Homesickness: dispelling the myths - camps

Camping Magazine, March-April, 1995 by Myra Pravda

* "I like camp but I want to go home."

* "Can I call home? My mom told me to call her if I felt this way."

* "I miss my mom, dad and sister."

* "My stomach hurts, I want my mom."

Sound familiar? The above statements are heard quite often by camp directors, camp staff, and camp nurses. Homesickness is continually addressed with every new camp season, but not fully understood. What are some of the concepts regarding homesickness and separation anxiety? What can camp directors and camp staff do to prevent and minimize homesickness in campers?

What is homesickness?

Homesickness, as defined by Merriam-Webster, is a "longing for home and family while absent from them." For many children, camp is the first and the longest time they will be away from home. Separation from parents has been called one of the strongest fears in childhood. Children show decreasing sensitivity to separation stressors as they grow older, suggesting that the changes in separation anxiety are developmental in nature. A study by Halpern suggests that separation anxiety remains a concern even for the 11-year-old child, though not always overtly expressed.

Baler and Welch analyzed the concept of homesickness. They developed a list of criteria considered necessary in individuals experiencing homesickness. The criteria are:

* Homesickness happens universally to all age groups under conditions of being away from home.

* Homesickness frequently is not acknowledged nor are the feelings processed intrapersonally.

* Children who are homesick are generally encouraged to suppress their feelings.

* In adults and older children, homesickness is sometimes experienced with embarrassment or denial.

* Homesickness is a pervasive feeling of sadness and thoughts of the place left.

* Somatic complaints may accompany the longing for home or family.

Axmear and Erceg used the above criteria to analyze homesick campers. They validated that homesickness appears within all age groups and in both genders. They found that campers processed feelings intra-personally by saying they were "homesick," which does not support Baler and Welch criteria. They also discovered that campers' feelings of sadness were much more prevalent than thoughts of the place left. This sadness was exhibited by crying and sad facial expressions.

Winland-Brown and Maheady surveyed camp nurses to begin to define the physical and behavioral characteristics of homesick campers. Physical symptoms were stomach ache/nausea; headache; minor aches and pains; chronic, vague complaints; poor appetite; sleep disturbance; and sore throat. The behaviors exhibited were talking about home all the time; not wanting to eat; crying; depression (quiet, withdrawn, listless); sad facial expressions; attention-seeking behavior (acting out, abusive, fighting); frequent visits to health center; and unwillingness to participate in camp activities.

Developmentally appropriate

To better understand homesickness and provide a framework for developing effective interventions, we need to begin to think of homesickness as developmentally appropriate for children. Learning to cope with the perceivable stress of separation from family/home is a part of growing and developing into a more independent individual.

Children who learn to cope with situations or events that are potentially stressful, such as going to camp, gain a feeling of mastery over themselves and their environment. This brings to children the realization that a difficult problem or task has been solved or accomplished and that they will be able to do so again. This process continues throughout their lives. Studies by Fisher et al. suggest that about 60 - 70% of students report homesickness in their first weeks at college.

It is not the separation experience itself that activates a crisis, but the interpretation of it by the child. One method of helping a child cope with stress is stress-immunization.

Stress-immunization employs a variety of intervention techniques aimed at early preparation of a potentially stressful event. One technique is for a child to gain knowledge and understanding of the situation. Another involves the parents. As parents gain information and become more knowledgeable about what occurs, they feel more competent as well.

Make separation less stressful

Separating from home/family and adjusting to the camp experience is part of going to camp. It happens every summer. Campers and staff adapt to the new situation based on their past experiences with separation. Some adapt easier than others. Those campers who have never been away from home by themselves may take longer to adjust than those who are veteran campers. Even campers who have been to camp for many years need a few days to adjust to having a new bunk, new staff, and new campers. Everyone at camp experiences this in some way.

Separation can be less stressful when you:

* Prepare the child and parents for the camp experience.

* Educate staff about homesickness.

* Develop a plan for the child who has adjustment problems.