trendsinmeasurementofthebeneficialconsequences.docVIP

Trends in Measurement of the Beneficial Consequences of Leisure Daniel J. Stynes and B.L. Driver Daniel J. Stynes Department of Park and Recreation Resources 131 Natural Resources Building Michigan State University East Lansing Michigan 48824-1222 B.L. Driver Rocky Mt. Forest Range Expmt. Sta, Fort Collins, CO. Paper presented at 1990 National Outdoor Recreation Trends Symposium, Indianapolis, IN. March 29-31, 1990.  Trends in Measurement of the Beneficial Consequences of Leisure Daniel J. Stynes and B.L. Driver ABSTRACT Trends in research to identify and measure the beneficial consequences of leisure are summarized starting with the ORRRC studies and culminating in a workshop on the topic at Snowbird Utah in 1989. Current research issues and directions in leisure benefits research are summarized using a systems framework. The benefits of leisure, recreation, play, and tourism have been espoused by leisure professionals, politicians, academics, and the general public ever since these terms were first used. Research to validate these claims is more recent. While considerable progress has been made in the past 30 years toward understanding leisure benefits, our scientific understanding of the nature, scope, and extent of these benefits is rudimentary in many respects. Particularly lacking is an understanding of the processes for producing benefits through leisure, recreation, play, or tourism. The types of benefits that are hypothesized to result from leisure activities have not changed significantly over time, although social and environmental changes have elevated the importance of leisure time for generating these benefits. The amount and type of research on leisure benefits, as well as the methods employed have changed dramatically in the past fifty years, and this will be our focus here. We begin by clarifying the term leisure benefits and the scope of studies falling within this theme. We then briefly trace the history of res