Recreation activity structures and the substitution concept

Abstract

The purpose of the present study was to develop and compare the structure patterns of present participation, participation 5 years ago, and preference for a specific set of outdoor recreation activities. Also, the study focused on a related question that continues to confound and intrigue recreation researchers-- the substitution of recreation activities. The sample for the present study consisted of households that resided in the State of Texas. The data was collected by the Texas Parks and Wildlife Department through personal interviews as part of a state-wide outdoor recreation demand study. A review of existing research indicated that the use of factor analysis in order to develop activity clusters preceded the substitution concept. Later, the substitution of specific activities was inferred from the similarity implied by clusters of interrelated activities. It was noted that this inference has yet to be established by empirical findings. The present study emphasized the principles of structural analysis in developing the structure patterns of a selected set of outdoor recreation activities. Principal component analysis was used to isolate a structure pattern for the present participation mode, the participation 5 years ago mode and the preference mode. The structure pattern for each mode consisted of clusters of activities sharing a specific form of commonality.