Adult Leisure Research Articles

Redefining Family, Redefining Leisure: Progress Made and Challenges Ahead in Research on Leisure and Families

Valeria J. Freysinger, Guest Editor Miami University Department of Physical Education, Health, and Sport Studies Oxford, OH 45056 A little more than a decade ago, Journal of Leisure Research (JLR) published a review of literature on leisure and families that made a number of recommendations for future research in this area based on extant research, recommendations engendered by this research, and an assessment of relevant theory (Holman & Epperson, 1984). Those recommendations ranged from theoretical concerns to appropriate statistics or analytic techniques to identification of under- and un-explored, but important, variables. The recommendations made in this article more than a decade ago provide a useful point of comparison for research that is presented in this Special Issue of JLR on Leisure and Families. Such a comparison indicates that much progress has been made, but also that challenges still remain. Further, some of challenges with which we are faced today in doing research on leisure and families come from insights and concerns that have emerged since Holman and Epperson's review, once again highlighting historical embeddedness of our scholarship. Because this special issue contains two insightful critical reviews of research on leisure and families (see Kelly and Shaw, this issue), I want to make just a few comparisons between 1984 review article and research in this special issue by briefly discussing examples of progress that has been made and challenges that we continue to face. I trust that your reading of all articles in this special issue will reveal many others to you. One of suggestions proffered by Holman and Epperson in their 1984 review was need to look at different family types or structures; in other words, that researchers needed to open their eyes to multiple ways that families are enacted and constructed and hence, redefine their notions or concepts of family to be reflective of reality. The research presented in following pages suggests that some of us have begun to do that. However, this research also reveals that for many of us heterosexual married couples with children at home-the family-are still focus. This despite fact that a growing number of households in North America do not consist of a heterosexual married couple with children at home (Johnson, 1996). It is interesting, then, to think about why such families continue to be focus of most of our research. Is it that such families are ones to whom most of us have access? Or are these families with which some of us are most comfortable? Or are these families ones who are most able to take time to participate in our studies? Or is it because many of us think of marriage and children as being necessary for a family to exist? What of leisure and families of older adults who soon will comprise largest proportion of households in North America? Of course, family is one form of family and deserving of our attention. But when it is uncritically presented as the family, our research is problematic. So while progress has been made, in North America we still face challenge of de-centering a notion of family which has never been traditional (Hareven, 1994). Another recommendation of 1984 article addressed a-theoretical nature of much of research on leisure and families. The studies in this special issue reveal that progress has been made in this area as well. That is, where appropriate, theory is increasingly guiding research. At same time, research presented here suggests that we have become more sophisticated in our approaches to knowledge production. Increasingly, our research questions are pursued using multiple paradigms-and it is likely that our understanding of leisure and families would be greatly enhanced by more of this. One issue not discussed in Holman and Epperson's (1984) review that many of us would consider evidence of progress made has to do with whose voices we listen to in our studies of leisure and families. …

Patterns and Characteristics of Adult Daily Leisure

Abstract This study examines the daily patterns and characteristics of leisure using Experience Sampling Method (ESM) in conjunction with semi-structured interviews for a sample of 88 adults. Common patterns in the quantitative data on daily experiences (ESM) indicate that leisure occurs more often in the evenings, on weekends, at home, and with family or friends. Qualitative data from the corresponding interviews reveal the dynamic ways in which people structure their lives in order to influence and shape those patterns. Leisure does not simply happen; it is actively planned and arranged. These findings support prior research on the daily patterning of leisure, but attest to the significant social nature of leisure and the need to understand the broader contexts in which leisure occurs.

