Recreation Participation Research Articles

How Constraints to Campus Recreation Participation Differ Based on Activity Type, Gender, and Citizenship

The purpose of this study was to explore the differential effects of constraints on participation in three different types of campus recreation (i.e., intramural sports, drop-in sports, fitness center), and how constraints differ based on gender and citizenship. Data were collected from undergraduate students ( n = 344) using a questionnaire at a large university in Ontario, Canada and analyzed using logistic regression and Mann–Whitney U. Non-participation in intramurals was associated with not knowing how to get involved, drop-in sports with not knowing enough people to participate, and fitness center with feeling uncomfortable exercising in public. Women and men did not differ in the ten constraints measured in the study. International students were more constrained than domestic students by feeling as though the recreation facilities were inaccessible. Implications for practice are discussed.

The Effect of a Brief-Mindfulness Intervention on Psychophysiological Exertion and Flow-State Among Sedentary Adults.

Mindfulness-acceptance commitment interventions in sport and exercise contexts have been helpful to increasing a positive psycho-physiological state among competitive athletes and recreational exercise participants. In the current study, we sought to extend research in this area by identifying the effect of a brief-mindfulness intervention on psychophysiological functioning among healthy but sedentary young adults. Our mixed gender sample (n = 42) of inactive individuals performed a brief cycling task without training (control condition) followed by task completion with brief mindfulness training (15-minute audio engagement with mindfulness techniques and specific present moment 'anchors'). We found that participants self-reported more accurate ratings of perceived exertion (i.e., self-ratings better matched actual physiological indices of exertion) following the mindfulness intervention, suggesting that mindfulness techniques can increase bodily awareness. Better body awareness may be useful to helping sedentary participants appreciate physiological changes experienced through exercise. The mindfulness manipulation also increased participants' absorption into the activity, suggesting greater attentiveness to the exercise task with less distraction from irrelevant external and internal cues. In sum, mindfulness may be a complementary psychological training tool for inactive, sedentary young adults attempting to re-engage with exercise. We provide recommendations for future research.

‘It isn't my area.’ Coaches’ awareness of concussion protocols in Scottish youth football

This paper discusses an externally-funded project into Scottish coaches’ awareness of the sports concussion prevention initiative, If in Doubt, Sit Them Out. It explores the short-term risks of concussion to youth participants in particular before analysing the data from interviews with ten coaches of girls’ football. The coaches’ apparent lack of awareness of the policy are highlighted and the possibility that the different resources in girls’ and boys’ football, and between girls’ performance and girls’ recreational participation, might impact on injury recognition and treatment, are explored. The paper highlights the need for further research into those areas, and the need to immediately address the apparently low levels of awareness of If in Doubt. With that in mind, proposals for both immediate and longer-term reform for its dissemination are introduced.

A Typology of Esport Players

In recent years, esports have grown from a small number of local gaming activities undertaken by a few recreational participants to a multi-billion dollar industry with professional leagues, franchises, teams and players. While the industry has grown, our collective understanding of some of the most fundamental questions such as who plays esports and why, have received scant attention from academics. In an effort to further understand, profile and categorize players, the purpose of this research is to create a typology of esports players and to cross-validate previous research findings. Using hierarchical and k-clustering techniques, six psychographic factors (socialization, positive affect, competition, fantasy/escape, coping, pass/waste time) and additional demographic and behavioral characteristics are used to create a typology of esports players. Based on a large, diverse and international sample of respondents (n = 1165), five types of players, including (1) Competitive, (2) Casual, (3) Casual-Social, (4) Casual-Fun, and (5) Casual-Competitive esports players, are identified. In-depth examination and discussion of the five types of players are provided. The implications of this research suggest the importance of considering demographic, psychographic and behavioral characteristics when attempting to identify, understand and classify different types of esports players.

The importance of data structure and nonlinearities in estimating climate impacts on outdoor recreation

Credible empirical estimation of the economic impacts of climate change is dependent on data structure (e.g., cross sectional, panel) and the functional relationship between weather data and behavioral outcomes. We show here how these modeling decisions lead to significantly different results when estimating the effects of weather and simulating the potential welfare impacts of climate change on outdoor recreation. Using participation data from 1.6 million households in the United States from 2004 to 2009, we estimate the impact of temperature and precipitation on participation decisions for marine shoreline recreational fishing. Results from linear models suggest temperature positively impacts participation and, by implication, climate change is likely to improve welfare associated with outdoor recreation in all regions of our study area. Conversely, nonlinear specifications suggest more days with extreme heat reduce participation and lead to significant declines in welfare under future climate scenarios. Differences in the treatment of how weather enters recreation participation decisions change both the sign and magnitude of welfare effects by nearly $1 billion annually. Differences in data structure, however, only affect the magnitude of welfare impacts but not the sign. Disaggregation of welfare estimates suggests warmer baseline climates are more susceptible to these choices. Our results demonstrate the critical nature of modeling decisions about data structure and the use of weather data to assess the future impacts of climate change, especially with nonmarket goods where value is related to environmental quality such as outdoor recreation.

