Encounters with Nature. An Investigation of Tastes and Habits regarding the Practices of Outdoor Recreation and Physical Activity.

Author(s):

Erik Backman(presenting / submitting)

Conference:

ECER 2012

Network:

18. Research in Sports Pedagogy

Format:

Paper

Session Information

18 SES 11, Parallel Paper Session

Parallel Paper Session

Time:

2012-09-20

17:15-18:45

Room:

FFL - Salón de Grados

Chair:

Erik Backman

Contribution

During the past few decades, research into the social stratification in physical activity and sport has indicated that these practices are undisputedly correlated to possession of socioeconomic and cultural capital. Although sometimes claimed as socially equal, the practice of outdoor recreation appears to display the same pattern. However, recent studies of outdoor recreation-participants with low socioeconomic and cultural capital, indicate that the proportion also engaged in general physical activity is disproportionately high. Drawing on this finding, experiences of nature appears to be particularly important when striving for a life-long physically active lifestyle. The aim of this study is to further investigate the relation between the interest for outdoor recreation and the interest for physical activity.

Method

This study is part of a longitudinal Swedish study of habits regarding physical activity and sport during adolescence and adulthood. The individuals included in this study were first contacted in 1968 when they were 15 years old. The sample originally consisted of 2144 individuals, divided into 91 randomly selected school classes in Year 8 in four counties in Sweden. Since then, follow-up contact and information gathering have been conducted on six additional occasions, primarily via questionnaries sent by post. At the last collection, in 2007, a total of 1518 responses were recieved. By comparing groups in the mentioned empirical material, with various interests for outdoor recreation and/or physical activity, regarding variables such as: gender; social position; leisure habits; and previous experiences of sport and outdoor recreation; the relation between the interest for outdoor recreation and the interest for physical activity will be further explored.

Expected Outcomes

Through a multipel logistic regression analysis, preliminary results indicate that practice of physical activity and practice of outdoor recreation are related. Among outdoor recreation-participants with low socioeconomic and cultural capital, the proportion also engaged in physical activity appears to be disproportionally high. This finding motivates a further analysis of factors explaining the relation between the interest for physical activity and the interest for outdoor recreation. The results will be discussed in relation to the French sociologist Pierre Bourdieu’s concepts of habitus and taste.

References

- Andersen, L.B. et al (2006) Physical activity and clustered cardiovascular risk in children: a cross-sectional study - Bourdieu, Pierre. (1978) Sport and social class, - Bourdieu, Pierre. (1984) Distinction. - Carnethon, M.R., et al. (2003) Cardiorespiratory fitness in young adulthood and the development of cardiovascular disease risk factors - Chick, G. & Hood, R.D. (1996). Working and recreating with machines: outdoor recreation choices among machine tool workers in western Pennsylvania - Engström, Lars-Magnus (2008). Social background and sports participation from adolescence to middle age - Gartner, William, C,. & Lime, David, W. (Eds.). (2000). Trends in Outdoor Recreation, Leisure and Tourism. - Humberstone, Barbara (1993). Equality, Physical Education and Outdoor Education Ideological Struggles and Transformative Structures - Lee J-H., Scott, D., & Floyd, M F. (2001). Structural Inequalities in Outdoor Recreation Participation: A Multiple Hierarchy Stratification Perspective - Paechter, Carrie (2006). Power, bodies and identity: how different forms of physical education construct varying masculinities and femininities in secondary schools - Roberts, N.S. & Henderson, K.A. (1997). Women of Colour in the Outdoors: Culture and Meanings - Scheerder, J., et al (2006) Sports participation among females from adolescence to adulthood: a longitudinal study - Yang, X., Telama, R., Leino, M. & Viikari, J. (1999) Factors explaining the physical activity of young adults: the importance of early socialization

Author Information

Erik Backman (presenting / submitting)

The Swedish School of Sport and Health Sciences

GIH

Stockholm

Search the ECER Programme

Search for keywords and phrases in "Text Search"
Restrict in which part of the abstracts to search in "Where to search"
Search for authors and in the respective field.
For planning your conference attendance you may want to use the conference app, which will be issued some weeks before the conference
If you are a session chair, best look up your chairing duties in the conference system (Conftool) or the app.