Investigating the Relationship Between Constraints and Attachment in Outdoor “Sports for All” Programs

The present study aimed to investigate the degree of exercise attachment of individuals who participated in outdoor public recreation programs, and the influence of constraints on the development of different attachment levels. The sample consisted of 120 individuals (75% women, 25% men). The five-dimensional scale developed by Alexandris & Carroll's (1997a) was used to measure constraints and the four-dimensional scale developed by Funk and James (2006) was used to measure attachment (knowledge, interest, importance, and loyalty). The results of the cluster analysis revealed three groups of individuals with different attachment levels. The ANOVA revealed statistical significant differences between groups with different attachment levels in the “individual / psychological”, “lack of time” and “lack of partners” dimensions. These results indicate that attachment is directly related with the perception of constraints. It is an important variable since it influences the development of exercise commitment.