in a lake on an island in a lake. We canoed, hiked, camped, cooked, woodworked, laughed and ran. Our Troop tried to keep event costs down to around $15, so everybody could participate. Succeeded for the m…
I do feel bad for the other troops in our area though, I know at least 2 folded while we were going strong, one got kicked out of the district cause the BSA hates gay scoutmasters, and the other had no place to meet and severe funding issues. Running a troop requires a ton of parental involvement and effort, and outside the Mormons most troops are dying in the US.
It is really quite sad, but I get why. None of the gay guys in my troop could participate in leadership due to the BSA's policies at the time, and in a small troop that is lethal, you need every warm body that is willing to do the fundraising, planning, organizing, paperwork, etc. and they are few and far between
It might be one of the cases where correlation doesn't imply causation. For an objective study, we would need to assign children to groups randomly. Otherwise, we can miss various obscure selection effects. (For example, if children who are more likely to be scouts, are also likely to be from a particular socioeconomic background).
This is almost certainly the case. Being a scout/guide strongly correlates with parental income in the US at least – I don't know how it is in the UK. But if that is true, the headline might as well be "Being rich provides a mental health boost for life".
Earlier quoted context omitted.
This is almost certainly the case. Being a scout/guide strongly correlates with parental income in the US at least – I don't know how it is in the UK. But if that is true, the headline might as well be "Being rich provides a mental health boost for life".
My scouts (was Scoutmaster for 20 years) definitely did not fit the 'rich kid' profile. Farm kids, rural community, parents working 2 jobs or driving a truck. We went to mountains, deserts, rivers and lakes. We swam in a lake on an island in a lake. We canoed, hiked, camped, cooked, woodworked, laughed and ran. Our Troop tried to keep event costs down to around $15, so everybody could participate. Succeeded for the m…
Stuff like "farm community....2 jobs" tends to obscure actual family income. Do you know what income percentile they were in?
> driving a truck
The median annual wage for a trucker in the US is $73,000.
This is not to doubt your comment -- just to put it in some perspective. Until you compare it to the whole country, you might just be saying that they were at the upper end of the middle class, but just didn't fit an idealized profile of a rich person that you have mentally imbibed.
There's something about getting a bunch of guys out in the forest that brings out the worst in us I suppose. People who I would otherwise assume to be nice talking about ethnic cleansing positively.
It's a strange, macho environment that I didn't expect after such a fun time in the states...
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> I don't know where you live, but in certain places failing to pay your bills means you end up in the cold rain with nothing to eat. That's still not the same as dying. There are homeless people who still manage to get by for years on, despite having no means whatsoever.
Which brings us to the end of the thought process: different people (are equipped to?) perceive situations differently & react differently. If the scouts prepared me to not be afraid of being thrown out of my home, or the army gave me the means to survive in life threatening situations, I think it's an even greater sign of character, or maybe just discipline and maturity, to recognise serious situations which aren't…
Many other people would not make it long term in such a situation, and I'm not trying to imply it'd be an enjoyable life, but I do wish more people had skills to survive the environment just outside their homes.
I recently heard some advice from foreign students in the Netherlands, to not mention ones time in the scouts to Dutch co-students. Apparently it's looked down upon enough that it's best to keep it quiet, especially if you're trying to get a room in a house rented by students. Can a Dutch person comment on this? Is this true, and if so, why?
Dutch scout here, I've been a scout since I was 7 and I'm now 28 and a cub scout leader (kids aged 7-11). Being in scouting can be perceived (in NL at least) as for nerds/geeks or 'corny' (don't know what is a good translation for the Dutch 'oubollig') Especially when the kids hit puberty (the scouts/guides age), this negative image thing among school peers can be a reason for kids to quit. When I was that age, I did…
I remember more details: this was about the 'instemming' (in Delft), a sort of interview you need to go through to get a room. So I suppose being uncool could be a factor there.
It might be one of the cases where correlation doesn't imply causation. For an objective study, we would need to assign children to groups randomly. Otherwise, we can miss various obscure selection effects. (For example, if children who are more likely to be scouts, are also likely to be from a particular socioeconomic background).
Not only from a socioeconomic point of view, but I would guess that having parents who are involved enough in a child's life to pay for, drive to, and participate in these types of activities is more likely to be a source of a "mental health boost"