Leisure-travel behaviors of college-educated African Americans and perceived racial discrimination

175 Pages·2001·6.3 MB·English

by  Willming, Cynthia L.

LEISURE-TRAVELBEHAVIORSOFCOLLEGE-EDUCATEDAFRICAN
AMERICANSANDPERCEIVEDRACIALDISCRIMINATION
By
CYNTHIAL.WILLMING
ADISSERTATIONPRESENTEDTOTHEGRADUATESCHOOL
OFTHEUNIVERSITYOFFLOIRDAINPARTIALFULFILLMENT
OFTHEREQUIREMENTSFORTHEDEGREEOF
DOCTOROFPHILOSOPHY
UNIVERSITYOFFLORIDA
2001
ACKNOWLEDGMENTS
Iwouldliketoextendmysincerestthankstomydissertationcommitteemembers:
StephenAndersonforacceptingtobemychairandforhisthorougheditorialassistance;
LoriPennington-Grayforkeepingmeontrackwithhertoughquestionsregardingmy
methodsandforhercountlesstalkswithmeaboutstatistics;HeatherGibson,who
answeredmyfrequentquestionsabouttheapplicationoftheorytomyresearch;Stephen
Hollandforlookingoutformybestinterestsandforhiskindwordsofencouragement;
andLeonardBeeghley,whoencouragedmetofollowmyheartregardingmyresearch
interests.
Inaddition,Iwouldliketothankspecificindividualsthatsupportedmethrough
thisprocess: LarryBurke,whogavemeaccesstothesamplingframeforthestudy;
EdwinGomez,whoansweredmyconstantemailsregardingraceandethnicity;Myron
Floyd,whoselflesslyreviewedmyquestionnaireduringhisinterviewattheUniversityof
Florida;andWayneLosano,whochallengedmywritingskillsthroughhisediting.
IwouldalsoliketothankthemanyfriendsIhavemadeattheDepartmentof
Recreation,ParksandTourismfortheirconstantsupportandencouragement. Tomy
familyanddearestfriends,Iextendmydeepestgratitudeforyourpatience,love,and
encouragement. Finally,Iwouldliketothanktherespondentswhotookthetimeto
participateinmystudy.
ii
TABLEOFCONTENTS
page
ACKNOWLEDEMENTS
ii
ABSTRACT v
CHAPTERS
INTRODUCTION
1 1
StatementoftheProblem 2
TheoreticalFramework 5
PurposeoftheStudy 7
ResearchQuestions 8
Delimitations 10
Limitations 10
2 LITERATUREREVIEW 11
TourismasaFormofLeisureBehavior 12
LeisureBehaviorandRace 14
TravelBehaviorandRace 26
TravelBehaviorandSocialClass,Gender,andLifeStage 30
ChapterSummary 44
3 METHODS 46
QuestionnaireDesign 46
Sample 49
Pre-testingtheQuestionnaire 53
DataCollection 53
RecodingoftheDataandDataAnalysis 55
4 RESULTS 59
DescriptiveStatistics 59
Leisure-TravelBehaviors 61
PerceivedRacialDiscriminationDuringLeisureTravel 67
InfluenceofPerceivedRacialDiscriminationDuringLeisureTravel 69
iii
RelationshipsBetweenLeisure-TravelBehaviorsandSocialClass,Gender,and
LifeStage 73
RelationshipsBetweenPerceivedRacialDiscriminationDuringLeisureTravel
andSocialClass,Gender,andLifeStage 88
RelationshipsBetweentheInfluenceofPerceivedRacialDiscriminationDuring
LeisureTravelandSocialClass,Gender,andLifeStage 101
RelationshipsBetweenSocialClass,Gender,LifeStage,andPerceivedRacial
DiscriminationontheLeisure-TravelBehaviors Ill
5 DISSCUSION,CONCLUSIONS,ANDRECOMMENDATIONS 126
SummaryofProceduresandTreatmentoftheData 126
SummaryofFindings 127
Conclusions 145
DiscussionandImplications 146
RecommendationsforFutureResearch 148
APPENDIX THELEISURETRAVELPATTERNSOFAFRICAN
AMERICANSANDPERCEIVEDRACIALDISCRIMINATION
SURVEY 151
REFERENCES 158
BIOGRAPHICALSKETCH 167
AbstractofDissertationPresentedtotheGraduateSchool
oftheUniversityofFloridainPartialFulfillmentofthe
RequirementsoftheDegreeofDoctorofPhilosophy
LEISURE-TRAVELBEHAVIOROFCOLLEGE-EDUCATEDAFRICAN
AMERICANSANDPERCEIVEDRACIALDISCRIMINATION
By
CynthiaLorraineWillming
August2001
Chair: StephenAnderson
MajorDepartment: Recreation,ParksandTourism
Thisstudyexaminestheleisure-travelbehaviorsofAfiicanAmericans,
perceptionsofracialdiscrimination,andtheinfluenceofsocialclass,gender,andlife
stageonleisure-travelbehaviors. Aquestionnairewasdevelopedandmailedto800
AfricanAmericanswhohadattendedtheUniversityofFlorida. Ofthe800,131Afiican
Americanswereincludedinthestudy;43.5percentweremaleand56.5percentwere
female;47percentwereagedbetween17-45years(EarlyAdulthood)and47percent
wereagedbetween46-65years(MiddleAdulthood);44percenthadcompleteda
master'sdegreeorhadsomeworkonanEd.D.,Ph.D.,J.D.,orM.D.,29percenthada
bachelor'sdegreeorsomegraduatework,and25percenthadanEd.D.,Ph.D.,J.D.,or
M.D;47percenthadafamilyincomeabove$85,000,33percenthadafamilyincome
between$55,000to$84,999,and16percenthadafamilyincomebelow$54,999. The
V
datawereanalyzedusingdescriptivestatistics,t-tests,one-wayANOVAs,andmultiple
regression.
