Abstract
There is a growing recognition of the importance of the out-of-school activities in which adolescents choose to participate. Youth activities vary widely in terms of specific activities and in time devoted to them but can generally be grouped by the type and total duration spent per type. We collected leisure time information using a 17-item leisure time questionnaire in a large sample of same- and opposite-sex adolescent twin pairs (N = 2847). Using both univariate and multivariate genetic models, we sought to determine the type and magnitude of genetic and environmental influences on the allocation of time toward different leisure times. Results indicated that both genetic and shared and nonshared environmental influences were important contributors to individual differences in physical, social, intellectual, family, and passive activities such as watching television. The magnitude of these influences differed between males and females. Environmental influences were the primary factors contributing to the covariation of different leisure time activities. Our results suggest the importance of heritable influences on the allocation of leisure time activity by adolescents and highlight the importance of environmental experiences in these choices.
Highlights
Adolescents are confronted with a large number of choices regarding their use of free or leisure time
Recent estimates from the American Time Use Survey (ATUS) suggest that both male and female adolescents in the United States spend more than five hours a day on leisure time activities, making leisure time second only to personal care activities as a proportion of daily life, exceeding time spent at both school and work [5]
There is an absence of a standard definition in the literature, leisure time is operationalized as being either the amount of time spent engaged in activities or type of activity, but it could be classified by its psychological and emotional impact [6]
Summary
Adolescents are confronted with a large number of choices regarding their use of free or leisure time. Some adolescents may allocate a large amount of time to family, caring for younger members or doing housework, while others work in paid employment situations outside the home How adolescents allocate their time is of importance as participation in social, physical, and passive types of activities has been associated with the quality of academic performance, physical and psychological health, and behavioral problems both concurrently and at subsequent ages [1,2,3,4]. Only a few twin studies of passive leisure time activities [24,25,26] have been reported and generally implicate increasing heritable influences as children age and decreasing contributions from environments that make siblings of the same family more alike. To what extent do genetic and environmental influences contribute to individual differences in adolescent leisure time activities? Second, to what extent do the genetic and environmental influences on one leisure time activity influence other activities?
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