The relationships between the seriousness of leisure activities,social support and school adaptation among Asian international students in the U.S.

Although social support is a significant contributor of school adaptation, Asian international students tend to have a lack of social support. To build up social support, leisure engagement could be an effective way for Asian international students. In particular, taking leisure seriously may have important effects on Asian international students to build strong social networks and obtain a sense of belonging to help them adapt to school. A total of 190 Korean and Chinese international students were focused to explore the relationships between the seriousness of leisure activities, social support and school adaptation among Asian international students attending U.S. colleges/universities using structural equation modeling. While the model showed an acceptable model fit to the sample data, the results indicate that engaging in leisure seriously has a positive association with gaining social support from friends. Furthermore, social support from friends was not only a predictor of school adaptation but also acted as a mediator between the seriousness of leisure activities and school adaptation. We also found that the seriousness of leisure involvement maintained a direct effect on school adaptation. This study advocated the importance of serious leisure engagement in the lives of Asian international students adapting to college.     

Active and Adjusted: Investigating the Contribution of Leisure,Health and Psychosocial Factors to Retirement Adjustment

Engagement in leisure activities during retirement and its relationship to retirement adjustment were investigated. Psychosocial mediators included mastery, self-efficacy for retirement (SE-R) and activities (SE-A), positive (PA) and negative affect (NA). Resources investigated included physical health and finances. Leisure activities examined were social, home entertainment, chores, light exercise, vigorous exercise, and education. Data were gathered from a sample consisting of 243 retirees. Direct predictors of retirement adjustment included finances, health, mastery, SE-R and SE-A. Social activities were the best predictor of a wide range of positive outcomes, including PA, mastery, SE-R and SE-A. Educational activities improved SE-R. Being involved in a broader range of activities was associated with PA, mastery and SE-A. Familiarity and enjoyment of activities were implicated in the maintenance and continuation of activities at post-retirement. Research findings have implications for aged-care and other retirement service providers, as well as for individuals.     

Altmetrics: Measuring Engagement with Contemporary Leisure Scholarship

Abstract

Tweet: #Altmetrics can shape how #leisure scholars think about sharing #research for greater public impact @LeisureSciences. Altmetrics, or “alternative metrics” measure scholarly and public engagement with scholarship through traditional metrics (e.g., citation counts) and contemporary metrics (e.g., mentions on social media and news outlets in real time). Since their emergence in 2010, they now play a role in the tenure process and factor into how scholars write articles and engage with social media to increase public consumption of their research (bridging the public/ivory tower/practitioner divide). In this research note, we describe altmetrics and answer some questions surrounding them. Questions we explore include: What are altmetrics? How are they calculated? What are the benefits of measuring scholarship in this way? What tensions exist in measuring scholarship in this way? How can leisure scholars engage with altmetrics? And why should leisure scholars/studies care about altmetrics?     

Research note: social leisure engagement,peer support,and depressive symptomology among emerging adults

This research note applied self-determination theory to the study of social leisure and well-being among collegiate emerging adults. Self-determination theory posits that individuals seek out environments that promote basic psychological needs; among these needs is the need for relatedness. We examined the relationship between social leisure engagement (conceptualised as an environment that promotes connections to others) and emerging adults’ depressive symptomology. More specifically, we hypothesised that this need-supportive environment would be related to higher levels of peer support (a form of relatedness) and would promote better mental health. Participants (N = 270) were between the ages of 18 and 25. Using path models, we found that there was a significant negative relationship between social leisure engagement and depressive symptomology. Furthermore, peer support served as a significant linking mechanism between social leisure and depressive symptomology. Results provide evidence for the application of self-determination theory to the study of social leisure engagement as a need-supportive environment that can facilitate relatedness and better mental health among emerging adults.     

