Homesickness and adjustment in university students.

The transition to college or university can be an exciting new experience for many young adults. For some, intense homesickness can make this move difficult, even unsustainable. Homesickness--defined as the distress or impairment caused by an actual or anticipated separation from home--carries the unique hallmark of preoccupying thoughts of home and attachment objects. Sufferers typically report depression and anxiety, withdrawn behavior, and difficulty focusing on topics unrelated to home. For domestic and international university students, intense homesickness is particularly problematic. It can exacerbate preexisting mood and anxiety disorders, precipitate new mental and physical health problems, and sometimes lead to withdrawal from school. New research, consolidated here for the first time, points to promising prevention and treatment strategies for homesick students, the result of which can be a healthy, gratifying, and productive educational experience.

Camp selection and the role of health care providers.

The selection of a summer camp that best matches a child's interests, abilities, and developmental level is essential. This article provides information to assist families in their consideration of camp type, location, length of stay, gender composition, and structure. It also outlines the way that health care providers can assist families in selecting the most appropriate camp for their child.

Preventing and treating homesickness.

Homesickness is a normative pathology that ranges from benign to severe. It is defined as the distress or impairment caused by an actual or anticipated separation from home and attachment objects. Symptoms of homesickness, including preoccupying thoughts of home, can be predicted, prevented, and treated. This article summarizes the latest clinical research and practice surrounding homesickness in children and adolescents. Equipped with this knowledge, health care providers can train and consult with summer camp directors and staff to properly prepare and treat new and returning campers.

Preventing and treating homesickness.

Homesickness is the distress and functional impairment caused by an actual or anticipated separation from home and attachment objects such as parents. It is characterized by acute longing and preoccupying thoughts of home. Almost all children, adolescents, and adults experience some degree of homesickness when they are apart from familiar people and environments. Pediatricians and other health care professionals are in a unique position to assist families in understanding the etiology, prevention, and treatment of homesickness. In the case of planned separations, such as summer camp, techniques are provided that may aid in prevention. In the case of unanticipated or traumatic separations, such as hospitalization, effective treatment strategies are available.

Youth Development Outcomes of the Camp Experience: Evidence for Multidimensional Growth.

Three thousand, three hundred and ninety-five families, whose child attended one of 80 different day or resident summer camps for at least one week, completed customized questionnaires that measured growth from precamp to postcamp in four domains: Positive Identity, Social Skills, Physical & Thinking Skills, and Positive Values & Spirituality. Parents, children, and camp staff reported significant positive change in these four domains; more than would be expected by maturation alone. Most gains were maintained or showed additional growth six months later. Few of the camp's structural elements correlated with growth, nor did striking gender, age, or ethnicity differences emerge. The study highlights the particular strengths of camp as an educational institution and social movement and suggests that different variations of summer camp can provide potent developmental experiences.

Multimodal homesickness prevention in boys spending 2 weeks at a residential summer camp.

Homesickness is the distress or impairment caused by an actual or anticipated separation from home. It is characterized by preoccupying thoughts of home and attachment objects. In its severe form, homesickness is subjectively distressing and has clinically significant cognitive, emotional, and behavioral sequelae. This study provided 75 boys who ranged in age from 8 to 16 years and who were 1st-year campers at an overnight summer camp with an inexpensive, multimodal homesickness prevention package. Results suggest that combining environmental information, psychoeducation, social support, explicit coping instruction, caregiver education, practice time away from home, and surrogate caregiver training can reduce homesickness and associated behavior problems. These data support the theory that novelty reduction, attitudinal shifts, preseparation coping enhancement, and supportive social environments diminish the negative emotional intensity of homesickness.