Thefindingsofthisstudyindicatethatcollege-educatedAfricanAmericansare
activeparticipantsinthetravelandtourismindustry. Unfortunately,someAfrican
Americansperceiveracialdiscriminationinthetravelservicesandactivitiesthattheyuse
orparticipateinthemostduringtheirleisuretravel. EventhoughsomeAfrican
Americansperceivedracialdiscriminationincertaintravelservicesandactivities,they
rarelychangedtheirleisure-travelbehaviors.Genderwassomewhatusefultounderstand
therelationshipsbetweenperceivedracialdiscriminationandactivitiesandincomewas
thestrongestindicationoftheaccommodationandactivitytravelbehaviorsofAfrican
Americans. Thecollectiveinfluenceofeducation,income,gender,lifestage,and
perceivedracialdiscriminationaccountedforsomeofthedifferencesamongthe
accommodationandactivitytravelbehaviorsofAfricanAmericans.
Todisregardtherealityofperceivedracialdiscriminationintheleisure-travel
experiencesofAfricanAmericansistoexcludeAfricanAmericansfromthesamerights
andprivilegesthatareavailabletowhitesduringtheirleisuretravel. Whileperceived
racialdiscriminationisasensitiveandchallengingissue,furtherresearchisneededto
understandthisphenomenonandpreventativemeasuresareneededtoeradicatethis
seriousqualityoflifeissue.
CHAPTER
I
INTRODUCTION
Tourismisoneofthefastestgrowingindustriesintheworid(WoridTourism
Organization(WTO),1997;Goeldner,Ritchie,&Mcintosh,2000). IntheUnitedStates,
tourismisthethirdlargestindustrygeneratinganannual$559.9billioninexpenditures
fromdomesticandinternationaltravelers(TravelIndustryAssociationofAmerica(TIA),
2001). AccordingtoTIA,overonebilliondomestic-persontripsof50milesormorethat
areonewayandareatleastonenightawayfromhomewillbetakenin2001. Thislarge
volumeoftravelactivityexemplifiestheeconomicandsocialimpactsofthetourism
industryandasaresulthasinfluencedmorefacetsofsocietythananyothermodem
industry(Apostolopoulos,1996).
Thepervasivenessoftourismoverthelast40yearshaspromptedscholarsto
initiallyexaminetourismasasociologicalphenomenon. Muchofthisworkcanbe
classifiedintofourareasofresearch: thetourist,hostcommunityandtouristinteractions,
thestructureofthetourismsystem,andtheeffectsoftourism(Cohen,1984). Within
theseareasofresearchnosingleconceptualizationofthetermtourismhasbeenagreed
upon(Dann&Cohen,1991;Cohen,1984). However,manysocialscientistshave
conceptualizedtourismasamodem-dayleisureactivityorspecializedformofleisure
behavior(Cohen,1974;Smith,1989;Yiannakis&Gibson;1992). Inthisview,tourism
isplacedwithinaworkandleisurecontextwherebytourismconsistsofworkinghosts
andleisuredtravelers. Hence,thetouristisviewedasaleisuretravelerwhoseeksnon-
1
2
instrumentalpleasure-relatedactivities,unlikethebusinesstraveler. Tourism
conceptualizedasamodem-dayleisureactivityorspecializedformofleisurebehavioris
oneapproachthatmightlendconsiderableunderstandingtothebehaviorsexhibitedby
thetouristduringhis/herleisuretravel.
StatementoftheProblem
WiththeriseofmasstourismsinceWWII,leisuretravelhasbeenacommonly
sharedexperienceformuchoftheU.S.population(Kelly&Godbey,1992). Infact,an
estimated66percentoftheU.S.populationreportedtakingleisure-relatedtripsin1999
(TIA,2001). Whiletheseleisuretravelersaresimilarinmanyways,socio-structural
factorssuchassocialclass,gender,andlifestagehavebeenfoundtoinfluenceleisure-
travelbehaviors(Frew&Shaw,1999;Gottlieb,1982;Yiannakis&Gibson,1992,Gibson
&Yiannakis,inpress). Yet,fewresearchershaveexaminedtheinfluenceofraceon
leisure-travelbehaviors(Goodrich,1985;Philipp,1993,1994;TIA,1996).
