Leisure, Stress, and Coping: An Evolving Area of Inquiry

Abstract

Stress and coping are prevalent and ubiquitous in our everyday lives. The degree and manner in which we experience stress, and ways in which we cope with stress, strongly influence our daily choices and their outcomes, including those related to leisure. Research on leisure, stress, and coping is important within a broad spectrum of leisure research since it can be potentially integrated with leisure research on constraints and negotiations, lifespan development, diversity, and lifestyle. Such integration works to bridge the gap in the leisure research community that is often characterized as isolated entities. One important tangible benefit of such integration is that stress and coping have the potential to be a common language for many researchers with diverse interests, and it thus leads to opportunities for enhanced communication and understanding, as well as for possible collaborations. We hope that this special issue, presenting a diverse collection of papers focused on leisure, stress, and coping, may instill such ambitious, but important, desire. The role of this issue is threefold: (1) to better identify relationships among leisure, stress, and coping, (2) to introduce new theoretical and methodological approaches for such research, and (3) to encourage increased attention to and collaborations related to leisure, stress, and coping research.

“Doing” Gardening and “Being” at the Allotment Site: Exploring the Benefits of Allotment Gardening for Stress Reduction and Healthy Aging

“…They also valued the environment of the allotment site for providing a relaxing outdoor setting and fresh air, within a social context. Relaxation and escape in particular were highlighted as beneficial outcomes of both doing gardening and being at the allotment; these are known motivators for leisure activity (Iwasaki & Schneider, 2003) and may be particularly important features of gardening activity for construing health and well-being benefits.…”

“…This may occur through the opportunity for escape and renewal of depleted resources (Iwasaki & Schneider, 2003) and improved mood. Other pathways might include a lifestyle in which other healthy behaviors are more likely (Warburton et al, 2006), such as the consumption of fresh fruit and vegetables grown on the allotment.…”

“…While interacting with nature is thought to offer more relaxing experiences than challenging experiences (Korpela & Kinnunen, 2011), gardening offers a unique combination of both, where new learning and challenging experiences are often rewarded with successful outcomes that can boost older adults' self-esteem (Elings, 2006;Milligan et al, 2004). In short, gardening may facilitate or act as a coping resource or coping strategy, just as other forms of leisure have been shown to do (Iwasaki & Schneider, 2003).…”

The Effects of Participating in Recreational Activities on Quality of Life and Job Satisfaction

“…Stress prevention and the relaxing effects of leisure time are indeed in line with the psychology literature. The phenomenon of leisure time can be useful during the process of mental relaxation, with its function being emotion-focused, motivational, relaxational, satisfactional, and a partial estrangement from the realities of life through temporary independence [19]. On the other hand, to ensure the useful effects of physical activity in adults, it is recommended that adults engage in physical activity at least three times a week, for 30-60 minutes at a time and at 50%-75% of heart rate per minute [20].…”

“Care Just Changes Your Life”: Factors Impacting upon the Mental Health of Children and Young People with Experiences of Care in Northern Ireland

“…Leisure space, time and activity is another area that is not only valuable for good emotional health (Iwasaki & Schneider, 2003) and linked to ''normality'' as young people noted, but in some of these young peoples' lives it provided a sense of achievement that they did not gain through formal education. The availability of particular leisure activities, however, appeared to be linked to placement type with, for example, snooker, pool, football and computer games more often pursued in residential care, while more varied activities and social opportunities were available in foster care.…”