Physiological Response in a Specialist Paramedic During Helicopter Winch Rescue in Remote Wilderness and Extreme Heat.

Tasks performed by search and rescue (SAR) teams can be physically demanding. SAR organizations are faced with mounting challenges due to increased participation in recreation in remote locations and more frequent extreme weather. We sought to describe the physiological response and the methods for data collection during helicopter emergency medical service (HEMS) winch rescue from remote wilderness in extreme heat. A flight paramedic sustained 81% of maximum heart rate (VO₂ ~44.8 mL/kg/min) for ~10 minutes at a rate of perceived exertion of 19/20, and a relative heart rate of 77.5% in 37.1°C. Maximal acceptable work time for this task was calculated at 37.7 minutes. Our data collection methods were feasible, and the data captured demonstrated the level of physiological strain that may be encountered during HEMS SAR operations in austere environments and hot climate. It is essential that SAR teams that perform physically demanding tasks use a scientific approach to adapt and evolve. This is necessary to ensure personnel are appropriately selected, trained, and equipped to respond in an era of increasing demand and extreme environments.

Comparisons of leisure-time physical activity participation by adults with and without a disability: results of an Australian cross-sectional national survey

ObjectivesThe objective of this study was to describe and compare the amount and type of leisure-time physical activity, and motivations and barriers to participation among adults with and without a...

Measuring flow experience in recreational participants: Scale development and validation

The study aimed to develop a valid and reliable measurement tool for determining the recreational flow experience. For this purpose, an item pool consisting of 18 items was created. In line with expert opinions, items that were not suitable for the structure of the scale were removed from the scale. The 12-item form was first applied to 542 people (336 males and 206 females; age =23.39±3.44), who were selected by purposeful sampling method, in order to determine the scale structure and to create the items. Exploratory factor analysis was carried out with the data obtained through the SPSS 23.0 package program. As a result of the analysis, a single factor with 9 items was determined that explained 53.986% of the total variance. Then, in order to verify the validity of the scale, a questionnaire study was applied to a new group with a total of 150 people ( age =30.09±8.69), 108 men and 42 women. Confirmatory factor analysis was performed using the data obtained with the AMOS 23.0 package program. It was determined that the result of confirmatory factor analysis fit the model data well. When the results obtained in the evaluation of the measurement model were evaluated as a whole, the Recreational Flow Experience Scale (RFES) consisting of 9 items and a single factor was defined with sufficient validity and reliability. Finally, the theoretical and practical implications for the research were discussed.
 ​Extended English summary is in the end of Full Text PDF (TURKISH) file.
 Özet
 
 Bu çalışmanın amacı rekreasyonel akış deneyiminin belirlenmesine ilişkin geçerli ve güvenilir bir ölçüm aracı geliştirmektir. Bu amaçla 18 maddeden oluşan, bir madde havuzu oluşturulmuştur. Uzman görüşleri doğrultusunda ölçeğin yapısına uygun olmayan maddeler ölçekten çıkarılmıştır. Oluşturulan 12 maddelik formun ilk olarak ölçek yapısının belirlenmesi ve maddelerin oluşturulması amacıyla amaçsal örnekleme yöntemiyle seçilen 336 erkek, 206 kadın toplam 542 kişi ( yaş=23.39±3.44) üzerinde uygulanmıştır. Elde edilen verilerle SPSS 23.0 paket programı aracılığıyla açımlayıcı faktör analizi gerçekleştirilmiştir. Analiz sonucunda, toplam varyansın %53.986'sını açıklayan 9 maddeli tek faktör belirlenmiştir. Ardından ölçek geçerliliğin doğrulanması amacıyla 108 erkek, 42 kadın olmak üzere toplam 150 kişinin ( yaş=30.09±8.69) katılım sağladığı yeni bir gruba anket çalışması uygulanmıştır. Elde edilen verilerle AMOS 23.0 paket programı aracılığıyla doğrulayıcı faktör analizi gerçekleştirilmiştir. DFA sonucu model veriye iyi uyum sağladığı belirlenmiştir. Ölçüm modelinin değerlendirilmesinde elde edilen bulgular bir bütün halinde değerlendirildiğinde 9 madde ve tek faktörden oluşan Rekreasyonel Akış Deneyimi Ölçeği (RADÖ) yeterli geçerlik ve güvenirlik ile tanımlanmıştır. Son olarak araştırmaya ilişkin teorik ve pratik çıkarımlar tartışılmıştır.

