Donna E. Little

Women and Adventure Recreation: Reconstructing Leisure Constraints and Adventure Experiences To Negotiate Continuing Participation.

This paper presents results from a study of women with a history of participation in adventure recreation. Semi-structured in-depth interviews and 6-month activity diaries were gathered from 42 women involved in adventure pursuits. Qualitative analysis revealed that while the women experienced varying sources of constraint similar to findings in previous leisure research, they could also successfully negotiate these constraints by restructuring their adventure experience or by reinforcing their commitment to adventure as a life priority. The findings are discussed in terms of negotiation theory, focusing on the womens resistance to constraining factors. The findings challenge previous deterministic assumptions of the restricting impact of constraints and reinforce more recent analyses that acknowledge womens ability to take some measure of control for their own leisure.

Qualitative insights into leisure as a spiritual experience.

This study explored lived, leisure experiences for 24 self-selected individuals who identified having experienced leisure that was spiritual. Using a phenomenological approach, the study revealed complex descriptions of these experiences where individuals simultaneously felt, acted, thought and were aware. Analysis of the data indicated that spiritual experiences could occur in a range of leisure contexts, could be triggered by catalysts such as nature or newness, evoked responses including awe and appreciation, and led to outcomes of connection, awareness, growth and freedom. Results of the present study support previous conceptual propositions of the spiritual dimension of leisure and suggest further avenues of inquiry to explore the experiential and emotional dispositions people bring to their leisure.

The solo female travel experience: exploring the 'geography of women's fear'

Increasingly, it is recognised that the qualities of human experience are informed not only by the physical world, but also by our understandings of the social constructs that shape our realities. This broader way of thinking allows a conception of space as metaphorical and relational, rather than merely as a physical location or a singularly definable absolute. Drawing from leisure theory on constraints, feminist discourses on leisure/tourism, and the work of ‘new’ cultural geographers, this paper empirically explores Valentines (1989) concept of the ‘geography of womens fear’, as it applies to solo international travel. In-depth interviews with a group of solo female travellers revealed that these women perceived travel fears relating to others’ perceptions, a susceptibility to vulnerability, a sense of restricted access, and a feeling of conspicuousness.

Self-Determination Theory as a Framework for Understanding Women's Psychological Well-Being Outcomes from Leisure-Time Physical Activity

Self-determination theory (SDT) is used as a framework to understand how womens psychological well-being is influenced by participation in leisure-time physical activity and the social context in which activity occurs. Data were collected during in-depth semi-structured interviews with 20 participants and analyzed using constant comparison. Findings indicate womens well-being can be enhanced through casual participation in leisure-time physical activity if activity contexts support interaction between the elements of self-determination: competence, autonomy, and relatedness. Participant interactions during activities also play an important role in facilitating well-being outcomes. The findings qualitatively add to understanding and development of SDT as a legitimate psychological construct by explaining the key components of the theory through the participants own words and reflections.

The Nature of Nature: How New Zealand Women in Middle to Later Life Experience Nature-Based Leisure

This article explores how women in middle to later life from Aotearoa-New Zealand understand and experience nature in the context of their outdoor leisure. Using a qualitative gender-informed methodology, multiple interviews were conducted with 11 women. Three key themes were revealed: First, nature was more than words, with women transgressing mechanistic conceptions of nature. Second, nature was understood as a sensory experience, defined by the five senses as well as through spiritual description. Finally, for these women, nature was expressed as “a part of me,” demonstrating a deep connection to the outdoors. The study findings help to rethink traditional conceptions of nature-based recreation.

Conceptions of Leisure Constraints Negotiation: A Response to the Schneider and Wilhelm Stanis Coping Model

