The Effect of Identity Conflict/Facilitation on the Experience of Constraints to Leisure and Constraint Negotiation

IntroductionThe development of the hierarchical leisure constraints model (Crawford, Jackson, & Godbey, 1991) was a dramatic leap forward for the field in terms of providing a conceptual framework for understanding processes underlying people's negotiation of leisure constraints. In spite of the considerable contribution of the hierarchical model in leisure studies, there has been persistent concern over the absence of theory for understanding individuals' perception of leisure constraints and the abstraction of the leisure experience from individuals' broader life context (Marmeli & Loucks-Atkinson, 2005; Samdahl, 2005; Shaw & Henderson, 2005). With reference to the absence of theory, little effort has been made to adopt a theoretical framework to understand the processes that drive individuals' experience of leisure constraints. Several authors have also argued that the experience of leisure cannot be understood in isolation from the broader context of an individual's life (Deem, 1999; Kelly, 1983; Samdahl, 2005; Samdahl & KeUy, 1999; Stebbins, 1979). The leisure experience exists within the context of people's lives related to work, family, friends, school, religion, and so on. Thus, for some, the experience of leisure constraints emerges from the complex and competing demands of other life domains (Samdahl, 2005). In these contexts, the negotiation of constraints to leisure is facilitated by consuming resources that could otherwise have been used to support responsibilities linked to other domains of life. Identity theorists have explained the consequences of these competing demands in terms of identity conflict and facilitation (e.g., Burke, 2003; Kahn, Wolfe, Quinn, Snoek, & Rosenthal, 1964; Marks, 1977; Rizzo, House, & Lirtzman, 1970; Sieber, 1974; Thoits, 1992, 2003). With this in mind, the purpose of our investigation was to adopt the concept of identity conflict/facilitation as a theoretical framework for understanding the experience of constraints to leisure and constraint negotiation processes.Literature ReviewIn the review of literature that follows, we begin with an overview of leisure constraints research focusing on its development over the years and more recent efforts to model constraint negotiation processes. We then turn our attention to the theories of identity conflict and facilitation. In this section of the review, we highlight these theories' central tenets and discuss their utility for examining constraint negotiation processes. This utility lies in (a) the provision of a theoretical framework that allows for understanding of processes underlying the experience of constraints that transcends leisure contexts, (b) an understanding of the experience of constraints that is rooted in the broader socio-structural context in which leisure experiences are embedded, and (c) the development of a theoretical framework that provides a foundation for guiding future research efforts. We conclude the review with the presentation of the hypothesized model driving our analyses.Constraints to LeisureConstraints can be defined as factors that affect people's leisure preferences, limit participation, or reduce the level of enjoyment and satisfaction (Jackson, 2005; Tsai & Coleman, 1999). Over two decades ago, Crawford and Godbey (1987) proposed a "tripartite approach" to classify constraints consisting of intrapersonal, interpersonal and structural. Intrapersonal constraints are considered psychological states which shape leisure preferences and predispose people to define leisure activities, locales or services as appropriate or inappropriate, interesting or uninteresting. These kinds of constraints could be personality needs, prior socialization, perceived reference group attitudes, religiosity, and perceived skills and abilities. Interpersonal constraints are those factors which arise out of interpersonal interaction or the relationships with friends, family and others. …