A Self-Determination Approach to Understanding Leisure Identity Salience among Lapsed Hunters

This study extended a framework based on self-determination theory (SDT) and leisure constraints to study identity salience in lapsed hunters. Self-determination theory suggests that multiple forms of motivation influence levels of self-determination and addresses how social-contextual factors affect satisfaction of needs. Data were drawn from a survey of recently lapsed hunters in Minnesota, United States conducted during the winter of 2021 (N = 5,000) with an overall response rate of 22%. Results suggested that socio-contextual constraints were negatively associated with intrinsic motivation and support amotivation. Intrinsic motivation was positively associated with identity salience, while amotivation had a negative influence, which suggests that when the experience supports the satisfaction of an individual’s basic psychological needs, they are more likely to integrate hunting as part of their identity. These findings have implications for recruitment, retention, and reactivation (R3) efforts and highlight the importance of social-contextual factors and motivation in the context of hunting participation.