Development, Psychometric Qualities, and Cross-Validation of the Leave No Trace Attitudinal Inventory and Measure (LNT AIM)

Abstract

This article discusses the process undertaken to develop and validate the Leave No Trace (LNT) Attitudinal Inventory and Measure (LNT AIM), an instrument designed to measure attitudes regarding specific practices addressed by the LNT Principles for Responsible Recreation. We envision this tool being useful for determining the necessity for LNT educational programming or for evaluating existing LNT education efforts. A mailed questionnaire was used to collect data from overnight backcountry visitors who had recently visited one of two U.S. National Park Service Units during the summer, 2007. The final measurement model exhibited satisfactory psychometric fit properties across both samples and is largely consistent with the conceptual framework used to develop the measure.

KEYWORDS:

• Scale development
• Leave No Trace
• Leave No Trace Attitudinal Inventory and Measure
• confirmatory factor analysis