Emotional coping response to hassles and stress experienced in wilderness settings

Abstract

Stress/coping theory was used to understand recreationists' appraisal of stressful situations, coping processes, and the outcomes of the process. Specifically, stress was conceptualized as hassles in recreation settings. Specifically, the objective of this paper was to discuss the emotion focused coping response of visitors to stress encountered while on a Wilderness recreation experience. A mail back survey of visitors was used to collect data. Results were analyzed using confirmatory factor analysis and structural equation modeling. Eighty-seven percent of respondents indicated that some sort of hassle was experienced at the study site. The most frequently reported hassle sources were associated with interactions with other people or the result of human use of the resource. Emotion focused coping did not have a strong influence on the outcomes of the stress process. Specifically, emotion focused coping did less to reduce detraction from the recreation experience that occurred as a result of stress and more to reduce the antecedent processes that gave rise to conditions resulting in detraction.

Parent Publication

• Proceedings of the 2002 Northeastern Recreation Research Symposium

Citation

Schuster, Rudy M.; Hammitt, W. E. 2003. Emotional coping response to hassles and stress experienced in wilderness settings. In: Schuster, Rudy, comp., ed. Proceedings of the 2002 Northeastern Recreation Research Symposium. Gen. Tech. Rep. NE-302. Newtown Square, PA: U.S. Department of Agriculture, Forest Service, Northeastern Research Station. 119-124