Christopher J. Wynveen

Study Abroad Experiences and Global Citizenship: Fostering Proenvironmental Behavior.

Short-term study abroad programs currently account for more than 50% of students who study overseas. Using an adaptation of the Value–Belief–Norm theory of proenvironmental behavior (Stern, 2000), we hypothesized that study abroad nurtures global citizenship related to ecologically conscious behaviors by strengthening core relations among environmental values, beliefs, and norms. The sample consisted of students (n = 623) from 10 U.S. universities participating in a 4-week study abroad program to either Australia or New Zealand in 2008 and 2009. A pre-, posttest design was adopted in which students voluntarily completed a survey instrument on the first and last days of the program in the destination country. Results of the study suggested that the modified Value–Belief–Norm approach provides a robust theoretical framework, used in conjunction with theories of learning, for explaining how proenvironmental behavior is nurtured. These findings provided empirical support for the efficacy of short-term study abroad programs and developed further support for the importance of strong pedagogical techniques implemented by competent instructors.

Place Meanings Ascribed to Marine Settings: The Case of the Great Barrier Reef Marine Park

Using data collected from in-depth interviews of recreational visitors to Australias Great Barrier Reef Marine Park, place-related meanings ascribed to a marine environment are described. The usefulness of using symbolic interactionism to understand the creation of these meanings is also assessed. Ten meaning-themes emerged (aesthetic beauty, lack of built infrastructure/pristine environment, abundance and diversity of coral and other wildlife, unique natural resource, facilitation of desired recreation activity, safety and accessibility, curiosity and exploration, sense of connection to the natural world, escape from the everyday, and experiences with family and friends), and evidence supporting the utility of symbolic interactionism was identified. Using these findings, researchers may be better able to identify place meanings and the processes that create them.

Environmental Worldview, Place Attachment, and Awareness of Environmental Impacts in a Marine Environment

Place attachment provides insight on why and to what extent individuals value a particular setting. Most investigations involving place attachment and environmental attitudes have been conducted in terrestrial settings; little work has addressed proenvironmental behavior in marine settings. The purpose of the current investigation was to extend Stern et al.’s work, which indicates that individuals’ environmental worldviews (EWVs) influence their attitudes toward anthropogenic impacts on the environment. We hypothesized a model wherein place attachment partially mediates the relationship between recreational visitors’ EWV and their awareness of consequences of negative impacts on Australia’s Great Barrier Reef. We then compared this model with competing models. Our results suggest that place attachment is a useful addition to studies that use Stern et al.’s value-belief-norm model.

Comparing the Validity and Reliability of Place Attachment Across Cultures

ABSTRACT Researchers often measure human–place bonds via place attachment scales across a variety of settings. However, scale use does not always include an evaluation of the scales’ psychometric properties, especially in multisite studies. Failure to consider a place attachment scale’s measurement properties makes both validity and reliability assumptions and may lead to improper data interpretation. Hence, this investigation assessed a place attachment scale across three sites via data collected on site in natural resource protected areas in Colorado, Minnesota, and Germany. A series of confirmatory factor analyses assessed the hypothesized two-dimensional (i.e., place identity and place dependence) model, Cronbach’s alphas calculated a measure of internal consistency, and a multigroup procedure cross-validated the scale. Some items did not load on the hypothesized dimension and the pattern of factor loadings was not equivalent across settings, suggesting assessment of place attachment scales may be necessary when used in new contexts.

The contemporary muscular Christian instrument: A scale developed for contemporary sport

Social scientists have conducted quantitative research investigations since at least the early 1980s. However, to date no valid, reliable and objective survey instrument has been developed for sport sociologists to measure important religious ideals in contemporary sport. Historical and theoretical scholarship identifies muscular Christianity as primary to modern sport ideals. Therefore we developed and validated The Contemporary Muscular Christian Instrument, an easily distributable survey that measures the prevalence of muscular Christian values among contemporary participants and consumers of recreation and sport. Our aim in developing this quantitative instrument is to provide social sport scholars a research tool that informs their understanding of these muscular Christian values as they continue to influence notions of sport, recreation, the body, physical activity, and other social indices. This valid and reliable scale allows scholars to examine larger populations and provides data suited to identify differences in levels of the constructs measured, thus allowing researchers and theorists alike to deepen their understanding of the relationship sport and religion have in the globalized social context.

Law Enforcement Perceptions and Changes in the United States Park Service: Urban proximity and level of enforcement practices

Abstract Crime and urban encroachment to United States National Parks and other natural resource areas has been a growing problem for land managers. This study examined how the perceptions of law enforcement rangers have developed in respect to the level of enforcement toward law‐breaking visitors over a 25‐year period, and it identified the role of a park units proximity to an urban area on this relationship. An Internet survey of US National Park superintendents and rangers (n=527) was conducted in 2005. Data indicated that the severity of the techniques used by law enforcement in the National Park Service has not changed in recent times; however, when parks are closer to urban areas, law enforcement rangers use more intense (e.g., arrest versus prevention) enforcement techniques. The results of this study indicated a need for research concerning how level of enforcement affects the experiences of both law‐breaking and law‐abiding visitors.

