Comparison of Participation Motives in Outdoor Recreation Activities Between Genders of Kelab Rekreasi UiTM Malaysia (KRESMA) Members

Comparison of Participation Motives in Outdoor Recreation Activities Between Genders of Kelab Rekreasi UiTM Malaysia (KRESMA) Members. Abstract The aim of this is to identify a comparison of participation motives in outdoor recreation activities between genders of Kelab Rekreasi UiTM Malaysia (KRESMA) Members. The Recreation Experience Preference (REP) questionnaire had been adopted and adapted as the question and there are five factors had been used in this study. All 5 factors consist of escaping social pressures, enjoying nature, physical fitness, meeting new people, and achievement/stimulation. The questionnaire consists of a 5 Likert scale which represents 1-5 from strongly disagree, disagree, neutral, agree, and strongly agree. Questionnaires were distributed among 163 participants of KRESMA group members. A purposive sampling technique was used to determine the sample size, and 163 respondents had given their prompt feedback on the questionnaire distributed. Research questions and objectives were set. Descriptive statistics comprising the percentage, the mean, and the standard deviation were used for data presentation and analysis. An Independent T-test was employed to determine the differences in participant motivation toward outdoor recreation activities by gender. This study reveals that significant difference in the overall participation motives by gender among KRESMA members. The findings of this study revealed that both genders have a high degree of motivation factors in terms of enjoying nature. It can be concluded that both genders in KRESMA are more motivated to participate in recreational activities to enjoy nature.


Introduction
Outdoor recreation has been defined as voluntary participation in the free-time activity that occurs outdoors and embraces the interaction of people with the natural environment that tends to relieve stress, maintain psychological well-being, relax, improve self-esteem and confidence and improve social interaction skills (Parnabas et. al., 2016). Outdoor recreation offers a host of benefits for wellness and well-being and promotes interaction with natural ecosystems (Colley et al., 2019). According to Sidi (2017), involvement in outdoor recreation events would be particularly open to natural and outdoor facilities such as trees, lakes, mountains, and many other types of natural settings. Furthermore, Eigenschenk et al. (2019) stated that outdoor sports offer an experience that leads to an intense interaction with oneself, others, and nature and is spoken about as affecting interpersonal and intrapersonal growth and influencing people's relationships with nature. Involvement in outdoor recreation activities decreases among university students due to several factors, such as less exposure to outdoor recreation. Today's generation is very different from the previous generation due to the world of high technology, where students spend a lot of time with smartphones and other gadgets such as playing games and interacting with social media rather than playing outside. Mohd et al (2017) stated that this sophistication confiscates the quality time for these adolescents, especially students, to get active by involvement in sports and recreation and at the same time destroys their healthy lifestyle. While outdoor recreation is essential for any adult, many still pay less attention. They are not aware of the positive effects of outdoor recreation activities, particularly the student's self. Any students thought that taking part in outdoor activities would waste their energy, and therefore their parents would not allow students to participate in outdoor recreation. This is in line with Riturparna (2021) statement that the less interest in outdoor recreation is that students spend a large portion of time in classrooms, laboratories, or at their desks, hence the need to participate in recreational activities. According to Liang et al (2012), motivations are key concepts to understand and determine the reasons for the free time activities of individuals and leisure time process Motivation is a critical concept in determining and understanding the reasons individuals do certain activities in their spare time. As well as motivation is an internal factor that guides, stimulates, and integrates a person's behavior and thus influences travel behavior and it is created by the conditions of the inner struggle. It describes as desires, impulses, and mental states that activate the individual to fulfill them. Most students are less interested in participating in outdoor recreation activities and always focus more on their learning to pursue good grades, so they find that engaging in outdoor recreation will disrupt and affect their learning time. According to Clifton (2014), students who study for at least 3.1 hours per day on homework or research are more liable to have health and behavioral issues, such as stress, sleep loss, loss of focus, and dissatisfaction in their lives. In addition, it can trigger problems back for students if they stay too long, and because of this, students should participate in outdoor sports to benefit from their well-being. Therefore, efforts to restore confidence need to be implemented as soon as possible to solve this problem.
Participating in outdoor recreation activities by both genders with their reason and motives will lead them to repeat this recreation activity during leisure time. Often, male students are seen to be more active in recreational activities than females. Qi et al (2009) said females are not too active because they are more risk conscious than males. Males are more spontaneous and adventurous while females are more careful in their actions (Kamal et al., 2010). According to Qi et al (2009), females are more risk conscious than males. Males are more spontaneous and adventurous while females are more careful in their actions. This is because they set in their mind that outdoor recreation is an extreme activity that may affect their health and people's decision is also affected by their past experiences (Kamal et al., 2010). Therefore, in this study, the researcher would like to determine the differences in participant motivation toward outdoor recreation activities by gender.

