Constraints

Abstract

Although research has found that people prefer to participate in recreation with others, work examining constraints to participation have primarily taken an individual perspective. Thus, this study examined constraints and negotiation strategies in a self-organized women's recreation group. Data were collected using in-depth interviews, informal interviews, and participant observation and were analyzed through a grounded theory approach. The findings highlight six constraint themes that affected the group. The findings describe how the group collectively employed strategies that enabled them to negotiate most constraints and how circumstances shaped the development of negotiation strategies over time. The challenge of delineating constraints strictly into intrapersonal, interpersonal, and structural themes is also highlighted. Copyright 2012 National Recreation and Park Association.