Using the Theory of Reasoned Action to Improve the Understanding of Recreation Behavior

Attitudes, social groups, and gender were examined, using the theory of reasoned action, in an effort to increase understanding and the predictive power of the correlates of recreation participation. One-hundred residents of a small Midwestern city were questioned about their intentions to camp, their attitudes and beliefs about going camping, and the influence of “important others” in making decisions to camp. A significant correlation was found between camping intentions and reported camping behavior (r =.77). Attitude and subjective norms were used to accurately predict intentions to camp (R =.74). Standardized regression coefficients indicated that intentions were slightly more influenced by the respondents' attitudes than by the influence of the social groups. Differences were observed between females and males and between those who intended to camp and those who did not intend to camp. The study results demonstrate that the theory may be useful in predicting behavior and understanding the relationships among recreation behavior, intentions, attitudes, and beliefs.