Open Access

ARTICLE

Mountain climber outdoor motivation and safety behavior: Does role clarity and safety cognition make a difference to participant safety?

Gengan Wu^1,#, Anqi Jiang^1,#, Zihan Chen², Xinwei Su^3,4,*
1 College of Tourism, Huaqiao University, Quanzhou, 362021, China
2 School of Economics and Finance, Huaqiao University, Quanzhou, 362021, China
3 Faculty of International Tourism and Management, City University of Macau, Macau, 999078, China
4 International College, Krirk University, Bangkok, 10220, Thailand
* Corresponding Author: Xinwei Su. Email:
# Gengan Wu and Anqi Jiang contributed equally to this manuscript

Journal of Psychology in Africa https://doi.org/10.32604/jpa.2025.073822

Received 26 September 2025; Accepted 14 October 2025; Published online 02 December 2025

Abstract

This study examined the role of role clarity and safety cognition in shaping mountain climbers’ participation motivation and safety behavior. The study sample comprised 454 participants (males = 58.8%, mean age = 32 years, SD = 9.31). They completed measures on five participation motivation dimensions (achievement, interest, knowledge, socialization, and health) and safety participation. The results from structural equation modelling indicated that participant motivations in achievement, health, and knowledge significantly predicted safety participation behavior, such as risk avoidance, self-protection, and mutual assistance, more so than the motivations of interest and socialization. Role clarity moderated the relationship between motivation and safety behavior by strengthening the positive effect of motivation on behavior when individuals had a clear understanding of their responsibilities. Safety cognition mediated this relationship, as stronger motivation enhanced safety awareness, which in turn promoted safety participation. Moreover, role clarity particularly strengthened the indirect effect in the path from motivation to behavior via safety cognition, forming a moderated mediation model. These findings suggest that enhancing participation motivation, improving safety cognition, and optimizing role clarity can significantly boost safety participation in mountain outdoor sports.

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Keywords

mountain outdoor sports; participation motivation; safety participation behavior; role clarity

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