Research Statement

I use a variety of methods to assess the psycho-social dimensions of recreation on health and wellbeing. Projects are collaborative efforts with parks and recreation professionals, physicians, and psychologists, with an aim of better establishing recreation and leisure for preventative health. I also have expertise in prejudice, discrimination, and the role of social stigma on behavior, adding a critical and social justice lens to my research. Additional interests include food as a cultural phenomenon, and the role of leisure in subjective wellbeing, and interdisciplinary perspectives between leisure and social psychology, positive psychology, and medicine.

Research Keywords

  • Stigma, Discrimination, & Prejudice
  • Recreation and Leisure Studies
  • Pediatric Obesity
  • Parks Prescriptions
  • Obesity/overweight
  • Health and Well-Being
  • Food and eating
  • Community Recreation and Health

Presentations

  • Diversity, Leisure, and Health: Examining Convergence and Divergence across Demographics and Settings in the Link between Leisure and Health. Presentation, Accepted, 03/04/2019.
  • Janke, M., Schmalz, D. L., Payne, L. L., Rose, J., & Johnson, C. (2019, February). Conducting a manuscript review: Tips and tricks from editors and associate editors. Panel presented at The Academy of Leisure Sciences Research and Teaching Institute, Greenville, SC. Presentation, Presented, 02/28/2019.
  • Schmalz, D. L., & Evans, K. E. (2019, February). Beyond locker room talk: Women’s responses to gender discrimination in outdoor recreation. Paper presented at The Academy of Leisure Sciences Research and Teaching Institute, Greenville, SC. Presentation, Presented, 02/27/2019.
  • Brackbill, E., Asif, I. M., Reeves, C. B., Blomquist, K. K., Utecht, L., Griffin, S. F., Schmalz, D. L., Sease, K., & Nelson, V. R. (2018, October). Programming strategies to reduce blood pressure and BMI in a comprehensive pediatric weight loss program. Poster presented at the American Association of Family Physicians Annual Congress, New Orleans, LA. Presentation, Presented, 10/23/2018.
  • Larson, L. R., Harris, B., Keith, S. J., Fernandez, M., Ogletree, S., Hallo, J. C., Shafer, C. S., Schmalz, D. L., Boley, B. B. (2018, October). Leisure research in urban greenway design and management: Charting a path forward. Paper presented at the National Recreation and Park Association Conference, Indianapolis, IN. Presentation, Presented, 10/18/2018.
  • Harris, B. S., Schmalz, D. L., & Fernandez, M. (2018, June). Contested spaces: How green gentrification is affecting recreation and leisure behavior in Chicago’s 606 trail. Paper presented at the International Symposium for the Society of Resource Management, Salt Lake City, UT. Presentation, Presented, 06/20/2018.
  • Crowder, J. L., Asif, I. M., Reeves, C. B., Blomquist, K. K., Brackbill, E., Griffin, S. F., Schmalz, D. L., Utecht, L., & Sease, K. (2018, April). Exercise programing correlates with patient success in a comprehensive pediatric weight loss program. Paper presented at the American Medical Society for Sports Medicine, Orlando, FL. Presentation, Presented, 03/21/2018.
  • Desai, D., Asif, I. M., Reeves, C. B., Blomquist, K. K., Brackbill, E., Utecht, L., Griffin, S. F., Schmalz, D. L., Sease, K., & Nelson, V. R. (2018, March). Programming strategies to reduce blood pressure and BMI in a comprehensive pediatric weight loss program. Poster presented at the Medical Education Research Symposium, Greenville Health System, Greenville, SC. Presentation, Presented, 03/21/2018.

Publications

  • Parr, M. G. & Schmalz, D. L. (2019). Leisure studies in the 21st century: Challenges and opportunities in our collective identity. Journal of Leisure Research. Accepted, 03/05/2019.
  • Schmalz, D. L. , Parr, M. G, Powell, G., Bricker, K. S. & Dustin, D. L. (2019). Post-tenure pathways: Individualized careers in higher education. Schole: A Journal of Leisure Studies and Recreation Education. Accepted, 02/28/2019.
  • Harris, B. S., Schmalz, D. L. , Larson, L. R., Fernandez, M. & Griffin, S. F. (2019). Arms together, hearts apart: An exploration of intimate segregation on Chicago’s 606 Trail. City and Community. Accepted, 02/26/2019.
  • Mainieri, T., Schmalz, D. L. & Anderson, D. M. (2019). Embarking on a rhetorical exploration: Accommodating science (or not) in leisure research. Schole: A Journal of Leisure Studies and Recreation Education. Accepted, 02/20/2019.
  • Schmalz, D. L. , Joyner, L., Duffy, L. N., Bricker, K. S. & Blomquist, K. K. (2019). The cycle of food socialization: Leisure as resistance. Annals of Leisure Research. Published, 02/07/2019.
    https://www.tandfonline.com/doi/full/10.1080/11745...
  • Colistra, C. , Bixler, R. & Schmalz, D. L. (2018). Factors that contribute to relationship building in a community center. Journal of Leisure Research. Published, 12/17/2018.
    https://www.tandfonline.com/doi/full/10.1080/00222...
  • Blomquist, K. K. , Griffin, S. F., Schmalz, D. L., Reeves, C. B. & Sease, K. K. (2018). Evaluation of a family-based pediatric weight management program: Predictors of treatment success in a tertiary clinic. Journal of Childhood Obesity. Vol. 3. Published, 07/25/2018.
  • Agate, S. T. & Schmalz, D. L. (2018). Helping families play: Development of a framework for family recreation programming.. (pp. 5-21). Innovative Leisure Practices: Cases as Conduits between Theory and Practice. Published, 03/15/2018.
  • Schmalz, D. L. & Pury, C. L. S. (2018). Leisure and positive psychology: Complementary Science for health and well-being. Journal of Positive Psychology. Vol. 13, 1-3. Published, 01/15/2018.
  • Payne, L. , Schmalz, D. L. & Janke, M. C. (2018). The re-emergence and revitalized focus of JLR. Journal of Leisure Research. Vol. 49, 1-7. Published, 01/15/2018.