Editors’ Introduction and Acknowledgements

Abstract: While research on summer camps has generally supported the benefits of organized camping for youth, increasing pressure exists for camps to document outcomes to stakeholders and to base their practices on evidence. This paper discusses the theoretical and empirical development of two measures relevant to these needs: Problem Solving Confidence and Camp Connectedness. The process of scale development included reviewing conceptual and theoretical literature as it related to camp settings. Items based on the relevant content domains were then generated, reviewed by experts, and pilot tested with 557 campers. Evidence from this pilot study suggests that both measures may be reliable and valid measures of their respective constructs. Implications for use and ties to the extant literature are discussed.