The Role of Parents and Peers in the Leisure Activities of Young Adolescents

Abstract

Up to now, leisure research on the parent-peer orientation of juveniles primarily has focussed on adolescents. The purpose of this study is to investigate the degree to which pre-adolescents as well as adolescents associate with parents and peers in their leisure time. Based on recent theoretical conceptions of childhood sociologists, a questionnaire was designed for children and young teens aged ten to fifteen years. A total of 927 Dutch juveniles from different social classes participated in the current study. A leisure kids typology was constructed by means of Principal Components Analysis for categorical data (PRIN-GALS). It was found that ten to twelve year old children from higher social classes were family kids. They spend a substantial part of their leisure time with parents and siblings. Fourteen and fifteen year old boys, especially those from higher social classes, strongly focussed on peer groups, whereas girls of the same age had a salient preference for dyadic friendships. Questions on parental attitude towards leisure activities and choice of friends showed that ten to twelve year olds, specially those from higher social classes, experienced most parental interference in their leisure activities. Teenage girls from lower social classes encountered most parental attention concerning peer contacts. Our findings partially support theoretical conceptions regarding the parent-peer orientation of children and teens, but add some important nuances to these general perspectives.