Author(s): Isabel Palmer

Presentation: oral

Spending time in wilderness areas promotes a myriad of mental health benefits. A group of related benefits including increased empathy, self-growth, cooperative thinking, and conscientiousness are a part of a personality construct referred to as “Quiet Ego”, which can be measured using the Quiet Ego Scale (QES). The QES has not yet been studied in this context although Quiet Ego traits have been shown to strongly correlate with time spent in natural spaces. The present research used the QES scale to measure positive personality traits in relation to time spent in nature. I hypothesized that those who spend more time per month in wilderness settings (defined as a natural area free from man-made structures besides those in place for conservation) would score higher on the QES. In addition, a group of students who participated in a 6-day wilderness trip with the College of Idaho Outdoor Program was analyzed separately in order to examine the effect of short-term nature immersion on the development of Quiet Ego traits. Preliminary results have shown no relationship between Quiet Ego traits and time spent in wilderness areas. However, further research in this area would help promote the use of natural settings for increasing mental health.

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