Culture and Leisure Constraints: A Comparison of Canadian and Mainland Chinese University Students (Report‪)‬

Introduction Although "leisure constraints research is now well-established as a recognizable and distinct sub-field within leisure studies" (Jackson, 2005, p. 10), serious knowledge gaps remain. First, Crawford and Jackson (2005) contended that little research has been conducted on intrapersonal constraints (i.e., individual psychological qualities that affect the formation of leisure preferences) and interpersonal constraints (i.e., social factors that affect the formation of leisure preferences) compared with structural constraints (i.e., factors that occur after leisure preferences are formed, but before actual leisure participation takes place; Crawford & Godbey, 1987). As a consequence, what is commonly regarded as being an intrapersonal constraint may exclude factors found in contemporary socio-psychological theories. For example, Ajzen's (1991) theory of planned behavior (TPB) and Deci and Ryan's (2000) self-determination theory (SDT) are well established in social psychology (see, for example, Armitage & Conner's, 2001, meta-analytic review of the TPB and the 2000 special issue on SDT), but little attention has been given to how these two theories could further our understanding of intrapersonal constraints. On the other hand, Mannell and Kleiber (1997, pp. 336-341) have suggested that the TPB's variables of attitudes, subjective norms, and perceived behavioral control could affect the formation of leisure preferences, and that needs--such as, we presume, those found in SDT--may also affect leisure preference formation.