Giventhislackofresearchonraceandleisuretravel,nodefinitiveexplanationof
thefactorsthatinfluencetheleisure-travelbehaviorsofAfricanAmericansisavailable.
ThisabsenceofresearchisofconcernbecauseracialandethnicpopulationsintheU.S.
areincreasinglydiversifyingandatpresentourunderstandingoftheirtravel-related
experiencesisminimal. Currently,racialandethnicgroupsrepresent26percentofthe
U.S.population;however,by2050racialandethnicpopulationsarepredictedtoincrease
to47percentwhereastheEuropeanAmericanpopulationwilldecreaseto53percent
(UnitedStatesBureauoftheCensus,1999). TheAfricanAmericanpopulationis
expectedtoincreasefi-om13percentto20percentinthenext10years(U.S.B.C.,1999).
Becauseofthispopulationtrend,investigatingthefactorsthatinfluencetheleisure-travel
3
behaviorsofAfricanAmericanswillbecomeprogressivelymoresignificantandjustifies
scholarlyattention.
Intheareaofleisurestudies,manyresearchershaveexaminedtherelationship
betweenraceandleisurebehavior,usingthemarginality-ethnicityperspective(Klobus-
Edwards,1981;Stamps&Stamps,1985;Hutchison,1987;Washbume,1978;West,
1989;Woodard,1988). Washbume(1978)developedthemarginality-ethnicity
perspectivetoexplainthedifferencesbetweentheparticipationratesofAfrican
Americansandwhitesinwildlandactivities. Themarginalityperspectivesuggeststhat
the"underparticipation"ofAfricanAmericansinwildlandactivitiesislinkedtothe
unequalallocationofresourcessuchaslackofincome,segregatedhousing,lackof
transportation,andlackofinformationaboutrecreationfacilitiesoractivities. However,
whennosignificantdifferencesemergebetweentheleisurebehaviorsofAfrican
Americansandwhitesusingthemarginalityperspectivethentheethnicityperspectiveis
considered. Accordingtotheethnicityperspective,the"underparticipation"ofAfrican
Americansinwildlandactivitiescomparedtowhitesisattributedtovariationsbetween
eachracialgroup'ssubculturalcharacteristics(i.e.,culture)suchasvalues,traditions,
norms,andsocialorganizationsofgroups.
Researchersusingthemarginality-ethnicityperspectivehavefoundsupportfor
thisapproach,althoughresultshavebeenmixed. Forexample,Hutchison(1987)and
West(1989)foundsupportforthemarginalityperspectivewhileKlobus-Edwards(1981),
StampsandStamps(1985),andWashbume(1978)foundsupportfortheethnicity
perspective. Becauseinconsistentfindingssurroundthisperspective,someresearchers
suggestthatthemarginality-ethnicityapproachprovidesinsufficientexplanationofthe
factorsthataccountforthevariationsbetweentheleisurebehaviorsofAfricanAmericans
andwhites(Floyd&Gramann,1993;Hutchison,1988;Johnson,Bowker,English,&
Worthen,1997).
Giventheinconclusivenatureofthisperspective,Phillip(1999)andWest(1989)
suggestthattheoriesbasedontheconceptsofprejudiceanddiscriminationmighthelpto
increaseourunderstandingoftheleisurebehaviorsofAfricanAmericansandother
minoritygroups. Subsequently,researchersusingthisapproachhavefoundthatracial
andethnicgroupstendtoavoidleisuresettingswhereprejudiceandracialdiscrimination
isperceived(Blahna&Black,1993;Gobster&Delgado,1992;Philipp,1999;West,
1989),andassuchthisseemstobetterexplainthelowerparticipationratesofAfrican
Americansinsomerecreationalsettingsoractivities.
Intheareaoftourismresearch,nopreviousworkhasexaminedtheinfluenceof
racialdiscriminationontheleisure-travelbehaviorsofAfricanAmericans. Infact,onlya
smallnumberofstudieshaveidentifiedtheleisure-travelbehaviorsofAfricanAmericans
(Goodrich,1985;Philipp,1993,1994;TIA,1996). Perhapsresearchershaveoverlooked
theAfricanAmericanpopulationbecauseofitssmallernumberscomparedtoEuropean
Americans,orbecauseresearchershavefailedtoconsiderAfricanAmericans'travel-
spendingpower,orhaveassumedthatAfricanAmericanssharesimilarvalues,attitudes,
andpreferenceswithEuropeanAmericans. Consequently,homogenizingthevalues,
attitudes,andpreferencesofracialandethnicgroupstendstoignoretheheterogeneityor
differenceswithinthesegroups(Floyd,1998;Huchinson,1988). Becausetourism
functionswithinabroadersocial-structuralsystem,usingtheconceptsofprejudiceand
discriminationmighthelptoincreasetheunderstandingofthefactorsthataccountforthe