The nature and variability of leisure constraints in daily life: The case of the physically active leisure of older adults

Abstract Research on nonparticipation in leisure activities has focused on reasons and constraints that appear relatively stable or permanent over time and across behavioral contexts. This conceptualization of constraints is likely due to the use of survey methods that obscure the variable nature of constraints and to the greater importance accorded permanent constraints. A research method for monitoring the nature and variability of the leisure constraints people report for nonparticipation in their daily lives is described that is based on the experiential sampling method and a modification called the alternative activity probe technique. Constraints on the physically active leisure of older adults are examined with the use of this technique. There was corroboration of the time‐related constraints found by survey research and support for the idea that some constraints are transient and vary systematically as a function of the contexts of daily life. Future research possibilities and limitations of the method are discussed.

Adult Education, Work and Leisure: a Critical Analysis

Adult Education, Work and Leisure: a Critical Analysis

Adolescent and adult leisure patterns: A 37‐year follow‐up study

Abstract The relationship between adolescent and adult leisure activities was assessed by utilizing longitudinal data from 1298 subjects studied during their high school years and again when they were in their early fifties. For the sample members, the greater the involvement in a specific type of activity during adolescence, the more frequent the participation in the same type of activity at midlife. This was true in regard to participation in formal organizations; socializing; intellectual, creative, and artistic activities; and (for women) sports activities. The positive relationship between adolescent and adult leisure choices was stronger for women than for men in the areas of creative/artistic and sports activities.

The adventure experience paradigm and non-outdoor leisure pursuits

This paper considers the applicability of the Adventure Experience Paradigm (Martin and Priest, 1986) in non-outdoor leisure pursuits. This paradigm was conceived in relationship to outdoor adventure leisure pursuits and, to date, has only been discussed in these terms. In this paper, the paradigm is first presented and clarified within the context that it was created; adventure experience. It is then applied to non-outdoor adult leisure settings and experiences. In presenting the paradigm and discussing examples related to both outdoor and non-outdoor leisure pursuits and settings, the authors suggest that a broader interpretation and application of the paradigm to the leisure experience is possible.

A ‘MULTI-FUNCTION-POLIS’ FOR AUSTRALIA

MITI has proposed a $5-10 billion ‘Multi-Function-Polis’ in Australia. The functions would include high technology, recurrent adult education, resort and leisure, and cultural exchange. It would become a forum for international technological and cultural exchange in the Pacific Rim region.

The Play-World Setting of the Auction

Little is known about adult leisure, specifically adult play, in unstructured settings. An empirical study investigated the commercial, personal-goods, auction sale as an adult play-world setting. Huizinga's conception of play was employed in an application of symbolic interaction theory, using participant observation methodology. Findings suggest that auctions are a play-world setting for adults. They are a performance in which boundaries are defined, auction participants become players, and the event can be replayed, transforming ordinary life into something special and limited in time and space. Contests were orderly and decisions followed fair-play rules. Use of multiple confirmatory sources indicates findings are valid.

Selected Social Gerontology Theories and Older Adult Leisure Involvement: A Review of the Literature

Selected studies conducted by leisure researchers about the leisure involvement of older adults are reviewed and implications are drawn for readers concerned with aging and leisure. To set the tone, the activity and disengagement theories of aging are discussed within the overall conceptual framework ofrole theory. The range of contributions found in recent leisure literature related to aging and activity involvement, from testimonials to atheoretical works to empirical studies, is then discussed. Shortcomings of the state of the art lead to the consideration of continuity theory as a fruitful avenue for leisure research within the role theory framework. Finally, some implications for further research and professional practice are highlighted.

Patterns of Leisure and Physical Activities Among Older Adults

Patterns of and reasons for leisure and physical activity among older adults are more complex than existing research suggests. An exploratory field study used nine instruments in an interview battery to characterize these patterns and the attitudes and reasons older adults give for their activities. This article reports the patterns of leisure and physical activities of 119 older adults in British Columbia and elsewhere in Canada and the reasons given for selecting these activities. Guidelines and recommendations are proposed that suggest the need for incorporating physical movement, thinking and feelings in both leisure and physical activity programs for older adults.

