Skip to main content

Advertisement

SpringerLink
Log in

Examining the Effects of Perceptions of Community and Recreation Participation on Quality of Life

  • Published:
Social Indicators Research Aims and scope Submit manuscript

Abstract

The study of quality of life remains a key area of interest for not only researchers but to society. Through research being completed in multiple disclines and from a multitude of perspectives, the need to understand the full breadth of quality of life is required in order for the further development of this research area. Through building on previous research completed on quality of life from multiple disclines, this study utilizes numerous objective and subjective indicators to model quality of life in a community in the southwest United States. Through the analysis of 352 completed surveys, it was found that the two strongest predictors of quality of life were community pride and community elements. Of interest is that a number of other indicators including recreation participation and length of residency in a community were found to have a negative relationship with quality of life.

This is a preview of subscription content, log in via an institution to check access.

Access this article

Log in via an institution

Price excludes VAT (USA)
Tax calculation will be finalised during checkout.

Instant access to the full article PDF.

Institutional subscriptions

Similar content being viewed by others

References

  • L. R. Allen (1991) ‘Benefits of leisure services to community satisfaction’ B. L. Driver P. J. Brown G. L. Peterson (Eds) Benefits of Leisure Venture Publishing State College, PA 331–350

    Google Scholar 

  • L. R. Allen R. Beattie (1984) ArticleTitle‘The role of leisure as an indicator of overall satisfaction with community life’ Journal of Leisure Research 16 IssueID2 99–109

    Google Scholar 

  • L.R. Allen R. Gibson (1987) ArticleTitle‘Perceptions of community life and services: A comparison between leaders and community residents’ Journal of the Community Development Society 18 IssueID1 89–103

    Google Scholar 

  • S. Arai A. Pedlar (1997) ArticleTitle‘Building communities through leisure: Citizen participation in a healthy communities initiative’ Journal of Leisure Research 29 IssueID2 167–182

    Google Scholar 

  • M. Argyle (1996) The Social Psychology of Leisure Penguin Books New York

    Google Scholar 

  • R. P. Bagozzi Y. Yi (1991) ArticleTitle‘Multi-trait multi-method matrices in consumer research’ Journal of Consumer Research 17 IssueID4 426–439 Occurrence Handle10.1086/208568

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • J. G. Beard M. G. Ragheb (1980) ArticleTitle‘Measuring leisure satisfaction’ Journal of Leisure Research 12 IssueID1 20–33

    Google Scholar 

  • P. M. Bentler (1990) ArticleTitle‘Comparative fit indices in structural models’ Psychological Bulletin 107 238–247 Occurrence Handle10.1037/0033-2909.107.2.238

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • P. M. Bentler (1995) EQS Structural Equations Program Manual Mutlivariate Software Inc. Encino, CA

    Google Scholar 

  • J. Bhattacharyya (1995) ArticleTitle‘Solidarity and agency: Rethinking community development’ Human Organization 54 IssueID1 60–69

    Google Scholar 

  • K. A. Bollen (1989) Structural Equations with Latent Variables John Wiley New York

    Google Scholar 

  • P. Bramston G. Pretty H. Chipuer (2002) ArticleTitle‘Unravelling subjective quality of life: An investigation of individual and community determinants’ Social Indicators Research 59 261–274 Occurrence Handle10.1023/A:1019617921082

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • B. Brown G. Frankel M. Fennel (1991) ArticleTitle‘Happiness through leisure: The impact of type of leisure activity, age, gender and leisure satisfaction on psychological well-being’ Journal of Applied Recreation Research 16 368–392

    Google Scholar 

  • A Campbell (1981) The Sense of Well-Being in America: Recent Patterns and Trends McGraw-Hill New York

    Google Scholar 

  • M. Carlsson E. Hamrin (2002) ArticleTitle‘Evaluation of the life satisfaction questionnaire (LSQ) using structural equation modeling (SEM)’ Quality of Life Research 11 415–425 Occurrence Handle10.1023/A:1015670628990

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • A. J. Carr I. J. Higginson (2001) ArticleTitle‘Are quality of life measures patient centred’ British Medical Journal 322 IssueID7298 1357–1360

    Google Scholar 

  • M. Carter (1999) ArticleTitle‘Moving beyond the surgeon’s general’s report: An HPERD challenge?’ Journal of Physical Education, Recreation & Dance 70 IssueID2 6–11

    Google Scholar 

  • L. Chalip D. Thomas J. Voyle (1992) ‘Sport, recreation and well-being’ D. Thomas A. Veno (Eds) Psychology and Social Change Dunmore Press Palmerston North, NZ 132–156

