The Psychological Structure of Leisure: Activities, Needs, People

The present study demonstrates a technique for clustering leisure activities which takes into consideration individual differences in the perceived needs that the activities satisfy. This extends past studies which have clustered leisure activities based only on participation ratings. Separate factor analyses are performed on activities, the needs they satisfy, and individuals. These are then integrated in a three-mode factor analysis to describe how different subgroups of individuals view clusters of leisure activities in terms of the needs they satisfy. Implications of the results for planning and delivering leisure services are also discussed.