Sport Management Studies

The Effect of Specialized Recreational Behaviors on Place Attachment Among Amateur Athletes

Document Type : Research Paper

Authors

1 Master of Sport Management, Shahid Chamran University of Ahvaz

2 Professor of Sport Science Faculty, Shahid Chamran University of Ahvaz

3 Assistant Professor of Humanities Faculty, Tarbiat Modares University

4 Assistant Professor of Sport Science Faculty, Shahid Chamran University of Ahvaz

Abstract
The present study aimed to determine the effects of recreation specialization on place attachment in amateur athletes. The present research was an applied-correlational study based on structural equation modeling. The statistical population consisted of all amateur athletes who had a membership record in Enghelab Sports Complex. The sample size was determined using PASS. The respondents were selected based on convenience sampling method and questionnaires were distributed among them. Finally, a total of 334 questionnaires were used for data analysis. The required data were collected using McFarlane’s recreation specialization questionnaire (1994) and place attachment questionnaire (Kyle et al., 2005). A pilot study was also conducted in order to evaluate the construct validity and the results showed that the KMO for sampling adequacy and Cronbach’s alpha of questionnaires were equal to 0.917 and 0.951, respectively. The data were statistically analyzed using descriptive and inferential statistics in SPSS-25 and Smart PLS-3. In addition, 20% of variance of place attachment can be predicted by recreation specialization. Based on the results of structural equation modeling, the impact of recreation specialization on place attachment of amateur athletes was adequately fitted (SRMR=0.071). According to the findings of the research, it is recommended that in sports-recreational places, the place attachment and place identity of the athletes considered by the managers. On the other hand, Improving the sports and recreation places in terms of numbers and facilities will increase the participation of specialized recreation activities.