    Google Scholar 

  • C. C. Cook (1988) ArticleTitle‘Components of neighborhood satisfaction: Responses from urban and suburban single-parent women’ Environment and Behavior 20 IssueID2 115–149

    Google Scholar 

  • M. Csikszentmihalyi (1990) Flow: The Psychology of Optimal Experience HarperCollins New York

    Google Scholar 

  • R. Cummins (1996) ArticleTitle‘The domains of life satisfaction: An attempt to order chaos’ Social Indicators Research 38 303–328 Occurrence Handle10.1007/BF00292050

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • R. Cummins (2000) ArticleTitle‘Objective and subjective quality of life: An interactive model’ Social Indicators Research 52 55–72 Occurrence Handle10.1023/A:1007027822521

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • D. Dahmann (1983) ArticleTitle‘Subjective assessment of neighborhood quality by size of place’ Urban Studies 20 31–45

    Google Scholar 

  • E. Diener M. Diener C. Diener (1995) ArticleTitle‘Factors predicting the subjective well-being of nations’ Journal of Personality and Social Psychology 69 IssueID5 851–864 Occurrence Handle10.1037/0022-3514.69.5.851

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • E. Diener E. Suh R. Lucas H. Smith (1999) ArticleTitle‘Subjective well-being: Three decades of progress’ Psychological Bulletin 125 IssueID2 276–302 Occurrence Handle10.1037/0033-2909.125.2.276

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • D. A. Dillman (2000) Mail and Internet Surveys: The Tailored Design Method Wiley New York

    Google Scholar 

  • B. Driver H. Tinsley M. Manfredo (1991) ‘The paragraphs about leisure and recreation experience preference scales: Results from two inventories designed to assess the breadth of the perceived psychological benefits of leisure’ G. L. Peterson (Eds) Benefits of Leisure Venture Publishing Inc. State College, PA

    Google Scholar 

  • Edginton, C., D. Jordan, D. DeGraaf and S. Edginton: 2002, Leisure and Life Satisfaction: Foundational Perspectives (3rd ed.) (Boston, MA)

  • P. Fayers D. Machin (2000) Quality of Life: Assessment, Analysis, and Interpretation Wiley Chichester

    Google Scholar 

  • Z. Fan B. Thompson L. Wang (1999) ArticleTitle‘Effects of sample size, estimation methods and model specification on structural modeling fit indexes’ Structural Equation Modeling 6 IssueID1 56–83

    Google Scholar 

  • P. M. Fayers D. J. Hand K. Bjordal M. Groenvold (1997) ArticleTitle‘Causal indicators in quality of life research’ Quality of Life Research 6 393–406

    Google Scholar 

  • Federation of Canadian Municipalities (1998). The FCM Quality of Life Reporting System: Second Report. Federation of Canadian Municipalities, Ottawa Canada

  • Flanagan, J.: 1978, ‘A research approach to improving our quality of life’, American Psychologist, pp. 138–147

  • P. Florin A. Wandersman (1990) ArticleTitle‘An introduction to citizen participation, voluntary organizations, and community development: Insights for empowerment through research’ American Journal of Community Psychology 19 41–54

    Google Scholar 

  • B. Fredrickson (2000) ArticleTitle‘Cultivating positive emotions to optimize health and well-being’ Prevention and Treatment 3 1–27

    Google Scholar 

  • G. Galster (1987) Homeowners and Neighborhood Reinvestment Duke University Press Durham, NC

    Google Scholar 

  • G. Godbey (1999) Leisure in Your Life: An Exploration Venture Pub. State College, PA

    Google Scholar 

  • K. Granzin L. Haggard (2000) ‘An integrative explanation for quality of life: Development and test of a structural model’ D. R. Rahtz (Eds) Advances in Quality of Life Theory and Research Kluwer Academic Publishers Boston, MA 31–63

    Google Scholar 

  • Hagerty, M., R. Cummins, A. Ferris, K. Land, A. Michalos, and M. Peterson, M.: 2001, ‘Quality of life indexes for national policy: Review and agenda for research’, Social Indicators Research 55, pp. 1–96

  • Hoyle, R. and A. Panter: 1995, ‘Writing about structural equation models’, in Hoyle, Rick (ed.), Structural Equation Modeling: Concepts, Issues and Applications (Sage, Thousand Oaks)

  • L. Hu P. Bentler (1999) ArticleTitle‘Cutoff criteria for fit indexes in covariance structure analysis: Conventional criteria versus new alternatives’. Structural Equation Modeling 6 1–55

    Google Scholar 

  • Hills, P. and M. Argyle: 1998, ‘Positive moods derived from leisure and their relationship to happiness and personality’, Personality and Individual Differences, p. 25

  • Iso-Ahola, S.: 1980, The Social Psychology of Leisure and Recreation (Wm. C. Brown, Dubuque, IA)

