Smith, Kyle, A.C. Landon, D.C. Fulton. A self-determination approach to understanding leisure identity salience among lapsed hunters. Leisure Science.
Abstract
This study extended a framework based on self-determination theory (SDT) to study hunting identity salience in lapsed hunters. SDT suggests that multiple forms of motivation can influence levels of self-determination and subsequent behavioral intentions and addresses how social-contextual factors support or thwart individual satisfaction of needs. In the context of hunting, SDT posits that individuals initially interested in the activity will habitually seek out positive hunting experiences and, when supported, will integrate deer hunting as part of their identity. Data were drawn from a survey of lapsed hunters in Minnesota, United States conducted during the winter of 2021. Results suggested that socio-contextual constraints were negatively associated with intrinsic motivation and support amotivation. Subsequently, these differing forms of motivation had a variable influence on identity salience. These findings have implications for recruitment, retention, and reactivation (R3) efforts and highlight the need to understand the influence of social-contextual factors and individual motivation in the context of continued hunting participation.