Market Segmentation of Golf Event Spectators Using Leisure Benefits

The proliferation of golf events has provided increased opportunities to watch professional golf tournaments. The purpose of this study is to examine a variety of leisure benefits sought by Korean golf event spectators and provide useful marketing strategies to fulfill their needs. Within the contexts of leisure benefits, different individuals tend to assign different meanings to the same leisure experience. In this sense, golf event spectators are likely to pursue heterogeneous leisure benefits from their engagement. This study identified four distinct spectator groups (i.e., escape seekers, exercise seekers, interest seekers, and excitement seekers) and uncovered significant differences among these segments. Results provided empirical support that event-based sport tourism marketers need to implement diverse strategies to increase and reinforce their customer base.     

Leisure,gender and family: the influence of social policy

A number of authors have recently called for reconsideration of the way in which gender and the family are investigated within leisure studies. This paper proposes that future analyses should include more explicit recognition of the ideological and practical influence of social policy on contemporary gender relations. The paper suggests that social policy has particular significance for debates within leisure studies, about the relationship between men and women's market and domestic labour, and their access to leisure. The paper investigates the influence of social policy on male and female adult life patterns through comparative analysis of social policy interventions and labour market outcomes in the economically advanced nations. It focusses on the policy stance in relation to paid work, especially maternal and paternal employment. It is shown that ‘family-related’ social policies universally support fathers' employment, but vary in the extent to which they encourage mothers' labour market activity. The implications of this for gender differentiation in leisure are explored through analysis of cross-national data for male and female sports participation in Europe. The analysis shows a strong correlation between gender discrimination in family-related social policy, and differentials in male-female sports participation rates. The paper next considers the implications of policy intervention for divergence within the female population. A detailed case study of the UK examines how family-related policy may differentially affect women in different socio-economic situations. The paper concludes that whether family-related policies encourage women to see themselves primarily as caregivers within the family unit, or as citizens with individualized rights, is likely to affect both their sense of entitlement to personal leisure and their ability to access it.     

The Two Faces of Leisure Activity Engagement: Harmonious and Obsessive Passion in Relation to Intrapersonal Conflict and Life Domain Outcomes

The Dualistic Model of Passion implies that a person can develop either a harmonious or an obsessive passion for a valued activity. This study applied this model to investigate outcomes from leisure activity engagement. A total of 198 subjects responded to a Web-based survey asking undergraduate students to participate in a study on leisure activities. Results showed that harmonious passion for a leisure activity was associated with congruent self-guides related to activity engagement and positive life domain outcomes. Obsessive passion was associated with discrepant self-guides and negative life domain outcomes. Path analyses showed that intrapersonal conflict mediated the outcomes of passion on life domains. The findings support a dynamical approach to leisure activity outcomes.     

Leisure as a Coping Resource: Variations in Coping with Traumatic Injury and Illness

The influence of leisure in coping with negative life events likely derives from its powers to distract, to generate optimism about the future, and to preserve a sense of self in the face of trauma (Kleiber, Hutchinson, & Williams, 2002). While there is recent evidence of leisure's role in coping with daily hassles and normative life stressors (e.g., Iwasaki & Mannell, 2000), the nature and extent of leisure's utility in coping with a life-altering event, such as a traumatic injury, is not well understood. The purpose of this paper is to examine how individuals used leisure in coping with a traumatic injury or the onset of a chronic illness. Qualitative data from two studies involving people with either a spinal cord injury or chronic illness were used for this analysis. Findings support suggestions from earlier research: leisure served to buffer effects of immediate life circumstances and it sustained their coping efforts in various ways. The authors end by discussing the data in light of recent theoretical propositions about the role of positive affect and meaning in coping.     

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 chores begin with a common core of accessible and informal activities.     

