Assessing Hierarchical Leisure Constraints Theory After Two Decades (Report‪)‬

Introduction The hierarchical leisure constraints models first presented about two decades ago by Crawford and Godbey (1987) and Crawford, Jackson, and Godbey (1991), and subsequently expanded by Jackson, Crawford, and Godbey (1993), have been widely adopted as an important lens through which to view leisure behavior. These models, taken together, actually comprise what should be more properly denoted as a theory of hierarchical leisure constraints, given that each model essentially posits a new set of testable theoretical propositions or predictions. Although each of these three models may be discussed as a discrete conceptualization, they are really three observable indicators of the development of a more abstract theoretical orientation that takes constraints to leisure behavior as its subject. We use the terms "model" and "theory" interchangeably in this presentation, while recognizing that, technically, only theories may be empirically tested; models, given that they typically take the form of metaphors or analogies, cannot be directly tested. We recognize that other conceptualizations of the nature and function of leisure constraints have been developed over the past two decades, and that these formulations often take divergent views of the factors that may deter leisure pursuits. In this presentation, however, we focus on the 1991 iteration of hierarchical leisure constraints theory (Crawford, Jackson, & Godbey, 1991), which proposed that constraints to leisure behavior are arrayed in a hierarchical fashion.