Exploring the Role of Recreation in Rural NH Youths' Negotiation of Master Narratives

Rural youths often feel compelled to leave their home communities to seek new opportunities, especially at the secondary-postsecondary educational transition. These decisions are driven in part by perceived developmental imperatives to leave rural regions given messages that success is best achieved elsewhere. The present study used the framework of identity master narratives to explore recreation's role in facilitating youth postsecondary planning in the rural northeastern state of New Hampshire. The study extends and deepens prior research seeking to understand some of the structural-psychological factors connecting recreation involvement in adolescence, postsecondary decision making, and broader developmental patterns among the 15-19 and 20-24 age cohorts. Findings suggest that recreational involvement is associated with postsecondary plans, and that a strong educational and vocational identity can also provide clarity for the future. Recreation and youth professionals inevitably engage with developmental processes and can support postsecondary planning by exposing youths to broad possible futures.