Leisure activities and adolescent psychological well‐being

Abstract

We examined the validity of the reported link between well‐being and leisure participation in adolescents. Nine hundred and forty‐seven, Year 10 students from 19 schools in Adelaide, South Australia, were recruited. Participants completed a questionnaire concerning participation in social, non‐social and unstructured leisure activities as well as measures of personality. As expected, personality variables were better predictors of adolescent well‐being than spare‐time use, although engagement in less structured leisure activities was associated with poorer psychological well‐being and substance use. These findings support previous personality research which suggests that spare‐time use may be related to well‐being only insofar as individuals who are psychologically healthy tend to be involved in structured leisure activities. The implications of these findings for school policy and future research concerning the links between leisure involvement and psychological well‐being are discussed.

Ways of coping with excessive academic stress among Korean adolescents during leisure time

“…Coleman (1993) argued that leisure activities are thought to play a buffering role against the effects of stress. Especially, leisure participation has been shown to be associated with psychological well-being and academic performance (Bartko & Eccles, 2003; Trainor, Delfabbro, Anderson, & Winefield, 2009). It has also been noted that personality and individuals’ life circumstances influence the ways in which they use leisure to cope with stress (Zuzanek, Robinson, & Iwasaki, 1998).…”

Gender Differences in Adolescent Advertising Response: The Role of Involvement and Message Claim

“…For example, Alexander, Wilcox, and Woods (2009) report that infants ranging in age from 3 to 8 months show gender differences in visual interest in sex-linked toys. These differences in toy and play preferences remain throughout childhood and adolescence (e.g., Trainor, Delfabbro, Anderson, & Winefield, 2010), with boys spending more time than girls on activities by themselves and on physical past-times such as skating, bowling and riding scooters. On the other hand, girls tend to spend more time than boys on reading, writing and listening to music.…”

Examining Adolescents’ Well-being: How Do the Orientations to Happiness Relate to Their Leisure Time Activities?

“…This has not yet been studied in adolescents, although leisure time activities are known to play an important role for the positive psychological development of adolescents (e.g., Caldwell & Smith, 2006). In the area of leisure time activities, structured and unstructured activities are distinguished as they have been found to be differentially related to well-being (e.g., Trainor, Delfabbro, Anderson, & Winefield, 2010). Structured activities are organized around specific social or behavioral goals (e.g., participation in sport clubs).…”

“…They are assumed to positively affect subjective well-being as they involve challenge and concentration, are intrinsically motivated, and contribute to the development of adolescents' skills (Kleiber, Larson, & Csikszentmihalyi, 1986). Unstructured activities (e.g., watching TV or socializing with friends) may have maladaptive consequences in terms of subjective well-being, as they have been related to substance use (Trainor et al, 2010), aggression, delinquency, and susceptibility to peer pressure (Flannery, Williams, & Vazsonyi, 1999). Nevertheless, unstructured activities may provide relaxation and recovery of energy necessary for challenging structured activities (e.g.…”