Leisure Diversity as an Indicator of Cultural Capital

The diversity of activities in a repertoire of leisure is a variable shown to have considerable impact on the quality of leisure and beneficial personal outcomes, and it is proposed as one important indicator of cultural capital. Theoretical perspectives on cultural capital indicate the importance of education in preparing individuals for broad patterns of leisure consumption in addition to status attainment. Contemporary advances demonstrate that status attainment cannot be equated with high cultural consumption and that broadly omnivorous leisure pursuits may be more valuable to social actors. Role attachment theory and disengagement theory are additionally explored as possible theoretical explanations that assist in predicting leisure diversity that is highly patterned by employment and one's age. The number of different leisure experiences that constitute an individual's leisure repertoire is expected to change throughout the life-course as needs for cultural capital vary and as demands in paid and domestic work change. Tobit models of leisure diversity are proposed using American Time Use Survey (ATUS) data. Findings indicate that leisure diversity is impacted by ethnicity, recent immigration, age and socio-economic status, and theoretically relevant conditional relationships are explored.     

Leisure and Social Capital: An Analysis of Types of Company and Activities

The relation between leisure activities and social capital is examined in this paper. The focus is on two dimensions: the company in which the activities were performed (household members versus friends and acquaintances) and the nature of the activities (productive versus consumptive). Data are employed from a time-use survey conducted in the United Kingdom in 2000. Productive activities are positively related to the social capital indicators of civic engagement and helping, while consumptive activities are not. The type of activity matters more than the type of company. Leisure activities especially further people's social capital among groups that are already gifted with high levels of civic engagement and helping.     

Dyadic Exploration of the Relationship of Leisure Satisfaction,Leisure Time,and Gender to Relationship Satisfaction

The stress suppressing model proposes that sufficient resources reduce stress. The stress exposure model suggests that certain factors expose individuals to more stress. The current study tested these two models by assessing the within-person lagging effect of leisure time on perceived severity of daily stressors. Analyzing eight-day diary data (N=2,022), we found that having more leisure time than usual on a day reduced perceived severity of daily stressors the next day and that the decrease in severity became larger with further increase in leisure time. Additionally, the effect is much stronger among busy individuals who usually had little leisure time. The findings demonstrated an accelerated suppressing effect that differed between-person, and the lagging effect affords stronger implication for causality than correlational analysis.     

Factors Related to Physically Active Leisure among College Students

The purpose of this study was to provide additional information about the complex relation of social cognitive constructs, gender, and active leisure among university students. Structural equation modeling techniques were used to test the hypothesized relations in a sample of 874 undergraduate students. Peer and family support had a moderate direct effect on self-efficacy while self-efficacy had a large direct effect on active leisure. A moderation effect was demonstrated. Peer support was more influential on male respondents' beliefs that they could be active and males reported higher active leisure participation when compared to females. The results of this study provide valuable insight into the mechanisms of influence on active leisure among this university population.     

Bridging the Conceptual Frameworks of Constraints Negotiation and Serious Leisure to Understand Leisure Benefit Realization

Constraints negotiation and serious leisure are two major conceptual frameworks that have developed independently to understand individuals’ leisure participation. Although discrete ideas, they are conceptually similar in light of the fact that they address individuals’ leisure pursuits to attain various desirable benefits. The most important connections between these two frameworks lie in their assertion of different challenges inherent in leisure pursuits together with the need for serious efforts to reach leisure goals. Using a sample of Wisconsin anglers, the goal of this study is to better understand individuals’ benefit realization process by jointly examining the two conceptual frameworks of constraints negotiation and serious leisure. The study results suggest that negotiation strategies or efforts, which are at the center of both perspectives, play a key role in realizing diverse beneficial outcomes and developing unique leisure identities.     