Engaging Great Barrier Reef Stakeholders: Mediation Analyses of Barriers Among the Antecedents of Pro-Environmental Behavior

ABSTRACT Resource managers continually attempt to influence stakeholder behavior to protect ecosystems. To aid managers and further our understanding of the human dimensions of natural resource management researchers have developed theories of pro-environmental behavior and to identify barriers to such behavior. However, there is a paucity of research integrating the two. There is a need to understand how perceived barriers influence the adoption of pro-environmental behaviors directly and how these barriers interact with the antecedents to pro-environmental behavior. Using the value-belief-norm theory as a guiding framework, we sought to fill this gap by investigating the effect of two barriers (lack of knowledge and low self-efficacy) among the antecedents to climate change–related behavior of anglers and other stakeholders (n = 324) living adjacent to Australia’s Great Barrier Reef. Results suggested that modeling/theorizing about how barriers fit into this process is complex because of differing contexts and levels of inclusion of barriers in existing theories.

Do Energy Drink Consumers Study More

The use and motivations for use of energy drinks (EDs) in college students has been documented in the literature. Many college students identify academic reasons, such as a need to study more, as a motivation for ED use. However, research has not determined if users who claim academic motivations actually study more than those who claim other motivations. A sample of 692 undergraduate students at a large, private university completed a paper survey that inquired about demographics, ED use, motivations for ED use, sleep quality, and average amount of time spent sleeping and studying per week. Descriptive statistics were used to analyze demographics, and analysis of variance was used to compare ED users with different motivations to amount of time spent sleeping and studying per week. Regression analysis was also used to determine if ED use could be predicted by any of the other variables. Increased ED consumption was predicted by being male (B = −0.394, p < .001) and having a decreased sleep quality (B = 0.586, p < .001). Reported study hours by subjects who claimed academic reasons as motivation for ED use were not significantly different in comparison to ED users who claimed other motivations. In our sample, ED users who reported academic reasons as motivations for use did not report significantly more study hours per week when compared to those who claimed other motivations. This demonstrates a disconnect between reported motivations for energy drink use and outcomes that are expected to be associated with those motivations.

An Examination of the Situational Factors Associated with the Misuse of Prescription Analgesics among College Students.

The current study examined the effect that students’ educational environment has on the prevalence and motivations associated with the misuse of prescription analgesics (MPA). A sample of 893 undergraduate students was recruited from one religiously affiliated private university and one public university in the Southern United States. Participants completed an in-class survey assessing MPA-related behavior and their associated motivations. Results indicated that students attending the religiously affiliated university displayed lower rates of MPA. Multivariate analyses revealed that a positive drug abuse screening, prescription status, and grade point average are the strongest predictors of past-year MPA for both schools. Some motivations for medical misuse differed significantly between campuses. Implications as to how these differences can inform programs aimed at the reduction of prescription analgesic abuse are discussed.

Measurement of muscular Christian ideals in sport: Validation of the Contemporary Muscular Christian Instrument

Muscular Christianity’s influential role in establishing Western sport values and ideals during the 19th century has long been acknowledged by sport scholars. Yet these relatively dated sets of physical moral constructs are rarely understood as having lasting relevance, or as forming part of the contemporary attraction to sport, and thus have been missing in critical sociological analyses of sport. While shown to be valid and reliable, initial results from developing the Contemporary Muscular Christian Instrument (CMCI) also suggested that modifications to item wording could enhance readability and capture all six theorized factors of muscular Christianity, supported by literature. The current scale development study is aimed to strengthen the instrument and verify its structural validity and internal consistency among a more diverse sample population: spectators at the 2014 Tour de France. Following data collection and cleaning of data, a confirmatory factor analysis was conducted, and internal consistencies were examined. Results indicate strong support for the structural validity of the revised 20-item, 6-factor CMCI, showing strong factor loadings across all items and acceptable internal consistencies for all six-theorized factors. Findings among this international sample of sport spectators suggest that historic muscular Christian themes used to develop this instrument continue to shape and influence perceptions of what is deemed good, right, and valuable in sport. Our findings point to the importance of understanding these six moral constructs as contemporary discussions on the social value and importance of such activities evolve. The revised CMCI provides sociologists of sport a tool by which to examine theorized muscular Christian constructs, promoting certain values about sport and its social “good,” and allows for further investigation into sports’ social significance, meanings, and values within related topics. This paper details the improvements to the survey instrument, the CFA results, and recommendations for future application and research using the survey instrument.