I experienced two competing reactions as I read the Schneider and Wilhelm Stanis (2007) article on coping as an alternative conceptualization for constraint negotiation. On the one hand, I was pleased that the construct was receiving critical consideration and was being further investigated. The argument presented seemed rational with the relationship between the process of leisure constraint negotiation and investigations of human coping. Coping strategies have been used to elucidate how individuals negotiate constraint. Thus, a logical inference could locate psychological coping processes as a specific framework for investigating the negotiation of leisure constraints. On the other hand, I was frustrated as to why the argument did not extend beyond the language of coping and stress. I wondered whether stress was presented as a synonym for constraint, if such pathways would lead to a narrow operationalizing of the negotiation construct and, pragmatically, where leisure was in the model. Realistically, these concerns are a reflection of my own understandings and ways of viewing the concept of negotiation in leisure. Fundamentally, I believe that negotiation of constraint is not merely a problem based issue (i.e., to cope with constraint). Rather, it represents a proactive face of leisure constraints as individuals exhibit agency and resistance, empowerment and possibility. Coping, by comparison, intuitively and professionally infers the management of stress and troubles. Although coping with stress may form one aspect of the investigation of constraint negotiation, negotiation itself is more hopeful and proactive when used to reposition individuals as active agents negotiating their lives and leisure, rather than as passive recipients of constraint. I acknowledge that this assumption is open to debate. The coping literature demonstrates that as a psychological construct, coping is intended to include “anything that the person does or thinks, regardless of how well or badly it works” (Lazarus & Folkman, 1984, p. 142). Thus, coping avoids an exclusive suggestion of mastery and includes attempts at minimizing, avoiding, tolerating, and accepting circumstances. However, I acknowledge that my subjectivity impacts the comments that I make. Moving beyond this personal foundation, my concerns with the article do not revolve around the theoretical realities of coping, which clearly have some analogous relationship with negotiation strategies. Rather, my concerns

Quality of life, aren't we always searching for that?: How women can achieve enhanced quality of life through participation in outdoor adventure recreation.

Abstract Goals related to improving quality of life (QOL) have been implied in leisure service provision for many years. In order to more explicitly realize these goals, it is important that policy makers, practitioners, and researchers understand and document QOL outcomes and how they are achieved. Since 1998, Real Adventure Women (RAW) has provided women in Brisbane, Australia, with an opportunity to try outdoor activities in non‐competitive and supportive environments. This paper reports findings from in‐depth interviews conducted with 20 women between 2001 and 2002. Results indicate that participation in RAW enhanced QOL by providing: a sense of balance, access to new opportunities, a sense of belonging, and improved self‐perception. This knowledge offers a useful context for the development of leisure programs and the monitoring of changes in the quality of participants’ lives.

Adventure and the Gender Gap: Acknowledging Diversity of Experience

Abstract Traditionally, descriptions of adventure recreation have tended to incorporate a limited range of physically isolated and challenging activities (Attarian, 1991; Ewert, 1986). More recently, the concept of adventure has been used quite broadly within the leisure field (e.g. the ‘adventure’ of visiting nature; tourist promotions of ‘adventurous’ fun), but popular media portrayals of adventure continue to promote the extreme and remote. While these latter risk-laden portrayals reflect the experiences of a few, it is the premise of the authors that a broader perception and experience of adventure can be found in more everyday events and activities. In support of recent feminist research (Collins, 2000; Humberstone, 2000), this paper describes women’s perceptions and experiences of adventure and suggests that adventure recreation has wider parameters than previously acknowledged. Based on results of semi-structured in-depth interviews with eighty two women participants in adventure activities (e.g. solo travel, white water kayaking), the findings show that women struggle to identify with popular media presentations of adventure, but they do experience individual adventure in multiple ways. Through personal challenges and newness, adventure can be experienced without the requisite of extreme physical challenge or exclusive remoteness. Subsequently, we suggest that broader social and professional meanings of adventure need to be acknowledged, allowing people to identify with adventure and the benefits to be gained from adventure recreation.

Keeping Women Active: An Examination of the Impacts of Self-Efficacy, Intrinsic Motivation, and Leadership on Women's Persistence in Physical Activity

Physical inactivity in women is a worldwide problem that has not only been well-documented but has provoked much government concern and policy activity. However, an even more important issue is encouraging womens persistence in physical activity. The purpose of this study was to examine the links between womens experiences of participation in a government-funded physical activity festival, their intentions to continue participation, and their participation behavior six months after the festival. Results from semi-structured, in-depth interviews with 20 women revealed that enhanced self-efficacy, intrinsic motivation, and supportive leadership had motivated the womens future intentions to participate. Follow-up surveys showed their levels of interest and participation in physical activity had been maintained. These results enhance our understanding of the relationship between key outcomes of womens physical activity participation and their persistence in physical activity.

Women who RAW! Programming for women's participation in adventure based pursuits.

Abstract Numerous constraints have been identified over recent years as impeding womens participation in leisure. Although these limitations have been recognised, and the benefits of participation acknowledged, the role of providers and policy makers in reducing the impacts of constraints has been less clear. This article examines one local government initiative to encourage womens participation in a range of adventure-based physical recreation pursuits. Based on a social planning model of activity provision, the efficacy of the RAW (Real Adventure Women) program is explored from the participants perspectives. The results reveal that a focused project, specifically targeted at women, can offer accessible, safe and supportive opportunities for womens engagement in leisure that can reduce the impact of identified constraints and lead to positive personal outcomes.