Benefits and Constraints of Outdoor Recreation for People with Physical Disabilities: Inferences from Recreational Fishing

Abstract

The benefits and constraints to angling participation experienced by recreational anglers with and without disabilities were compared in this study. Data were gathered for 775 angler organization members (n = 347 with disabilities) responding to a mail survey in Germany. Anglers with disabilities were older and more often retired than anglers without disabilities, but there were no differences in angling frequency between angler groups. The social and self-improvement benefits associated with recreational fishing were higher for anglers with disabilities compared to anglers without disabilities, and anglers with disabilities experienced significantly more and different constraints to participation. Targeted management actions specifically directed at people with disabilities are needed to capitalize on the importance of a nature-based recreation activity like angling for this demographic group.

Keywords:

• angling
• catch
• clubs
• human dimensions
• inclusive leisure
• motivations

Acknowledgments

We thank the staff and the leaders of the German Anglers Association and the Institute of Inland Fisheries, particularly Dr. Uwe Brämick, Michael Winkel, and Bernd Mikulin, for support. We also thank all anglers providing feedback on earlier questionnaire versions. Reviewers and Karla Henderson provided valuable feedback, and Ben Beardmore assisted with editing. Funding was provided by the German Anglers Association and by the Leibniz-Institute of Freshwater Ecology and Inland Fisheries within the Adaptfish project (www.adaptfish.igb-berlin.de) funded by the Gottfried-Wilhelm-Leibniz-Community to RA.

Notes

^a Mean, median, or percent of total.

^b Frequency scale ranged from 1 = never to 5 = always.

* p ≤.05.

** p ≤.01.

***p ≤.001.

^a ANCOVA results with age as a covariate.

^b Positive age effect (p ≤.05).

^c Negative age effect (p ≤.05).

* p ≤.05.

** p ≤.01.

*** p ≤.001.

^a Assessment by Wilcoxon signed rank tests for dependent samples; every benefit domain is tested relative to other domains within each angler group.

**p ≤.01.

*** p ≤.001.

^a ANCOVA results with age as a covariate.

^b Positive age effect (p ≤.05).

^c Negative age effect (p ≤.05).

* p ≤.05.

** p ≤.01.

***p ≤.001.

^a Assessment by Wilcoxon signed rank tests for dependent samples; every benefit domain is tested relative to other domains within each angler group.

** p ≤.001.