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College students are often faced with barriers or constraints that prevent them from participating in campus recreational sports. Constraints have been examined in a campus recreational sports setting, but only with respect to students who did not participate. Constraints do not necessarily prevent a student from participating. Many students are able to overcome or negotiate these constraints and still manage to participate. Very little research has been done on the concept of negotiation in leisure. The purpose of this study was to examine negotiation strategies and methods used by college students to overcome constraints to participation in campus recreational sports. The sample consisted of 653 students and was analyzed based on gender, residence, and level of education. The results from t-tests and ANOVA procedures indicated that students use different negotiation strategies based on gender. Few differences were found based on residence and no differences were found based on level of education.

The factors that motivate college students to participate in leisure activities play a key role in better understanding participation patterns in campus recreational sports. This study utilized the Leisure Motivation Scale developed by Beard and Ragheb (1983) to determine factors that motivated college students' leisure choices. The purpose of this study was to examine motivational differences in students who participated regularly in campus recreational sports and students who did not regularly participate in campus recreational sports. The sample consisted of 631 students from two universities. The results indicated that students who did not participate regularly in campus recreational sports were seeking rewards from their leisure such as rest, escape and solitude, as well as the opportunity to use their imagination and learn. Students who regularly participated in campus recreational sports revealed that they were motivated to participate because of physical activity, challenge, and competition. In addition, differences in gender and overall motivation for leisure participation were examined.

Satisfaction experienced during leisure activity plays an important role in continued leisure participation. Leisure participation is also affected by leisure constraints. In recent years, the idea of negotiating leisure constraints has emerged as an important area of research. The concept of constraint negotiation suggests that individuals use various methods to overcome constraints and participate in leisure activities. Although research has been done examining the leisure satisfaction of college students, as well as constraint negotiation strategies used by college students, little research has examined the role of negotiation in creating satisfying leisure experiences. The purpose of this study was to examine which type of constraint negotiation strategies contributed to satisfying leisure experiences for college students. The sample of this study consisted of college students at two midwestern universities ( N = 363). Results from this study indicate that college students commonly use interpersonal relations, physical fitness, and skill acquisition negotiation strategies in order to participate in leisure activities. Additional results from multiple regression analyses suggest that the strongest predictors of leisure satisfaction are negotiation strategies that involve a social component, the practicing of a skill in order to improve, and a sense of accomplishment during participation. The findings of this study indicate that leisure satisfaction for college students may be associated with the negotiation strategies used to participate in leisure activities.

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