  • K. Joreskog D. Sorbom (1993) ‘Testing structural equation models’ K. A. Bollen L. S. Long (Eds) Testing Structural Equation Models Sage Newbury Park, CA

    Google Scholar 

  • J. Kelly (1987) Freedom To Be: A New Sociology of Leisure Macmillan Publishing Company New York

    Google Scholar 

  • M. Kousha N. Mohseni (1997) ArticleTitle‘Predictors of life satisfaction among urban Iranian women: An exploratory analysis’ Social Indicators Research 40 IssueID3 329–358 Occurrence Handle10.1023/A:1006894525035

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • B. Lee A. Guest (1983) ArticleTitle‘Determinants of neighborhood satisfaction: A metropolitan level analysis’ Sociological Quarterly 24 IssueIDSpring 287–303

    Google Scholar 

  • K. Lloyd C. Auld (2002) ArticleTitle‘The role of leisure in determining quality of life: Issues of content and measurement’ Social Indicators Research 57 43–71 Occurrence Handle10.1023/A:1013879518210

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • M. London R. Crandall G. Seals (1977) ArticleTitle‘The contribution of job and leisure satisfaction to quality of life’ Journal of Applied Psychology 62 IssueID3 328–334

    Google Scholar 

  • P. Lowe C. Reynolds (2000) ArticleTitle‘Exploratory analyses of the latent structure of anxiety among older adults’ Educational and Psychological Measurement 60 IssueID1 100–116 Occurrence Handle10.1177/00131640021970394

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • R. MacCallum M. Browne H. Sugawara (1996) ArticleTitle‘Power analysis and determination of sample size for covariance structure modeling’ Psychological Methods 1 130–149 Occurrence Handle10.1037/1082-989X.1.2.130

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Marans, R., D. Dillman and J. Keller: 1980, Perceptions of Life Quality in Rural America: An Analysis of Survey Data from Four Studies(Institute for Social Research, Ann Arbor, MI)

  • Mercer, C.: 1994, ‘Assessing liveability: From statistical indicators to policy benchmarks’, in C. Mercer (ed.), Urban and Regional Quality of Life Indicators (Institute for Cultural and Policy Studies, Griffith University, Brisbane), pp. 3–12

  • H. Meyers C. Brightbill (1956) Recreation Administration: A Guide to its Practices Prentice-Hall Englewood Cliffs NJ

    Google Scholar 

  • A. C. Michalos (2003) Essays on the Quality of Life NumberInSeries(Vol. 19) Kluwer Academic Publishers Boston, MA

    Google Scholar 

  • F. Miller S. Tsemberis G. Malia D. Grega (1980) ArticleTitle‘Neighborhood satisfaction with among urban dwellers’ Journal of Social Issues 36 IssueID3 101–117

    Google Scholar 

  • M. Miringoff M. L. Miringoff (1999) The Social Health of the Nation: How America is Really Doing Oxford Press New York

    Google Scholar 

  • V. Moller (1992) ArticleTitle‘Spare time use and perceived well-being among black␣South African youth’ Social Indicators Research 26 309–351

    Google Scholar 

  • J. Murphy E. Niepoth L. Jamieson J. William (1991) Leisure Systems: Critical Concepts and Applications Sagamore Publishing Co. Inc. Champaign, IL

    Google Scholar 

  • J. Nasar D. Julian (1995) ArticleTitle‘The psychological sense of community in the neighborhood’ Journal of American Planning Association 61 IssueID2 17–14

    Google Scholar 

  • InstitutionalAuthorNameNational Research Council (2002) Community and Quality of Life: Data Needs for Informed Decision Making National Academy Press Washington, DC

    Google Scholar 

  • J. Neal J. Sirgy M. Uysal (1999) ArticleTitle‘The role of satisfaction with leisure travel/tourism services and experience in satisfaction with leisure life and overall life’ Journal of Business Research 44 153–163 Occurrence Handle10.1016/S0148-2963(97)00197-5

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • G. Nelson G. Hall D. Squire R. Walsh-Bowers (1992) ArticleTitle‘Social network transactions of psychiatric patients’ Social Science and Medicine 34 433–445

    Google Scholar 

  • T. Norris (2001) ArticleTitle‘America’s communities movement: Investing in the civic landscape’ American Journal of Community Psychology 29 IssueID2 301–307 Occurrence Handle10.1023/A:1010391016309

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • S. Osborne (1992) ArticleTitle‘The quality dimension Evaluating quality of service and quality of life in human services’. British Journal of Social Work 22 437–453