Exploring Inclusion of College Students With IDD in Campus Recreation Through the Lens of Recreation Departments’ Organizational Level Stakeholders

Participation in recreation can produce health benefits for all college students and open pathways to inclusion for individuals with intellectual and/or developmental disabilities (IDD). Despite the growing number of college students with IDD on over 260 college campuses across the United States, there is a dearth of literature exploring their inclusion within campus recreation. This study examined how organizational culture of campus recreation departments and inclusive postsecondary education (IPSE) programs support and inhibit inclusion of college students with IDD. A constructivist qualitative case study design, which was instrumental and collective, was used with two universities in the Eastern Time Zone and one university in the Central Time Zone of the United States. A document review and individual interviews with administrative and frontline staff were conducted with each campus recreation department. An iterative and comparative process of analysis was utilized and included the use of poetic analysis. The results of this study revealed a critical need to assess and examine the inclusion of these students within campus life at large.

Low-impact hiking in natural areas: A study of nature park hikers' negative impacts and on-site leave-no-trace educational program in Taiwan

Outdoor recreation participation has increased over time and has led to environmental degradation. In Taiwan, significant increases in the number of hikers have resulted in negative effects on the natural forest environment. Therefore, this study aimed to determine the possible environmental impacts caused by hikers and to improve hikers' Leave-No-Trace (LNT) knowledge through an on-site educational program. This study adopted a two-stage approach. In the first stage, on-site observations, a questionnaire survey, and interviews were used to assess the impacts of hikers on the natural environment. Then, an LNT educational program was implemented and evaluated. The results indicate that hikers regard air quality and wild animal issues as the factors most affected by hiking. The results of the second stage revealed that the individual and total scores for the knowledge of the seven LNT principles significantly increased between the pretest and the post-test. Managerial implications and suggestions for future research are proposed on the basis of the obtained results.

How Has the COVID‐19 Pandemic Affected Outdoor Recreation in the U.S.? A Revealed Preference Approach

AbstractThis study examines the effects of the COVID‐19 pandemic on outdoor recreation trips and values using revealed preference data in the context of travel cost method. Demand models are estimated using data on pre‐ and postpandemic trips reported in a nationwide survey of recreation participants. The models incorporate related subjective risk perceptions as postpandemic measures of site quality and account for household‐level factors, pre‐existing conditions, and risk tolerance. Our results suggest that the pandemic had negative effects on recreation visits and values, with risk‐tolerant households and households with pre‐existing conditions taking more trips.

How has the COVID-19 Pandemic Affected Outdoor Recreation in the U.S.? A Revealed Preference Approach

This study examines the effects of the COVID-19 pandemic on outdoor recreation visits and values using a unique revealed preference travel cost method approach. Demand models are estimated using data on pre- and post-pandemic visits reported in a nationwide survey of outdoor recreation participants. The demand models incorporate visitors’ COVID-19 related subjective risk perceptions as a pre- and post-pandemic measure of site quality. Our results suggest that the COVID-19 pandemic has had negative effects on both recreation visits and values. We recommend that recreation site managers focus on innovative ways to reduce the COVID-19 related welfare losses measured in this study.

Hair Maintenance and Chemical Hair Product Usage as Barriers to Physical Activity in Childhood and Adulthood among African American Women.

Qualitative studies have identified haircare practices as important culturally specific barriers to physical activity (PA) among Black/African American (AA) women, but quantitative investigations are lacking. Using the Study of Environment, Lifestyle and Fibroids data among 1558 Black/AA women, we investigated associations between hair product usage/hair maintenance behaviors and PA during childhood and adulthood. Participants reported childhood and current chemical relaxer and leave-in conditioner use. Self-reported PA included childhood recreational sports participation, leisure-time PA engagement during adulthood, and, at each life stage, minutes of and intensity of PA. Adjusting for socioeconomic and health characteristics, we used Poisson regression with robust variance to estimate prevalence ratios (PRs) and 95% confidence intervals (CIs) for each PA measure for more vs. less frequent hair product use/hair maintenance. Thirty-four percent reported ≥twice/year chemical relaxer use and 22% reported ≥once/week leave-in conditioner use at age 10 years, and neither were associated with PA at age 10 years. In adulthood, ≥twice/year chemical relaxer users (30%) were less likely (PR = 0.90 [95% CI: 0.79–1.02]) and ≥once/week leave-in conditioner users (24%) were more likely (PR = 1.09 [95% CI: 0.99–1.20]) to report intense PA compared to counterparts reporting rarely/never use. Hair product use/maintenance may influence PA among Black/AA women and impact cardiometabolic health disparities.

