Conflict, Specialization, and Place Attachment Among North American Rock Climbers
Open Access
- Author:
- Mueller, Joel Thomas
- Graduate Program:
- Recreation, Park and Tourism Management
- Degree:
- Master of Science
- Document Type:
- Master Thesis
- Date of Defense:
- October 27, 2016
- Committee Members:
- Alan R Graefe, Thesis Advisor/Co-Advisor
Derrick Taff, Committee Member
Andrew Justin Mowen, Committee Member - Keywords:
- Outdoor Recreation
Climbing
Rock Climbing
Place Attachment
Specialization
Conflict
Structural Equation Modeling
Recreation
Place Dependence - Abstract:
- Conflict in outdoor recreation is a topic that has been widely studied for over 50 years. Although conflict is widely researched, its relationship to other dominant constructs within outdoor recreation remains limited. This study utilized novel methods to examine the relationships between conflict and two other dominant constructs within outdoor recreation research, place attachment and specialization. The sample consisted of North American rock climbers. The study was performed by sending a survey to the membership of the American Alpine Club. This analysis explored long-theorized relationships proposed by Jacob and Schreyer (1980) and Ditton, Loomis, and Choi (1992). Place attachment was hypothesized to predict conflict. Specialization was hypothesized to predict place attachment and overall conflict. Additionally, the relationship between the frequency of viewing conflict behaviors and rating them as problematic was explored. Conflict behaviors were factored into three distinct factors using exploratory factor analysis: conflicts of ethics, crowding, and rude interactions. All place attachment and conflict items were phrased in terms of a participant’s self-defined “primary outdoor climbing area.” This novel approach was used to allow for comparisons on a national scale, as opposed to a specific location. Structural equation modeling was performed to test four hypothesized structural models. A general conflict model was tested. This was followed by an independent model for each conflict factor. All models displayed acceptable to good fit and the strength of relationships varied. Frequency of viewing behaviors was consistently the strongest predictor of rating behaviors as problematic. Place attachment demonstrated no relationship with conflict in any of the models. Many hypothesized relationships were found to be insignificant. The theoretical and methodological reasons for this are discussed.