Perceived Constraints by
Students to Participation in
Campus Recreational Sports
$10,000 Question
• Why do students choose not to
participate in campus recreational
sports?
– 42.2% of undergraduates did not
participate (Douglas, Collins, & Warren, 1995)
– 74% of college students did not engage in
vigorous physical activity (Rosen, 2000)
– 47% of college students did not engage in
vigorous physical activity (Suminski & Petosa,
2002)
Learning Objectives
• Gain greater insight into perceived
constraints of college students to
participation in campus recreation
programs through a basic review of
the literature
• Learn how the study was conducted
• Share the results of the study as well
as overall findings and an analysis of
the data
• Make applications to your own
campuses in terms of the information
we will share with you
Constraints on Participation
• Relative to individual and
circumstances
 Perception varies by individual and type
of activity
• Focused on specific types of
activities within a single community
• Campus recreational sports is a
community
Leisure Constraints Model
• Crawford, Jackson and Godbey
• Three levels of constraints:
(1991)
 Intrapersonal – psychological states &
attributes interacting with leisure
preferences influencing leisure choices
 Interpersonal – relationships between
individuals
 Structural – intervening factors
obstructing participation
Leisure Constraints Model
• Crawford, Jackson and Godbey
• Hierarchical:
(1991)
 Negotiation of constraints at intrapersonal
level must be achieved before dealing with
constraints on interpersonal level
 Successful negotiation of constraints at
intra- and interpersonal levels before
dealing with structural constraints
 If constraints at all 3 levels can be
negotiated, then participation should result
Leisure Constraints Model
• Participation is not dependent upon
the absence of constraints
 Rather, how people negotiate constraints
• Constraints do not always mean nonparticipation
 People choose variety of strategies for
negotiating through constraints
 Constraints do not always prevent
participation
Purpose of Study
• To investigate how perceived
constraints (intrapersonal,
interpersonal, and structural)
influenced the recreational sport
participation of college students on
two distinct types of campuses
(urban, commuter vs. rural,
residential)
Instrument
• Questionnaire
 Demographics
 Respondents who participated regularly
 Respondents who did not participate
regularly
Methods
• Residential University was a large,
research institution located in rural
Midwest
 Traditional-aged student population, many lived
on-campus
• Commuter University was a mediumsized, urban campus located in the
Southwest
 Non-traditional-aged students who lived offcampus and commuted to attend classes
• Stratified random samples
 1,000 students
 5%+ sampling error
Perceived Constraints
Statements
• 23 constraint statements
• Likert scale (1-Strongly Agree…5-Strongly
Disagree)
• Cronbach Alpha Reliability - .88
Perceived Constraints
to Participation
• Strongest reasons for not
participating:
– “Lack of time because of work, school or
family” (M=1.75)
– “I do not know what is available” (M=2.50)
– “Lack of time because of other leisure
activities” (M=2.85)
Perceived Constraints
to Participation
• Reasons rejected as preventing
participation:
– “I don’t enjoy recreational sports”
(M=4.16)
– “Lack of transportation” (M=4.17)
– “Social-cultural norms prevent me from
participating” (M=4.17)
– “Available activities are inappropriate for
my gender” (M=4.18)
– “Fear of violence” (M=4.23)
Perceived Constraints
to Participation
Residential U.
Variable
Commuter U.
M
SD
M
SD
p
Participation makes me self-conscious
3.55
1.20
3.82
1.16
.05
My friends don’t like recreational sport
activities
3.75
1.13
4.08
.90
.01
I lack the skill to participate
3.48
1.23
3.75
1.16
.05
I don’t have the will to participate
3.21
1.19
3.61
1.16
.01
I don’t enjoy recreational sport activities
3.84
1.05
4.14
.96
.01
Inappropriate social environment
3.75
1.04
3.96
.97
.05
Facilities are too crowded
3.05
1.18
3.64
.98
.001
Lack of transportation
3.67
1.19
4.37
.80
.001
Parking availability/convenience
2.83
1.42
3.53
1.30
.001
I do not know what is available
3.08
1.26
2.26
1.16
.001
1=Strongly Agree….5=Strongly Disagree
Perceptions of Constraints
by Age
• Age groups
– 18-25 year olds
– 26 year olds and above
• Moderate relationship between age
and constraints
Perceptions of Constraints
by Age
• Older students perceived…
– “Available activities are inappropriate for
my gender”
– “Lack of time because of work, school or
family”
– “I do not know what is available”
• Younger students perceived…
– “Lack of transportation”
– “Lack of money”
Perceptions of Constraints
by Gender
• Women perceived…
– “Participation makes me self-conscious”
– “I don’t have the will to participate”
– “Activities are dominated by a specific
gender”
– “Lack of time because of work, school, or
family”
Perceptions of Constraints
by Residence
• On-campus students perceived…
– “Participation makes me self-conscious”
– “I lack the skill to participate”
– “I don’t have the will to participate”
– “Facilities are too crowded”
– “Lack of transportation”
• Off-campus students perceived…
– Were more likely to not know what campus
recreational sports services were available
to them
In Summary
• Most non-participants enjoy participating
in recreational sport activities
• Non-participants tend to be women, offcampus residents and older students
• Most significant constraints were lack of
time and lack of knowledge about
opportunities
• On-campus, traditional-age, residential
participation was affected by socialcomparison issues
Implications
• Lack of physical activity and concerns
with college student health
• Alternative, healthy programming
options
• Recreational sports are “involving
activities” – they help build and
strengthen campus community
• Recreational sports offer out-of-class
learning opportunities
• Understanding constraints to
participation can help drive
marketing and programming efforts
• Examining participation “facilitators”
- the flip side to constraints!
Marketing is the Key!
• Marketing=facilitation of exchange
• Market segmentation and
description
– Geographic, Socio-demographic,
Behavioral, Psychographic
• Understand target group need
• Utilize marketing mix strategies
– Product (program design)
– Price (pricing strategy)
– Promotion (advertising, publicity,
personal selling, sales promotion)
– Place (program distribution)
• Assess efforts & continuously
improve services
Let’s Talk!
• Think about the three socio-demographic
descriptors in this study (gender, age,
place of residence)
• Discuss with colleagues the issues
surrounding participation with respect to
these groups
– Are there issues with participation on your
campus?
– How are you assessing target group need?
– What strategies are you using to meet the needs
of these groups?
– What has been effective? Ineffective?
• What other key groups should we be
concerned with regarding participation?