Gender Role Self-Concept and Leisure Activities of Adolescents

Contribution of Leisure Context, Motivation and Experience to the Frequency of Participation in Structured Leisure Activities among Adolescents

Leisure time is considered an important context for adolescent development. The purpose of this article is to investigate what contributes to the frequency of adolescents' participation in structured leisure activities (SLA). Participants were aged 14-21 years (M = 18.87, SD = 1.23) and 44.8% of participants were female. Hierarchical regression analyses were conducted. Results indicate that boys and adolescents who perceive the context of participation in SLA as safe, are externally or intrinsically motivated, and perceive that participation has contributed to their identity development and experiences of initiative, as well as their experiences of stress, are more likely to participate frequently in SLA. On the other hand, these findings indicate that girls and adolescents who are unmotivated to participate in SLA and who experience negative peer influences while participating in SLA are less likely to frequently participate in SLA. It can be concluded that it is important to think much more broadly than just the setting of the activities themselves when promoting young people's participation in SLA. Some of the features of SLA that promote positive youth development are presented in this paper.

Sibling relationship quality in the context of digital leisure and geographic distance for college-attending emerging adults

During the transition to adulthood, emerging adults may experience new geographic distance separating them from their siblings. Digital leisure is common among emerging adults and may serve as a tool for maintaining relationship quality across geographic distance. Using qualitative data, we created individual digital leisure diversity scores for four categories of digital leisure identified from a constructed taxonomy. The sample included 185 college-attending emerging adults (M _age = 20.1, 64.3% male). Analysis of variance indicated dyadic gender differences in social media and gaming. Digital leisure diversity was associated with greater levels of affective and cognitive sibling relationship quality, regardless of sibling dyad gender. The association between digital leisure diversity and cognitive relationship quality was significant for participants who lived closer to their sibling. During the transition to adulthood when new geographic separation is common, digital leisure shows potential as a compensatory activity that may help siblings maintain relationship quality.

Does Social Support Buffer the Association Between Stress Eating and Weight Gain During the Transition to College? Differences by Gender

This study sought to examine whether social support moderates the relationship between stress eating and body mass index (BMI) change over the freshman year in males and females. This longitudinal study included 70 college students (72.9% female; M age = 18.23) who completed self-reported measures of stress eating and perceived social support, with objective height and weight measurements collected. Among males, social support moderated the relationship between stress eating and BMI change. Among males, social support may serve as a buffer against the impact of stress eating on weight gain during the freshman year of college.

Os Usos do Tempo Livre entre Jovens de Classes Populares

RESUMO O presente estudo, de caráter quantitativo, pretendeu investigar aspectos relacionados ao tempo livre de jovens de classes populares. Participaram da pesquisa 291 jovens (53,3% meninas), de 15 a 19 anos (M = 16,3; DP = 1,09), estudantes de ensino médio em escolas públicas da Grande Vitória, ES. Os dados foram coletados através de questionário e analisados através do software SPSS. Os resultados apontaram, principalmente, para os diferentes fatores envolvidos nas formas de apropriação do tempo livre entre esses jovens, não relacionados estritamente à renda, mas também a aspectos como gênero, meio em que vivem, estilos de vida e grupos de que participam.

What They Want and What They Get: Self-Reported Motives, Perceived Competence, and Relatedness in Adolescent Leisure Activities

This study explored the extent to which adolescents’ motives for leisure activity participation are related to their perceptions of competence and relatedness in different kinds of activities and aimed to provide new insight into boys’ and girls’ leisure experiences and their motivational orientations for activity participation. These proposed associations were based on previous empirical work and the theoretical frameworks of motive disposition approach and were tested in a nationally representative sample of Norwegian adolescents (N=3273) aged 15 and 16 years (51.8% boys) from the World Health Organization’s cross-sectional survey, Health Behaviour in School-Aged Children 2005/06. The findings in the current study supported the hypothesis regarding matched correlations between specific motives and specific outcomes in that the adolescents seem to get (perceived competence and relatedness) what they want (competence and social motives) within leisure activities. Furthermore, the analysis using structural equation modeling indicated different motivational orientations in types of leisure activity participation between girls and boys, although the mediating effects of leisure activity participation in different types of activities were not significant.

A influência socioeconômica e de gênero no lazer de adolescentes

Este trabalho investigou a influência socioeconômica e de gênero no lazer de adolescentes. Participaram desta pesquisa 74 adolescentes, estudantes de uma escola pública e outra privada de um município do interior do estado de São Paulo. Os resultados demonstraram que não há diferenças significativas quando analisadas as atividades de lazer em relação à classe socioeconômica. Porém, quando analisadas quanto ao gênero, as atividades de lazer das moças de diferentes classes socioeconômicas apresentam diferenças significativas. Concluiu-se que os diferentes papéis sociais e ocupacionais atribuídos aos adolescentes, juntamente com o contexto socioeconômico e de gênero ao qual pertencem exercem pouca influência nas escolhas de atividades de lazer.