Methodology Participants
The research study fixated on population sample members of KARISMA. A selection of individuals will be chosen from a large number for the sample size. It will be asked questions to obtain information to identify a comparison of participation motives in outdoor recreation activities between genders of Kelab Rekreasi UiTM Malaysia (KRESMA). A total of 163 KARISMA members participated in this study. The sample consisted of males (n=87) and females (n=76), In terms of range of age 18-24 (n=146), 25-30 (n=17) and in terms of level of education, Diploma (n=30), Degree (n=129), Master (n=2) and others (n=2)

Instrumentation
The tool that will be used in this analysis will be a series of questionnaires. Recreation Experience Preference (REP) scale that developed by Driver, 1983. The questionnaire was split into two sections for this analysis. A collection of questions designed to obtain the respondent's socio-demographic details will be the first part. Questions including gender, age, level of education, and many more will be included in this part. The second section will be a series of questions to define respondents' views on the participation motives in outdoor recreation activities. In this study, the Recreation Experience Preference (REP) questionnaire had been adopted and adapted as a question and there are 5 factors had been used in this study. All 5 factors consist of escaping social pressures, enjoying nature, physical fitness, meeting new people, and achievement/stimulation. The questionnaire consists of five Likert scales which represent 1-5 from strongly disagree, disagree, neutral, agree, and strongly agree. Cronbach's alpha values will be used for calculating the degree of accuracy of variables. A higher correlation of the respective coefficient of variables represents greater reliability. This research tests component characteristics of content validity to illustrate how accurate a questionnaire is.

Data Collection Procedures
This research was approved by the Research Ethical Committee from the Faculty of Sports Science and recreation UiTM Seremban. The information about respondents was obtained from Kelab Rekreasi UiTM Malaysia (KRESMA). Participants were informed about the purpose and nature of this study. The questionnaire distributes using Google Forms, and the participants were given approximately 10-15 minutes to answer the questionnaire. The questionnaires were collected from all participants after they had completed them.

Data Analysis
All the data analyses were conducted using the Statistical Package for the Social Science (SPSS) Version 25.0. Descriptive analysis was utilized, and the significance level was set at 0.5 (p< .05). In addition, descriptive analysis was used to identify the most factors affecting participant motivation in outdoor recreation participation among KRESMA members. While independent T-Test was used to determine the differences in participant motivation toward outdoor recreation activities by gender.

Results
Table 1 shows the mean and standard deviation for five dimensions of variable participant motivation in outdoor recreation among males. Data from the descriptive analysis revealed that the dimension of participant motivation that has the highest mean is "Enjoy Nature," which indicated 4.48 (SD=.52), and the second is "Physical fitness " with 4.31 (SD=.51). The "Escape pressures" rank number third, which indicated a mean 4.31 (SD=.52), the next is "Similar and new people," which indicated a mean 4.27 (SD=.60) and followed by "Achievement/stimulation" 4.17 (SD=.53).  Table 2, shows the mean and standard deviation for five dimensions of variable participant motivation in outdoor recreation among females. Data from the descriptive analysis revealed that the dimension of participant motivation that has the highest mean is similar to male "Enjoy Nature," which indicated 4.56 (SD=.49), and the second is " Escape pressures" with 4.27 (SD=.47). The " Similar and new people" rank number third, which indicated a mean 4.31 (SD=.52), the next is " Achievement/stimulation," which indicated a mean 4.04 (SD=.49) and followed by " Physical fitness" which indicated 4.31 (SD=.56).

