Recreation conflict among skiers and snowboarders

Jacob and Schreyer's (1980) four determinants of recreation conflict, along with a measure of perceived safety, were used to examine both out-group an d in-group, normative beliefs about unacceptable behaviours reported skiers and snowboarders. Data were obtained from surveys distributed at five ski I resorts in Colorado. Bivariate analyses indicated that skiers reported mo re unacceptable behaviors by snowboarders than by fellow skiers, and snowbo arders also identified more out-group than in-group conflict. The skids and snowboarders in this sample varied in terms of activity style, resource sp ecificity, mode of experience, lifestyle tolerance, and concerns, with safe ty. Two structure equation models were used to identify which determinants influenced beliefs about unacceptable behaviour. Only actively style signif icantly influenced both out-group and in-group conflict in both the skier a nd the snowboarder path models. The relative influence of the other predict ors varied according to activity (skiing or snowboarding) and type of confl ict (out-group, or in-group).