Analysis of constraints to sport and leisure participation—the case of Korean immigrants in Western Australia

Abstract

This study examines the degree of constraints to leisure and sport participation for Korean immigrants in Western Australia based on survey data. The study also analyses the determinants of constraints using multivariate regression. In general, personal constraints were better explained by socio-demographic factors than other types of constraints. Among socio-demographic variables, while some variables such as employment status, financial status and level of education were found to be significant in deciding the importance of more personal constraints, gender was found to be critical for the importance of structural or environmental constraints. Females were likely to recognise some constraints to be more binding than males. While the study provides interesting findings, it raises two important questions. First, it was found that overall participation in (active) leisure activities for Korean immigrants is very low, which might imply that they do not feel the constraints binding their participation. Second, regardless of the duration of residing in Australia, the leisure patterns of Korean immigrants were not significantly Australianised. This casts some questions about whether leisure participation can contribute to acculturation of immigrants.