Discussion
The factor affecting participant motivation in outdoor recreation is evaluated based on five dimensions which are "Achievement/stimulation", "Similar and new people", "Enjoy nature", "Physical fitness", and "Escape pressures". Based on the findings obtained, it showed that the highest mean of the factors affecting participant motivation in outdoor recreation activities among males and females are similar which is "enjoy nature". The result supported previous research by Liang et al., 2012 approved that enjoying natural scenery was the top factor that motivates people to involve in recreational activities. Hikers mentioned that hiking was one of their ways to feel close to nature, therefore they did not feel the rush to finish the trail and did not mind making a few stops along the way and going back without reaching the top (Liang et al., 2012). In this research, we can see that the top motive to participate in outdoor recreation activities by both genders is enjoying nature. It is no different for the highest factors by both gender and it can be concluded that all KRESMA members enjoy the beauty of scenery by nature. Plus, one of the frequent activities participated by KRESMA members was hiking and for sure they were eager to reach the top of the mountain to observe the view from the top. Outdoor recreation activities are good for them to ensure that they will always be close to nature and reduce their mental stress during their studies.
The second for females and third for males' highest mean factor affecting participant motivation in outdoor recreation activities for females is "escape pressure". This factor is significant for the KRESMA members because they are university students who might face problems and stress during the semester. Therefore, they seek an activity that can break away from their stress which is through outdoor recreation activities experiencing nature with all their senses and relaxing but also seeing their stay in nature as a way to cope with mental and bodily pressure. This result is supported by Cole & Hall (2010);Bratman et al (2015), whereby a stay in nature of only a few hours already yields a considerable stress reduction and decreases anxiety. Furthermore, Hagvar (1998) cited in Carlsson & Mundszinger (2022 also stated that contact with nature has multiple advantages for human well-being where nature can serve as a 'mental anchor', a place to find stability when being overwhelmed by daily obligations or in crises. Nevertheless, this research shows that "physical fitness" is the second top motivation factor that enhances males' participation in outdoor recreation activities. At the same time, females indicate "Similar and new people" as the third highest mean score. This result was supported by a previous study from Bentley (2003) which mentioned that males are most motivated to participate in outdoor recreation to develop their physical fitness but in contrast, the lowest participation motive in outdoor recreation activities for females is physical fitness. This result is supported by Samat (2016) mention that the lowest mean of the factors affecting participant motivation in outdoor recreation participation among female is physical fitness. It shows that the lowest motivation was recorded for risk-taking, indicating that the main attraction of this white-water rafting activity. However, physical fitness was the second lowest motivational factor in white water rafting activity. Plus, females that participate in KRESMA already have the quality of physical fitness. It can be proved by looking at the hiking programed participate by female members, that there are no issues in terms of physical fitness among female members. It happens because they had done their quality training before participating in the hiking program. It can be concluded that physical fitness factors do not motivate them to participate in outdoor recreation activities. The result for both genders also shows that the lowest participation motive in outdoor recreation activities for male is achievement/stimulation while for female are physical fitness. For males, it can be concluded that male members in KRESMA motivate to participate in outdoor recreation activities not focusing on achievement/ stimulation.

Conclusion and Recommendation
In conclusion, this study examined the factors affecting participation motives in outdoor recreation participation by gender among KRESMA members. It can be concluded that both genders in KRESMA are more motivated to participate in recreational activities to enjoy nature. Additional factors, such as escaping pressure, meeting new people, achievement/ stimulation, and physical fitness also affected participation motives in outdoor recreation activities by genders among KRESMA members. For the comparison motives in outdoor recreation activities by KRESMA members based on gender, the male showed a slightly higher mean score than the female. Therefore, most of the activities that handle and participate in by KRESMA members were outdoor activities and they surely will close with nature. Therefore, exercise combined with nature, in whole or in part, can facilitate recovery of mood and perceived stress after an acute psychological stressor. Exercise with nature sounds, nature visuals, or exercise with both nature sounds, and visuals are better for recovery (Wooller et al., 2018).
Based on the results, the researcher recommended that outdoor designers should emphasize outdoor activities for enjoying nature. Outdoor developers should focus on natural beauties to attract more people to participate in outdoor recreation. To increase the number of female participants in recreational activities, the head of KRESMA need to know the demand for female participant in recreational activities. As in the present study, the female participant was more motivated to participate in recreational activities because they want to enjoy nature and escape social pressure. It means that they want an activity that focuses on nature that can make them reduce their pressure and will feel more comfortable and appreciated if they are rewarded. The Head of KRESMA can generate a reward for the female who joins them as members and also plan suitable recreation activities for beginners. As we can see in the present study, female participants are more motivated to participate in recreational activities because they want to enjoy nature and escape social pressure. As we can see the younger generations are leading increasingly urban, technologically-centered lives, sedentary, and a weakening in the level of outdoor experiences and everyday connection with nature have been reported (Soga & Gaston, 2016). Therefore, positive nature experiences will increase people's connection with nature, which is associated with higher levels of psychological well-being (Cleary et al., 2020). Thus, based on the previous research and the findings of the result it will conclude that outdoor recreation will help students and the new younger generation to overcome many potential stress factors related to high study demands and mental health problems that have increased among students nowadays. Encouraging outdoor recreation not only in childhood and adolescence but also at later life stages (Cleary et al., 2020) is needed to nurture a lifelong nature connection and well-being experiences.