Hostname: page-component-78c5997874-v9fdk Total loading time: 0 Render date: 2024-11-14T06:44:59.565Z Has data issue: false hasContentIssue false
  • English
  • Français

Adolescent Leisure Pursuits and Interests in the 1980s: Some Sex and Age Differences

Published online by Cambridge University Press:  29 October 2015

Alison F. Garton  and
Andrew Cartmel
Alison F. Garton
Affiliation:
Psychology Section, School of Social Inquiry, Murdoch University, Murdoch, Western Australia 6150
Andrew Cartmel
Affiliation:
Psychology Section, School of Social Inquiry, Murdoch University, Murdoch, Western Australia 6150
Get access

Extract

What do adolescents “do” in their spare time? What activities do they engage in when not at school or in employment? Questions such as these are continually of importance since planning and provision of facilities for the pursuit of leisure activities for individuals of all ages are required. Society must make available resources and expertise for leisure time pursuits for adolescents, ranging from sporting activities to discos, from educational programmes to providing places where teenagers can meet and talk away from home.

Firstly however, two brief definitions are needed – one of “interest” and one of “leisure”. Dusek, Kermis and Monge (1979) define interest as “(being) related to, and may be the end result of, attention toenvironmental events that stimulate curiosity which, in turn, leads to the application of already acquired skills” (p.44). Connell, Stroobant, Sinclair, Connell and Rogers (1975) claim that “an interesting person is, basically, an interested person” (p.167), implying that to have a wide education and a wide range of interests enhances one as a person. Clearly therefore, it would be to our (and society's) advantage to make provision for stimulating leisure pursuits and encouraging many different recreational interests in our adolescents. The breadth and depth of action and motivation established before adulthood must then be beneficial to society in the long term.

Type
Research Article
Information
The Educational and Developmental Psychologist , Volume 3 , Issue 1 , May 1986 , pp. 5 - 11
Copyright
Copyright © Australian Psychological Society 1986

Access options

Get access to the full version of this content by using one of the access options below. (Log in options will check for institutional or personal access. Content may require purchase if you do not have access.)

References

Connell, W.E., Stroobant, R.E., Sinclair, K.E., Connell, R.W., & Rogers, K.W. (1975). 12 to 20: Studies of City Youth. Sydney: Hicks Smith and Sons.Google Scholar
Dusek, J.B., Kermis, M.D. & Monge, R.H. (1979). The hierarchy of adolescent interests: A social-cognitive approach. Genetic Psychology Monographs, 100, 41–72.Google Scholar
Hendry, LB. & Patrick, H., (1977). Adolescents and television. Journal of Youth and Adolescence, 6, 325–336.Google Scholar
Poole, M.E. & Juchnowski, M.V. (1976). School and leisure. Social Security Quarterly, 2–9.Google Scholar
Ritson, B. (1981). Alcohol and young people. Journal of Adolescence, 4, 93–100.CrossRefGoogle ScholarPubMed