Adult Leisure Education for the Independent Use of a Community Recreation Center

The purpose of this study was to implement and evaluate a leisure education training program designed to teach the complete and functional use of a community recreation center to two adults with severe mental retardation. Since these individuals resided in a group home in close proximity to the recreation center, this recreation program was deemed socially valid by group home and park board staff. Community recreation center use by nonhandicapped citizens of the neighborhood was utilized in this program as the training standard. Within a multiple baseline design across three recreational activities involving the recreation center, the participants acquired the skills necessary to access and use the recreational facility without the presence of the care provider. Results demonstrated that individuals with severe mental retardation could (a) acquire age-appropriate leisure skills to independently use a neighborhood center; (b) access a neighborhood recreation center in the absence of the residential care provider; and (c) partially, but effectively, interact with agency staff concerning personal preferences of recreational activities.

Leisure and moral reform

This article explores the ways in which the Victorian and Edwardian philosophy of rational recreation found expression in a variety of reformist campaigns, and suggests that its institutions (rather than the philosophy itself) have an important influence on contemporary leisure provision. Children and young people were seen as being easily corrupted in their spare time. The need to supervise and direct youth leisure led to approved recreational forms being inserted into school curricula, to scouting and other ‘churchy’ movements such as Sunday school being formed and to ‘respectable’ comics and children's literature being published. Adult leisure was also viewed as problematic by middle class reformers, especially in urban locations where few alternatives to drink, prostitution and gambling were seen to exist. Inspired by a wish to counter these threats and to diffuse respectable middle class forms of leisure down the social scale, voluntary and public organizations made extensive provision of sporting, c...

Leisure styles: A hidden core

Abstract Factor analysis has been employed in a number of North American and European studies to categorize leisure activities according to participation patterns. The resulting factors have been the basis of proposed labels for leisure styles. Since the results of the factor analyses have been found to vary with the relative heterogeneity of samples and activities studied, comparison of previous findings with a more varied sample and activity list is indicated. With an NORC national sample and participation measured in a diverse list of leisure activities, factor analysis was completed and stepwise multiple regression used to measure the relationship of the resulting factors to age, sex, and social position indices. The factors do not support a neat or clearly differentiated set of activity groupings. Further, a set of activities with high participation rates did not appear in any factors or vary systematically by age, sex, or social position. Support is given to a model that suggests that adult leisure ...

A revised paradigm of leisure choices

A theory‐based model distinguishing three kinds of leisure from required nonwork activity has been examined through research on adult leisure in three communities. In the research sequence, the defining dimension of relative freedom and constraint is found central to the perceptions of respondents, but the work‐relation dimension does not significantly differentiate types of leisure. The model is revised to replace work‐relation with meaning to the participant that is either intrinsic to doing the activity or primarily social. Further, anticipated satisfactions in building and maintaining relationships are found more salient in leisure choices than in meeting role expectations. The revised typology is employed to classify activities from the New Town phase of the research as (1) unconditional, (2) recuperative, (3) relational, and (4) role‐determined.

Reexamining the significance of childhood recreation patterns on adult leisure behavior

This study is the examination of the impact of childhood participation levels in outdoor recreation on the activity level of that individual as an adult. The study is based on a stratified random sample of adult residents in eight northeastern Iowa counties. Forty‐five outdoor recreation activities were used to determine the “carry‐over” of participation from childhood to adulthood. The results indicate a direct effect of the childhood level of participation on adult level of participation. Only eight of forty‐five activities seem to carry over; therefore, prediction of specific activity carryover is very limited. Implications for educating for leisure and aspects of socialization are discussed.

Significance of Childhood Recreation Experience on Adult Leisure Behavior: An Exploratory Analysis

This paper examines the impact of the level of activity of an individual as a child on the activity level of that individual as an adult. The study is based on a stratified random sample of adult r...

Relation of Childhood and Adult Leisure Activities

Relation of Childhood and Adult Leisure Activities