Assessing the Transactional Nature of Wilderness Experiences: Construct Validation of the Wilderness-Hassles Appraisal Scale

Abstract

Concerns over the increasing popularity of wilderness recreation have resulted in attempts to determine the amount of use that different areas can tolerate without adverse affects to the resource. Early attempts to establish recreational carrying capacities focused on managers' assessments of biophysical impacts. The perceptions of wilderness visitors, however, are now considered integral to capacity decisions. This study used a stress appraisal framework to understand wilderness visitors' perceptions of on-site conditions. It was based on the premise that negative appraisals of wilderness conditions produce stress and that individual perceptions vary based on personal and situational characteristics. The purpose of the study was to assess the validity of a wilderness-hassles appraisal scale by testing hypothesized relationships between experience-use history (EUH), place attachment, and stress appraisal. Data collection occurred through a postal survey of hikers (n = 385) contacted in the High Peaks and Pemigewasset Wilderness Areas during the summer of 2004. An exploratory factor analysis indicated that stress appraisal is a multi-dimensional construct. Validity testing procedures were restricted to those dimensions that were consistent between study areas and provided partial support for the hassles scale. As hypothesized, EUH did not influence perceptions of wilderness conditions. Place attachment, on the other hand, was positively correlated with stressful appraisals of social and managerial conditions. Although Kruskall Wallis tests revealed significant differences in visitors' perceptions of managerial conditions between study sites, perceptions of social conditions did not vary significantly. Implications for management and recommendations for further refinement of the wilderness hassles construct are discussed.

Exploring outdoor recreation conflict׳s role in evolving constraints models

“…In a related vein, early in the 21st century, related conceptualizations emerged wherein conflict was viewed as a hassle or annoyance (Schuster et al, 2003), for just as in daily life we experience hassles, we also do in our outdoor recreation settings. Empirical results supported that value conflicts were stressful and detractors from recreation experiences in both hypothetical and in-situ recreation situations (Peden & Schuster, 2008;Schuster et al, 2003. More recently, recreation conflict and its ensuing stress have been conceptualized as a potential constraint to experiences and continued participation (Walker & Virden, 2003, 2005Walker, 2007).…”

“…Among these, key future research ideas include assessing the spectrum of conflict intensity, from low to high perceptions (Peden & Schuster, 2008;, rather than its simple dichotomous assessment; the actual process of conflict assessment and responses (Schneider, 2000); and the role of the other types of structural constraints identified by Walker andVirden (2003, 2005).…”

An Analysis of Recreation User Perceptions: Crowding, Conflict, and Satisfaction at Diamond Lake, Oregon

“…These feelings result primarily from exposure to experiences and information about their environment that these individuals take in; be it either physical or intuitive. A person then takes that data and responds according to their own interpretation, otherwise known as perceptions (Lime and Stankey, 1971;Peden & Schuster, 2008).…”