    Google Scholar 

  • W. Pavot E. Diener (1993) ArticleTitle‘Review of the Satisfaction with Life Scale’ Psychological Assessment 5 IssueID2 164–172 Occurrence Handle10.1037/1040-3590.5.2.164

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • M. Ragheb R. Tate (1993) ArticleTitle‘A behavioural model of leisure participation, based on leisure attitude, motivation and satisfaction’ Leisure Sciences 12 IssueID1 61–70

    Google Scholar 

  • D. Raphael I. Brown T. Bryant J. Wheeler (2001) ArticleTitle‘How government policy decisions affect seniors’ quality of life: Findings from a participatory study carried out in Toronto, Canada’ Canadian Journal of Public Health 92 IssueID3 190–195

    Google Scholar 

  • R. Sampson (1988) ArticleTitle‘Local friendship ties and community attachment in mass society: A multilevel systemic model’ American Sociological Review 53 IssueIDOctober 766–779

    Google Scholar 

  • R. Sampson W. Groves (1989) ArticleTitle‘Community structure and crime: Testing social-disorganization theory’ American Journal of Sociology 94 IssueID4 774–802 Occurrence Handle10.1086/229068

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • R. Sampson (1991) ArticleTitle‘Linking micro- and macro-level dimensions of community social organization’ Social Forces 70 IssueID1 43–64

    Google Scholar 

  • Schalock, R.: 1996, ‘Reconsidering the conceptualization and measurement of quality of life’, in R. L. Schalock and G. N. Siperstein (eds.), Quality of Life, Volume I: Conceptualization and Measurement (American Association on Mental Retardation, Washington, DC) pp. 23–32

  • J. Sirgy (2002) The Psychology of Quality of Life NumberInSeries(Vol. 12) Kluwer Academic Publishers Boston, MA

    Google Scholar 

  • J. Sirgy T. Cornwell (2001) ArticleTitle‘Further validation of the Sirgy et al.’s measure of community quality of life’ Social Indicators Research 56 125–143 Occurrence Handle10.1023/A:1012254826324

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • M. Sirgy T. Cornwell (2002) ArticleTitle‘How neighborhood features affect quality of life’ Social Indicators Research 59 79–114 Occurrence Handle10.1023/A:1016021108513

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • J. M. Sirgy D. R. Rahtz M. Cicic R. Underwood (2000) ArticleTitle‘A method of assessing residents’ satisfaction with community-based services: A quality-of-life perspective’ Social Indicators Research 49 279–316 Occurrence Handle10.1023/A:1006990718673

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • R. Stebbins (1997) ArticleTitle‘Casual leisure: A conceptual statement’ Leisure Studies 16 17–25 Occurrence Handle10.1080/026143697375485

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • R. Stebbins (1998) After Work: The Search for an Optimal Leisure Lifestyle Detselig Calgary, Alta

    Google Scholar 

  • L. Unger J. Kernan (1983) ArticleTitle‘On the meaning of leisure: An investigation of some determinants of the subjective experience’ The Journal of Consumer Research 9 IssueID4 381–392

    Google Scholar 

  • R. Veenhoven (2002) ArticleTitle‘Why social policy needs subjective indicators’ Social Indicators Research 58 33–45 Occurrence Handle10.1023/A:1015723614574

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • S. Vrbka E. Combs (1993) ArticleTitle‘Predictors of neighbourhood and community satisfactions in rural communities’ Housing and Society 20 IssueID1 41–49

    Google Scholar 

  • A. Wandersman (1981) ArticleTitle‘A framework of participation in community organizations’ Journal of Applied Behavioral Science 17 IssueID1 27–58

    Google Scholar 

  • W. Wilson (1994) NoChapterTitle H. P. Chudacoff (Eds) Major Problems in American Urban History Heath and Company Lexington: DC 429–438

    Google Scholar 

  • K. Yockey (1976) Residential Alterations and Additions and Housing Neighborhood Satisfaction Iowa Sate University Ames Iowa

    Google Scholar 

Download references

Author information

Authors and Affiliations

  1. School of Business and Economics, Bishop’s University, Box 63, Lennoxville, QC, Canada

    Dwayne A. Baker & Robert J. Palmer

Authors
  1. Dwayne A. Baker
    View author publications

    You can also search for this author in PubMed Google Scholar

  2. Robert J. Palmer
    View author publications

    You can also search for this author in PubMed Google Scholar

Rights and permissions

Reprints and permissions

About this article

Cite this article

Baker, D.A., Palmer, R.J. Examining the Effects of Perceptions of Community and Recreation Participation on Quality of Life. Soc Indic Res 75, 395–418 (2006). https://doi.org/10.1007/s11205-004-5298-1

Download citation

  • Accepted:

  • Issue Date:

  • DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/s11205-004-5298-1

Keywords

Search

Navigation