I have just submitted a proposal to research multigenerational transmission of place attachment, place identity, and place dependence in the Rocky Mountain National Park (RMNP) to better inform park staff about user needs and experiences.

 

Purpose
The research proposed here will utilize a mixed-methods design to document multigenerational connections to Rocky Mountain National Park (RMNP) in an effort to identify family experiences that promote life-long commitments to the sustainability of national parks. A better understanding of how RMNP is a place with which users identify will help inform policies and design solutions aimed at developing conditions that maximize place attachment and participation for families, adults, and youth.

Goals
Specific aims are to examine 1) how the built and natural environment at RMNP influence user attachment, 2) what experiences have the greatest impact on family, adult, and youth’s sense of belonging and attachment to RMNP, 3) how park programs and special events influence user perceptions and sense of place, and 4) how family values and experiences affect commitment to national parks.

Place Attachment Theory: Connecting People to Place
The concept of place attachment is being studied more and more in relation to recreation and tourism. Park managers, resort planners, designers, and researchers want to know if it is possible to enhance visitor experience by better understanding place attachment in relation to specific user groups (Williams & Vaske, 2003; Williams, 2000; Brooks, 2003; Kyle et al, 2005; Kyle et al., 2004).

Place attachment has been defined in a number of ways from a variety of disciplines such as family studies, psychology, geography, social ecology, leisure studies, and gerontology. Each discipline has proposed various frameworks for understanding the phenomenon of place attachment (Altman & Low, 1992; Giuliani & Feldman, 1993; Williams & Vaske, 2003). For the purposes of this study place attachment is broadly defined as an emotional, physical, and cognitive connection of an individual, or group of individuals, to a particular place. Place is defined as a spatial setting that has been given meaning based on human experience, social relationships, emotions, and thoughts (Stedman, 2004; Tuan 1977; Low & Altman, 1992).

Recently, place attachment has been examined from a psychological perspective that uses psychometric measures of place identity and place dependence as specific dimensions of place attachment (Williams & Vaske, 2003; Kyle et al, 2004; Kyle et al., 2005; Williams, 2000). Place dependence (a functional attachment) refers to an individual’s dependence on a particular place for specific physical uses (Williams & Vaske, 2003). Place identity (an emotional attachment) refers to the importance of a place as a repository for emotions and relationships that give meaning and purpose to life (Williams & Vaske, 2003; Giuliani and Feldman 1993). As such, place identity has been described as a component of self-identity (Proshansky et al. 1983; Abbott-Chapman & Robertson, 2001; Brooks, 2003; Twigger-Ross and Uzzell, 1996; Proshansky, Fabian, and Kaminoff, 1983) that enhances self-esteem (Duetsch & Hirsch, 2002; Brooks, 2003), increases feelings of belonging to one’s community (Altman & Low, 1992), and is an important part of the development of environmental values (Vaske & Kobrin, 2001; Brooks, 2003).

Although social and environmental psychologists have proposed a strong link between the physical environment and an individual’s identity (Twigger-Ross and Uzzell, 1996; Proshansky, Fabian, and Kaminoff, 1983), less research has been conducted on youth identity formation and physical settings. And even less research has been conducted on the intergenerational transmission of place attachment from parents to children. Research suggests that parents share their place attachments with their children (Chawla, 1992; Hay, 1998) but more research is needed. Family adaptability cohesion evaluation (FACE) tests, used in family counseling, measure important relationships between family members and may be useful to better understand how parents or guardians pass their place attachments and family identities on to their children. In addition, recent researchers have called for further study focused on place attachment, psychological sense of community (PSOC), and social bonding (Nowell et al., 2006; Obst et al., 2002; Obst & White, 2005; Mullis et al., 2003; Proshansky, 1978).

The research proposed here extends the psychological study of attachment to RMNP by utilizing the psychometric place attachment measure designed to measure two dimensions of place attachment - place dependence and place identity. In addition, other psychometric scales (PSOC and FACE) may also be included to further investigate other dimensions of place attachment. Place attachment has been linked to environmentally responsible behavior (Vaske & Korbin, 2001) and to support for user fee policies (Kyle et al., 2003; Bricker, 1998); however, the actual relationship of how place identity and place dependence influence user behaviors and/or beliefs seem to vary with the context of the place and the level and type of attachment.

More research is also needed to advance the social-psychological understanding of the attachment process, the factors that influence the formation of attachments, and how these attachments influence attitudes toward land management policies and participation in the planning process (Williams & Vaske, 2003, p. 839). A phenomenological approach is recommended to better understand the various meanings associated with place attachment for individual users, especially for children who have a more limited vocabulary to express their ideas and to comprehend standardized questionnaires (Chawla, 2001; Hart, 1979; Altman & Low, 1992). This study proposes a mixed methods approach to capture more salient qualities of place attachment.

Click here to view my recent proposal submitted to the Rocky Mountain National Park.