Early Life Experiences and Adult Sports Participation

This paper examines the influence of some childhood background factors on adult levels of participation in hunting and fishing activities. The study, based on data collected from hunters and fishermen in Pennsylvania, offers some insights into the effect early experiences with two types of outdoor recreational activities have on participation in adult life. The data show that residence in youth and source of introduction to hunting and fishing, although significantly related to extent of participation as a youth, are not related to higher levels of adult participation. However, for hunters, and to a limited extent for fishermen, frequency of participation as a youth is positively related to current level of participation. It is suggested that intervening factors occurring in the time interval between youth and adulthood serve to reduce or eliminate the influence of childhood residence and source of introduction, and that at different points of the life and work cycles certain variables recede and others emerge as influences on participation. Work-related influences on level of adult participation are presented as one such “intervening” variable.