The Case for Evidence-Based Outdoor Recreation Interventions for Girls: Helping Girls “Find Their Voice” in the Outdoors

Females’ participation in outdoor recreation is often limited for a variety of reasons including social gender norms, a lack of exposure, and fear. Research has uncovered a wide range of positive outcomes for those females who do participate ranging from enhanced self-esteem and confidence to improved body image, indicating the importance of opening the outdoors as a welcoming place for all to experience. Finding Your Voice is a recreation intervention created with the focus of introducing middle school girls to outdoor recreation to increase the participants’ self-efficacy and self-empowerment. Empirical research focusing on participant experiences has demonstrated promising results and the best practices from Finding Your Voice and the broader research on female empowerment in the outdoors are presented.

Epidemiology of Peripheral Nerve Injuries in Sports, Exercise, and Recreation in the United States, 2009 – 2018

ABSTRACT Objective To assess rates of peripheral nerve injuries (PNI) in sport, exercise, and recreational activities. Methods The National Electronic Injury Surveillance System (NEISS) was used to query nerve injuries presenting to emergency departments across the United States. Identified injuries were stratified to those with product codes associated with exercise, sports, or recreation. Injuries only to the upper and lower extremities were included as cranial and spinal cord injuries were excluded. PNI was analyzed by age, sex, sport/recreational activity, race, and evaluated for incidence rates by year and activity. Statistical significance was considered to be P < 0.05. Results Between 2009–2018, 551,612 patients presented with PNI from which 120,675 (21.9%) were associated with exercise, sports, or recreation. PNI significantly increased between 2009–2018 (p = 0.002) with an overall incidence rate of 36.9 (95% confidence interval: 28.6, 45.2) per 1,000,000 person-years. A majority of PNI occurred through exercise (n = 56,328, 46.7%). PNI peaked in the fourth and fifth decades in males and females, respectively, with males accounting for significantly more than females (incidence rate ratio: 1.52, 95% confidence interval: 1.18, 1.86; p < 0.0001). White patients had a majority of PNI at 49.3% though African-Americans carried the highest incidence rate at 30.4 (95% confidence interval: 23.8, 36.9) per 1,000,000 person-years. Football had the highest proportion of PNI until age 19 (17.3%) as exercise carried the highest proportion for those 20 and older ranging from 27.9% to 53.8% of PNI. Conclusion PNIs are rising with participation in exercise, sports, and recreation over this 10-year study period. Injuries predominantly occurred in football for those under 20 and exercise for those 20 and older. Precautions and appropriate training are necessary for individuals participating in high-intensity exercise, sports, or recreation to limit the risk of a devastating neurological injury.

Instructed versus spontaneous entrainment of running cadence to music tempo.

Matching exercise behavior to musical beats has been shown to favorably affect repetitive endurance tasks. In this study, our aim was to explore the role of spontaneous versus instructed entrainment, focusing on self‐paced exercise of healthy, recreational runners. For three 4‐min running tasks, 33 recreational participants were either running in silence or with music; when running with music, either no instructions were given to entrain to the music, or participants were instructed to match their running cadence with the tempo of the music. The results indicated that less entrainment occurred when no instruction to match the exercise with the musical tempo was provided. In addition, similar to the condition without music, lower speeds and shorter step lengths were observed when runners were instructed to match their running behavior to the musical tempo when compared with the condition without such instruction. Our findings demonstrate the impact of instruction on running performance and stress the importance of intention to entrain running behavior to musical beats.

Public Parks and Sno-Parks Help Diverse Populations in California’s Central Valley Negotiate Constraints to Winter Recreation

