Can organized leisure-time activities buffer the negative outcomes of unstructured activities for adolescents\u2019 health?

Petr Badura,Dagmar Sigmundova,Andrea Madarasova Geckova,Sijmen A Reijneveld,Jitse P Van Dijk,Erik Sigmund

doi:10.1007/s00038-018-1125-3

Abstract

ObjectivesWe aimed to assess the associations of involvement in selected unstructured activities (UA) with health-risk behaviours and academic achievement and the degree to which the participation in organized leisure-time activities (OLTA) changes these associations.MethodsUsing a sample of 6935 Czech adolescents aged 13 and 15 years, we investigated adolescents’ weekly involvement in hanging out, visiting shopping malls for fun and meeting friends after 8 p.m., OLTA and engagement in three health-risk behaviours and academic achievement.ResultsWeekly involvement in the selected UA was associated with higher odds for regular smoking, being drunk, having early sexual intercourse and low academic achievement. Concurrent participation in OLTA did not buffer these negative outcomes, except for sexual experience. However, those highly engaged only in UA were more likely to participate in the health-risk behaviours and report worse academic achievement than those participating in any OLTA concurrently.ConclusionsThe selected UA are strongly associated with an increased occurrence of adolescents’ health-risk behaviours and low academic achievement. Concurrent participation in OLTA does not buffer these negative outcomes significantly, but adolescents engaged only in UA consistently report the least favourable outcomes.

Highlights

In western industrialized countries, leisure time comprises approximately half of adolescents’ waking hours, with a slightly higher amount of leisure time recorded in North America than in Europe (Larson and Verma 1999; Wight et al 2009)
Objectives We aimed to assess the associations of involvement in selected unstructured activities (UA) with health-risk behaviours and academic achievement and the degree to which the participation in organized leisure-time activities (OLTA) changes these associations
Weekly involvement in the selected UA was associated with higher odds for regular smoking, being drunk, having early sexual intercourse and low academic achievement

Summary

Introduction

Leisure time comprises approximately half of adolescents’ waking hours, with a slightly higher amount of leisure time recorded in North America than in Europe (Larson and Verma 1999; Wight et al 2009). UA that expose youth to health risks have the following characteristics: adult-unsupervised, lack of skill-building aims, taking place in public and especially having a strong socializing character (Mahoney et al 2004; Osgood et al 2005; Weerman et al 2015). Data from both Europe and the U.S support the conclusion that settings with such features offer adolescents space for engagement in risky behaviours (Augustyn and McGloin 2013; Lee and Vandell 2015) and are appealing to adolescents who are generally more vulnerable to these behaviours (Mahoney et al 2004; Persson et al 2007). Youth who spend a lot of time in such activities with little or no structure have been reported to have higher rates of substance use (Kiesner et al 2010; Pulver et al 2015), potentially risky sexual activity (Barnes et al 2007) and to do worse in school, both in terms of grade point average and honours or recognitions earned (Nelson and Gastic 2009)

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