| The purpose of this study was to investigate, analyze, and describe college-aged African American students' perceptions concerning benefits of and barriers to participation in outdoor recreation as leisure-time physical activity (LTPA) at selected universities in the State of Mississippi. More specifically, this study will:;1. Describe the current behaviors and perspectives of college-aged African American students attending four major universities in Mississippi to assess their attitudes concerning the importance of outdoor recreation as LTPA choices compared to the national averages and report any statistically significant hypothesis concerning differences in observed behaviors. 2. Assess the perceived barriers associated with college-aged African American students' lack of participation in outdoor recreation programming in Mississippi, to gain systemic knowledge and an authentic understanding of obstacles these students face with outdoor recreation participation within campus recreation programming while at universities in Mississippi.;No study has been identified that gathered data from the Southern United States region concerning outdoor recreation and leisure-time participation rates among college-aged (18-24 year-old) African American students attending a university where: (1) outdoor recreation programming is available through student recreation programming; (2) African Americans are the minority within a university population; and (3) the state being researched has a recorded history of cultural issues facing the African American population.;This study modified the National Intramural/Recreational Sports Association's (NIRSA) Quality and Importance of Recreational Services (QIRS) survey instrument to collect quantitative data demonstrating perceived values of and barriers to participation in outdoor recreation activity. A total of 167 participants completed the QIRS survey instrument for quantitative analysis. Through a redirect option in the survey, participants were allowed to volunteer for phone interviews to provide qualitative data. Fourteen interviewees provided insightful and meaningful data for analysis. Concerning the quantitative data, a chi-square Goodness of Fit, Chi-square Test for Independence, and a Stepwise Binomial Logistic Regression model were used to test statistical significances between demographic variables and national outdoor recreation participation norms. In addition, initial, structural, and descriptive coding was used to identify three relevant and important emergent themes from in-depth phone interviews to better illustrate barriers as perceived by college-aged African Americans' that impact the participation levels in outdoor recreation in Mississippi.;The findings from this study suggest there are no differences among participation rates at select universities in Mississippi concerning gender compared to those rates among the same age, gender, and ethnicity nationwide, suggesting the national norm is consistent with outdoor recreation participation in Mississippi. Data analysis, however, does suggest a negative relationship between classification and outdoor recreation participation, indicating as African American students advance in college, the likelihood this group will participate in outdoor recreation weakens.;Lastly, qualitative data indicated college-aged African American students in Mississippi are less likely to participate in outdoor recreational activities as LTPA due to three emergent themes. The data show African American students in Mississippi are: (1) lacking competence, skills, knowledge, and education surrounding outdoor recreation, (2) culturally and socially separated from, not engaged with, and underrepresented in the outdoor recreation landscape, and (3) societally and economically concerned and challenged with issues in the State of Mississippi which are barriers to participating in outdoor recreation as LTPA. |