Leisure Constraints,Leisure Satisfaction,Life Satisfaction,and Self-Rated Health in Six Cities in Taiwan

Extensive research shows that individuals in lower socioeconomic statuses experience higher levels of morbidity and mortality than those of higher social status. This disparity remains even after lifestyle changes such as reduced smoking, improved diet, more exercise, and better access to medical care are afforded to those of lower status. According to Fundamental Social Cause Theory (FSCT), access to valued resources, including environmental, social, and psychological factors, mediates the relationship. The purpose of this study is to determine if leisure constraints, leisure satisfaction, and life satisfaction are among the variables that mediate the relationship between socioeconomic status (SES) and self-rated health in six cities in Taiwan. Results indicated that leisure related variables, including leisure constraints and leisure satisfaction, mediate the relationship between SES and self-rated health. The results suggest the value of FSCT as a framework for examining the relationship of leisure related variables to health.     

Emerging Adults with Chronic Illness Pursuing and Enhancing Leisure

The purpose of this study is to develop an understanding of the adjustment process undertaken by emerging adults living with a chronic illness in their pursuit and enjoyment of leisure. A theoretical focus is placed on the processes of selection, optimization, and compensation. Semi-structured interviews were conducted with 27 participants who have a chronic illness. Participants’ experiences were rooted much more in triumph rather than loss. Selection was influenced by a consideration of uncertainty, a desire to avoid potential embarrassment, and an acceptance or rejection of constraints. Three types of approaches that helped them optimize their leisure experience involved participants shaping their perspectives about leisure and life, enhancing resources to make leisure possible, and by living through pain and discomfort. Responding to challenges that might otherwise limit their participation or enjoyment in leisure, participants prepared for possible incidents, received support from others, and confronted negative situations.     

Leisure Spaces,Community, and Third Places

ABSTRACT

After decades of highlighting the decline of social networks, leisure spaces as third places constitute a welcomed approach to mediate this loss. Third places are defined as public gathering places that ultimately contribute to the strength of community. We appreciate the concept and believe that it has and will continue to influence scholars in the field of leisure. For this reason, this research reflection argues Oldenburg's conceptualization of third places requires reconsideration. Specifically, we address the increasing prevalence of technology and question Oldenburg's claim that technology contributes to the isolation of individuals. We also encourage a more complex understanding of third places—one that is beyond the idealized notion of public places. Oldenburg's social dimensions of third places (enjoyment, regularity, pure sociability/social leveler, and diversity) are offered as a useful framework. More specifically, we argue that diversity is the most relevant characteristic when exploring third places as a platform for community.     

Ways of Learning about Leisure Meanings

This article examines the epistemological claims made by four paradigms used to study leisure meanings: behaviorism, cognitivism, individual constructivism, and social constructivism. These paradigms represent diverse and contrasting theoretical explanations of how individuals gain knowledge about and give meaning to the phenomenon of leisure and of how these meanings differ and change. Analysis of each paradigm illustrates limitations in their capacity to explain how individuals learn about leisure and suggests the need for alternative explanations. Arguments are advanced in favor of an experientialist paradigm characterized by a research specialization called phenomenography as an additional and complementary theoretical approach to studying the multiple meanings of leisure.     

Moral Dilemmas of Participation in Dangerous Leisure Activities

Abstract

Participation in risky leisure activities (including so‐called ‘extreme’ sports) has increased in recent years, along with a concomitant growth in the related supporting industries, and in media coverage of events and associated lifestyles. The rise in popularity of dangerous leisure pursuits has led to questions about whether these activities should be regulated, or whether legislation should be enacted to prohibit particular activities. Arguments have centred on harm to individuals, and on the potential costs to others, such as families, rescue workers, and society at large. Very little work has been done on the moral legitimacy of dangerous leisure pursuits, and this paper attempts to address this, using a multidisciplinary approach. The paper evaluates both paternalistic and libertarian approaches, and pursues solutions to the moral problem from both utilitarian (consequence‐based) and deontological (duty‐based) perspectives. It is concluded that mature, rational individuals ought to retain the right to pursue activities that have potential deleterious consequences for themselves. While recognising that individuals ought to concern themselves with the effects of their actions on others, the paper accepts arguments based on autonomy, and defends the right to engage in dangerous leisure activities.