what contributes to camper retention, satisfaction, and word-of-mouth marketing based on parent perceptions. For example, if a camp is struggling with retention rates, a good starting point is to examine activities, counselors, directors, and camp community. If word-of-mouth marketing is lagging, directors should review counselors, directors, safety, and activities. Every camp will differ in terms of what may need to change in each area, and directors will have to engage various stakeholders in defining specific challenges. The findings in this study, though, provide a place to begin. In identifying eight dimensions of the camp experience, future research can pinpoint relationships involving each dimension. At the camper level of analysis, researchers could examine which dimensions predict youth developmental outcomes such as responsibility, independence, and friendship skills (American Camp Association, 2011b). At the camp level of analysis, camp dimensions could be analyzed as predictors of year-to-year revenue changes or actual retention. Author’s Note: I would like to thank the following organizations and personnel who helped make this research possible. Thank you for being a part of this process and for being dedicated to furthering our understanding of the summer camp industry: YMCA of Delaware — Camp Tockwogh, Maryland — Bryan Wallace and Alex Flaxenburg; Camp Speers- Eljabar YMCA, Pennsylvania — Cherie Hammond; Merrimack Valley YMCA — Camp Lawrence and Camp Nokomis, New Hampshire — Tim Chatfield and Claudia Soo Hoo; Camp Choconut, Pennsylvania — Fred Lorber and Billy Table; Van Buren Youth Camp, Michigan — Jason Groth. References American Camp Association. (2013). Fall 2012 camper enrollment survey. Retrieved from www.ACAcamps.org/research/improve/ enrollment-recruitment-survey American Camp Association. (2011a). The healthy camp study impact report: Promoting health and wellness among youth and staff through a systematic surveillance process in day and resident camps. Retrieved from www.ACAcamps.org/ sites/default/files/images/education/ HealthyCampStudyImpactReport.pdf Table 3. Regression Analysis of Camp Dimensions Predicting Retention Predictor b β t p Constant -.38 -3.84 < .001 Activities .43 .27 5.71 < .001 Counselors .24 .15 2.98 < .01 Directors .21 .13 2.53 < .05 Community .21 .12 2.29 < .05 Income -.01 -.08 -1.91 .056 # Summers .02 .08 1.68 .095 Safety .13 .08 1.43 .155 Grade .01 .07 1.36 .176 Friends .07 .05 1.07 .287 Food .06 .05 1.05 .293 Facilities -.02 -.02 -0.37 .712 Session Length -.00 -.02 -0.36 .717 Note. Predictors are arranged according to beta weight. Model summary. F(12, 403) = 24.33, p < .001, R2 = .42, R2 adj = .40. Table 4. Regression Analysis of Camp Dimensions Predicting Word-of-Mouth Predictor b β t p Constant -.54 -5.81 < .001 Activities .42 .26 5.85 < .001 Directors .26 .16 3.30 < .01 Safety .24 .14 2.82 < .01 Counselors .21 .14 2.78 < .01 Grade .02 .13 2.68 <.01 Income -.01 -.08 -2.03 <.05 Community .14 .08 1.69 .092 Food .09 .07 1.65 .099 Facilities .09 .07 1.54 .125 Session Length -.00 -.01 -0.31 .757 # Summers .00 .01 0.28 .778 Friends .01 .00 0.09 .929 Note. Predictors are arranged according to beta weight. Model summary. F(12, 403) = 31.18, p < .001, R2 = .48, R2 12 CAMPING magazine • November/December 2013 adj = .47. Research continued from page 10
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