Leisure Attitudes: A Follow-up Study Comparing Canadians, Chinese in Canada, and Mainland Chinese

This study examines Mainland Chinese and Canadian's cognitive, affective, and behavioral leisure attitudes, and it compares these attitudes with those of Anglo-Canadians and Chinese in Canada (as reported in Deng, Walker, & Swinnerton; 2006). Data from 132 Mainland Chinese and 198 Canadians visiting, respectively, Tiantong Mountain National Forest Park and Elk Island National Park were obtained. Factor analysis of the Leisure Attitude Scale (Ragheb & Beard, 1982) resulted in four useable sub-scales: cognitive, affective, behavioral/preference, and behavioral/leisure education. A MANOVA and follow-up ANOVAs indicated that our study's Canadian participants had significantly (p < .01) higher mean scores than our Mainland Chinese participants on all but the behavioral/leisure education attitude scale. In order to compare our behavioral leisure attitude findings with Deng's et al., an averaged score was first calculated, and then t-tests of this and the other two leisure attitudes were conducted. Results indicated that: (a) our study's Mainland Chinese participants had a significantly (p < .01) lower cognitive leisure attitude mean score than Deng's et al. Chinese in Canada participants, and this finding held true irrespective of whether those in the latter group were low- or high-acculturated; and (b) our study's Canadian participants had significantly (p < .01) higher affective and behavioral leisure attitude mean scores than Deng's et al. Anglo-Canadian participants. The two studies' findings are compared and contrasted, and research recommendations are proposed.