Primary Meta-Analysis in Leisure Research: Results for Neulinger's “What Am I Doing?” Instrument

Abstract

This study presents a primary meta-analysis and describes differences in responses to constructs assessed by the measurement component of Neulinger's paradigm of leisure. Five data sets, contributed by researchers who investigated diverse subpopulations, were concatenated for analyses. There were 480 subjects, 197 men and 283 women, and differences were considered for five independent variables which included gender, age, education, income, and marital status. An analysis was also computed for subpopulations in which gender was statistically controlled. The results of the study indicated that perceived freedom, intrinsic motivation, and positive affect were significantly higher for retirees, women, and subjects with some college training. Implications of the study are that primary meta-analytic techniques are useful for extending results of leisure research; theoretically, the data appear to support Neulinger's contention of the primary importance of perceived freedom and the relationship between this construct and intrinsic motivation. Pragmatically, the data suggest that retirees, women, and moderately educated individuals be studied in relation to other subpopulations as a means to enhance leisure education and counseling efforts. In addition, problems inherent in a primary meta-analysis were discussed, areas were identified for resolution related to a national repository for data sets, and further psychometric research was recommended for Neulinger's instrument.

KEYWORDS:

• Primary meta-analysis
• Quality of life
• Leisure
• Perceived freedom
• Intrinsic motivation
• Positive affect