PARK USE CHARACTERISTICS, CONSTRAINTS, AND DESIRED STRATEGIES TO REDUCE CONSTRAINTS: A COMPARISON OF SINGLE PARENT AND DUAL PARENT LEISURE BEHAVIOR
Open Access
Author:
Blanco, Joel
Graduate Program:
Recreation, Park and Tourism Management
Degree:
Master of Science
Document Type:
Master Thesis
Date of Defense:
None
Committee Members:
Andrew Justin Mowen, Thesis Advisor/Co-Advisor Andrew Justin Mowen, Thesis Advisor/Co-Advisor Alan R Graefe, Thesis Advisor/Co-Advisor Dr Harry Zinn, Thesis Advisor/Co-Advisor
Keywords:
single parents park visitation recreation
Abstract:
The purpose of this thesis is to make comparisons between the park use of single parents and dual parents within an urban environment. Specifically, leisure behavior and perceptions between these groups will be analyzed in several areas. These areas include park use behaviors, perceived constraints preventing or decreasing park use, and preferences for agency affordance strategies that may reduce these constraints.
This thesis was part of a larger investigation of park usage in Northeast Ohio. Data were collected in conjunction with Triad Research Group, Inc. of Cleveland Ohio. Telephone surveys were administered to residents of Cuyahoga, Geauga, Lake, Lorain, Medina, Portage, and Summit counties in the greater Cleveland metropolitan area. In total, 1200 surveys were collected with a 77% response rate. Of these data, 96 were considered single parents compared to 278 married parents. The data were then analyzed using cross-tabular tests with Chi-square analyses. To control the population for income, the data were then re-analyzed using logistic regression methods.
Findings indicated that single parents face transportation constraints more so than dual parents even when controlling for income. Park managers who wish to serve single parents should consider potential public transportation strategies in order to provide increasing accessibility and convenience. Additionally, single parents indicated that fear of crime and a desire to make parks safer were salient concerns. Finally, single parents were more likely to indicate a desire for programming involving child-care within public park offerings.
