The relationships between participation in structured leisure (SL) activities (e.g., sports, prosocial activities) and adolescent adjustment were investigated. SL activities have been associated with various developmental benefits but there has been a limited number of studies that have investigated the potential negative aspects of participation. Questionnaire data were collected from 210 boys and girls (between grades 10 and 12). Fourteen students participated in focus groups to obtain a phenomenological perspective on SL participation. Adjustment variables included a well-being composite (comprised of depression, anxiety, self-esteem, and life satisfaction), a school orientation composite (comprised of students levels of school involvement and their values regarding school), academic achievement, and self-oriented and socially prescribed perfectionism. Three hypotheses were examined. First, it was predicted that there would be a curvilinear relationship between the extent of SL participation and the various adjustment variables. Second, aspects of play and leisure were expected to have moderating effects on the relationships between SL participation and outcomes. Third, aspects of perfectionism were hypothesized to play a moderating role on the relationship between SL and adolescent adjustment. <p>Although the present investigation yielded some insightful observations about participation in SL activities, the results provided no direct support for the hypotheses. Regression analyses indicated positive relationships between SL participation and self-oriented perfectionism, and SL participation and academic achievement. Negative relationships were found between the degree of playfulness in SL activities and socially prescribed perfectionism, and between academic achievement and global intrinsic leisure motivation. Notable focus group themes included a distinction between the fun experienced in SL activities and the fun experienced in nonstructured contexts, significant positive and negative experiences related to SL participation, and differences and similarities between the SL context and other contexts such as school. It is argued that leisure theory can contribute to a better understanding of the developmental implications of SL participation and that the relationship between SL participation and perfectionism merits further investigation.
| Identifer | oai:union.ndltd.org:LACETR/oai:collectionscanada.gc.ca:SSU.etd-12312007-122751 |
| Date | 02 January 2008 |
| Creators | Nicoll, Mark John |
| Contributors | Lawson, Karen L., Kowalski, Kent, Farthing, Gerald, Chartier, Brian M., Bowker, Anne, McDougall, Patricia |
| Publisher | University of Saskatchewan |
| Source Sets | Library and Archives Canada ETDs Repository / Centre d'archives des thèses électroniques de Bibliothèque et Archives Canada |
| Language | English |
| Detected Language | English |
| Type | text |
| Format | application/pdf |
| Source | http://library.usask.ca/theses/available/etd-12312007-122751/ |
| Rights | unrestricted, I hereby certify that, if appropriate, I have obtained and attached hereto a written permission statement from the owner(s) of each third party copyrighted matter to be included in my thesis, dissertation, or project report, allowing distribution as specified below. I certify that the version I submitted is the same as that approved by my advisory committee. I hereby grant to University of Saskatchewan or its agents the non-exclusive license to archive and make accessible, under the conditions specified below, my thesis, dissertation, or project report in whole or in part in all forms of media, now or hereafter known. I retain all other ownership rights to the copyright of the thesis, dissertation or project report. I also retain the right to use in future works (such as articles or books) all or part of this thesis, dissertation, or project report. |
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