As current racial and ethnic minority groups make up increasingly larger percentages of the U.S. population, recreation managers seek to understand their recreational needs and preferences. One area has received little attention: the winter recreation participation of non-White individuals (especially Latinxs). In this study, we sought to (1) examine demographic differences in constraints to visiting a conventional winter recreation destination, China Peak Mountain Resort (CPMR); and (2) explore winter recreation site use among demographically diverse populations in various types of public parks around CPMR in Fresno County, CA, including sno-parks (sites that provide snow-cleared parking lots with sanitation facilities and access to snow play areas, cross-country ski and snowmobile trails). Data were gathered “onsite” (n=491) at sno-parks along Highway 168 and “offsite” (n=1318) in communities across the Central Valley. Data from the two sites revealed significant differences in winter recreation constraints and site use patterns among different racial/ethnic and income groups. Racial and ethnic minorities and respondents with lower household income reported high levels of constraints to participation in winter recreation at CPMR. Overall, structural constraints were the most prominent barriers affecting visitation to CPMR. Our findings showed that all respondents were more likely to visit public lands (e.g., sno-parks) for winter recreation than CPMR. Public parks and sno-parks may provide particularly unique and valuable opportunities for Latinx residents and individuals from low-income groups who are historically underrepresented with respect to winter recreation in California’s Central Valley. Overall, our results yield two key conclusions regarding winter recreation: (1) commercial resort managers (e.g., CPMR) should seek ways to minimize existing structural and cultural barriers to visitation, thereby attracting a more diverse clientele; and (2) providers should consider public lands such as sno-parks as key alternatives for diverse residents seeking winter recreation experiences—especially non-White and lowincome populations who rarely visit private mountain resorts.

Change in health-related quality of life among patients with a reduced ejection fraction initiating guideline-directed medical therapy

Abstract Background Management of patients with heart failure (HF) should include patient reported outcomes (PROs). The Kansas City Cardiomyopathy Questionnaire is self-administered with subscales to evaluate HF symptom burden, physical limitations, social limitations (recreational participation), and quality of life (QoL). Change in PROs among newly diagnosed patients with HF and reduced ejection fraction (HFrEF) prescribed a wearable cardioverter defibrillator (WCD) and initiating guideline-directed medical therapy (GDMT) has not been assessed. Purpose Examine PROs over 180 days of receiving GDMT for newly diagnosed HFrEF. Methods Patients (n=93, 75.3% male) were enrolled ≤10 days post-hospitalization for new onset HF; all patients had an EF ≤35% and were prescribed a WCD. Health status, as measured by PRO was assessed at baseline, day 90, and day 180. Controlling for age and EF at baseline, changes in PROs over the 180-day study period were evaluated using repeated measures modeling. Pairwise comparisons with Bonferroni adjustments were used to compare adjacent timepoints. Higher scores reflect better health status. Results After controlling for age (mean 56±13.4) and baseline EF (mean 22±7.7) improvements in health status were observed. From baseline to day 90, physical limitation, symptom frequency, QoL, and the summary score all increased (Δ: 17.8, 23.7, 28.4, 23.7, respectively; all p's &amp;lt;0.05). From day 90 to day 180, only QoL continued to improve (Δ 7.5, p=0.001). Change in social limitations over time was not significant (p=0.42). Conclusion Patients report improved health status in the months following a new diagnosis of HFrEF when prescribed a WCD and GDMT. Change in Quality of Life Funding Acknowledgement Type of funding source: None

Informal Recreation’s Relationship With College Student Stress and Anxiety

In this study, 18 undergraduate college students were interviewed and identified academics, work, and relationships as primary sources of stress and anxiety. The students attributed their reduced stress and anxiety to their participation in informal recreation. Administrators in student affairs are encouraged to integrate informal recreational opportunities in their collaborative approach to students’ mental and emotional well-being through marketing and promotion, easier access to open recreation, partnerships with external organizations, and continued integration of technology.

Screen time and extracurricular activities as risk and protective factors for mental health in adolescence: A population-level study

This study examines adolescents' (N = 28,712; 49% female; Mage = 12.25, SDage = 0.51) recreational screen time and participation in extracurricular activities during after-school hours in association to indicators of positive (optimism, satisfaction with life) and negative (anxiety, depressive symptoms) mental health and wellbeing. Data were drawn from a population-level study with the Middle Years Development Instrument (MDI) with grade 7 students in British Columbia (BC), Canada. The research was implemented in public school districts between 2014 and 2018.We found that adolescents who participated in extracurricular activities (e.g., sports, arts programs, community programs) were significantly less likely to engage in recreational screen-based activities (e.g., watching programs, browsing the internet, playing computer games) for 2 or more hours after school. Findings from Multilevel Structural Equation Modeling analyses showed that extracurricular participation was associated with higher levels of satisfaction with life and optimism, and lower levels of anxiety and depressive symptoms. In contrast, longer screen time (≥2 h/day) was associated with lower levels of satisfaction with life and optimism, and higher levels of anxiety and depressive symptoms; shorter screen time (<2 h/day) was associated with favorable mental health and wellbeing. For screen time, the effect was moderated by gender; the association between longer screen time and poorer mental health and wellbeing was significantly more pronounced for girls than boys. For both boys and girls, mental health and wellbeing were most favorable if they participated in extracurricular activities and reported less than 2 h of recreational screen time per day.