Perception of Constraints and Strength of Motivation: Their Relationship to Recreational Sport Participation in Greece

Abstract

AbstractThis study, based on Crawford, Jackson and Godbey's (1991) hierarchial model of leisure constraints, aimed to: (a) investigate the influence of constraints dimensions on recreational sport participation; (b) empirically test the "balance" proposition, by investigating the relationships between perception of constraints dimensions and strength of motivation for participation. The data were collected via a self-administered household questionnaire survey in an urban area in Greece. The results indicated that: (1) the constraints dimensions offered a significant contribution towards the prediction of participants and non-participants; (2) the individual/psychological lack of interest, lack of knowledge and time dimensions were the best predictors for distinguishing between participants and non-participants; (3) the strength of motivation was found to be negatively related to the perception of constraints, supporting the "balance" proposition.KEYWORDS: Recreational sport participationintrapersonalinterpersonalstructural constraintsstrength of motivation