A MOTIVATIONAL MODEL OF LEISURE PARTICIPATION IN THE ELDERLY

We developed a motivational model of leisure participation to examine the factors that may encourage involvement by the elderly in leisure a ctivities. This model posits that opportunities and constraints determ ine motivation to participate, which in turn predicts satisfaction. Sa tisfaction is expected to lead to participation. In a study testing th e proposed model, 102 elderly Canadians answered a questionnaire asses sing the variables in the model. As predicted, results of a path analy sis supported the proposed motivational model and accounted for 32% of the variance in the elderly's leisure participation. These results ar e discussed in the light of self-determination theory (Deci & Ryan, 19 85).