Keywords

Main Subjects

  1. Bauman, A. E., Reis, R. S., Sallis, J. F., Wells, J. C., Loos, R. J., Martin, B. W., & Lancet Physical Activity Series Working Group. (2012). Correlates of physical activity: Why are some people physically active and others not? The Lancet, 380(9838), 258-271.
  2. Beery, T., & Jönsson, K. I. (2017). Outdoor Recreation and place attachment: Exploring the potential of outdoor recreation within a UNESCO Biosphere Reserve. Journal of Outdoor Recreation and Tourism, 17, 54-63.
  3. Bricker, K. S., & Kerstetter, D. L. (2000). Level of specialization and place attachment: An exploratory study of whitewater recreationists. Leisure Sciences, 22(4), 233-257.
  4. Broadhurst, R. (2002). Managing environments for leisure and recreation. London: Routledge.
  5. Bryan, H. (1977). Leisure value systems and recreational specialization: The case of trout fishermen. Journal of Leisure Research, 9(3), 174-187.
  6. Dijkstra, T. K., & Henseler, J. (2015). Consistent partial least squares path modeling. MIS Quarterly, 39(2), 297-316.
  7. Douglass, R. W. (1999). History of outdoor recreation and nature-based tourism in the United States. In H. K. Cordell, C. Betz, C., J. M. Bowker, et al. (Eds.), Outdoor recreation in American life 9pp. 15-24). Champaign, IL: Sagamore Publishing.
  8. Enghelab Sport Complex Tehran. (2019). An introduction to Enghelab Sport Complex Tehran. Available at: https://enghelabsportcomplex.ir/sport_places/?qn=8454963 (Accessed August 2018 18).
  9. Gammon, S., & Elkington, S. (Eds.). (2016). Landscapes of leisure: Space, place and identities. Charm: Springer.
  1. Health Deputy Minister of Health. (2014). Alarming statistics about the Iranian lack of physical activity. Available at: http://tkdqom.blogfa.com/post/48 (Accessed August 2018 18).
  2. Henseler, J., Hubona, G., & Ray, P. A. (2016). Using PLS path modeling in new technology research: Updated guidelines. Industrial Management & Data Systems, 116(1), 2-20.
  3. Hintze, J. L., & Kaysville, U. (2011). NCSS help system. NCSS, Kaysville, Utah. Available at: https://www.ncss.com/  (Accessed August 2018 18).
  4. Hunt, L. M. (2008). Examining state dependence and place attachment within a recreational fishing site choice model. Journal of Leisure Research, 40(1), 110-127.
  5. Hurd, A., & Anderson, D. (2011). The Park and recreation professional's handbook with online resource human kinetics. Available at: https://books.google.ca/ (Accessed August 2018 18).
  6. Jensen, E. L., & Ouis, P. (2008). Contested construction of nature for city fringe outdoor recreation in southern Sweden: The Arrie case. Urban Forestry & Urban Greening, 7(3), 171-182.
  7. Jun, J., Kyle, G., Graefe, A., & Manning, R. (2015). An identity-based conceptualization of recreation specialization. Journal of Leisure Research, 47(4), 425-443.
  8. Kyle, G., Graefe, A., & Manning, R. (2005). Testing the dimensionality of place attachment in recreational settings. Environment and Behavior, 37(2), 153-177.
  9. Lee, S., & Scott, D. (2013). Empirical linkages between serious leisure and recreational specialization. Human Dimensions of Wildlife, 18(6), 450-462.
  10. Liu, H. L. S., & Caneday, L. (2012). Serious leisure and place attachment: A case study of amateur athletes in rural Oklahoma. Available at: https://scholarworks.umass.edu/nerr/2012/Papers/8/ (Accessed August 2018 18).
  11. Maghsoodi, S., Abdul Husseini, Z., & Soleimani, Z. (2013). Study of how to spend leisure time and its change in Iran. Paper presented at the National Conference on Leisure and Youth Lifestyle, Tehran. (in Persian).
  12. McCool, S. F., Stankey, G. H., & Clark, R. N. (1985). Choosing recreation settings: Processes, findings, and research directions. In G. H. Stankey, & S. F. McCool (Compilers.), Proceedings-symposium on recreation choice behavior; 1984 March 22-23; Missoula, MT. General Technical Report INT-184. Ogden, UT: US Department of Agriculture, Forest Service, Intermountain Research Station.
  13. McFarlane, B. L. (1994). Specialization and motivations of birdwatchers. Wildlife Society Bulletin (1973-2006), 22(3), 361-370.
  14. McIntyre, N., & Pigram, J. J. (1992). Recreation specialization reexamined: The case of vehicle‐based campers. Leisure Sciences, 14(1), 3-15.
  15. Moosavirad, S., & Keshavarz, L. (2015). Relation of between how leisure and mental health teachers' athletes and non-athlete Shahin-Shahr city. Organizational Behavior Management in Sport Studies, 2(6), 73-80. (in Persian).
  16. Mueller, J. T. (2016). Conflict, specialization, and place attachment among north American rock climbers. Available at: https://etda.libraries.psu.edu/catalog/13421jfm5607 (Accessed August 2018 18).
  17. Neuvonen, M., Sievänen, T., Tönnes, S., & Koskela, T. (2007). Access to green areas and the frequency of visits–A case study in Helsinki. Urban Forestry & Urban Greening, 6(4), 235-247.
  18. Ragheb, M. G., & Burlingame, J. (2002). Assessment of leisure and recreation involvement. Available at: https://www.dyllarbor.com/agora.cgi?p_id=A127&xm=on (Accessed August 2018 18).
  19. Richter, N. F., Sinkovics, R. R., Ringle, C. M., & Schlaegel, C. (2016). A critical look at the use of SEM in international business research. International Marketing Review, 33(3), 376-404.
  20. Saffari, M., Ehsani, M., Amiri, M., & Kozechian, H. (2013). Designing the model of sport for all in Iran. Asian Social Science, 9(2), 87-108. (in Persian).
  21. Sarraf, P., Mohammadsalehi, N., kheyrollahi, F., Rahimi, Z., & Mohammadbeigi, A. (2015). A study of the ways of spending leisure time and its related variables in the students of Qom University of Medical Sciences. Iran. Qom University Medical Sciences Journal, 10(11), 85-94. (in Persian).
  22. Scott, D., & Shafer, C. S. (2001). Recreational specialization: A critical look at the construct. Journal of Leisure Research, 33(3), 319-343.
  23. Secretariat of the Council for Public Culture. (2011). A plan to study the state of leisure of the urban and rural people of the country. Tehran: Secretariat of the Public Culture Council.
  24. Shores, K. A., Scott, D., & Floyd, M. F. (2007). Constraints to outdoor recreation: A multiple hierarchy stratification perspective. Leisure Sciences, 29(3), 227-246.
  25. Stebbins, R. A. (2006). Serious leisure: A perspective for our time transaction. New York, NY: New Brunswick.
  26. Stebbins, R. A. (2012). Comment on Scott: Recreation specialization and the CL-SL continuum. Leisure Sciences, 34(4), 372-374.
  27. Stebbins, R. A. (2017). Introduction: Leisure’s legacy—challenging the common-sense view of free time. In Leisure’s Legacy (pp. 1-6). Palgrave Macmillan, Cham.
  28. Tsaur, S. H., & Liang, Y. W. (2008). Serious leisure and recreation specialization. Leisure Sciences, 30(4), 325-341.
  29. Williams, D. R., Stewart, W. P., & Kruger, L. E. (2013). Place-based conservation: perspectives from the social sciences. Cham: Springer-Velag.
  30. Williams, D. R., & Vaske, J. J. (2003). The measurement of place attachment: Validity and generalizability of a psychometric approach. Forest Science, 49(6), 830-840.
Sport Management Studies
Volume 14, Issue 71 - Serial Number 71
March and April 2022
Pages 275-302

  • Receive Date 25 April 2019
  • Revise Date 25 July 2019
  • Accept Date 04 September 2019

Home

Publication Ethics

Submit Manuscript

News

Journal Metrics

Contact Us