Construction and Validation of the National Survey on Recreation and the Environment's Lifestyles Scale

Abstract

This study sought to construct and validate a lifestyle scale that would capture for leisure professionals a more holistic picture of people's interests. A broader profile of their customers would allow recreation professionals to tailor information of their services. Public sector recreation managers could provide better services by learning about how customers spend their leisure time. With general lifestyle information, public sector recreation managers may better identify what services they should be providing or expanding. In this study, 36 items were identified that capture people's major activities. Replicated exploratory factor analyses across these items showed them grouping under nine factors. These factors could help recreation managers gain a deeper understanding of how people's lifestyles relate to their choice of recreation and leisure activities.

KEYWORDS:

• Leisure
• lifestyles
• recreation participation
• segmentation