Participation and interest in leisure activities by adolescent schoolchildren

Knowledge of the leisure activities and pursuits of adolescents is important as it can provide a greater understanding of the social world of the adolescent. Further, it is necessary not only to know what adolescents actually do in their leisure time, but what they are interested in doing. In this study, the relationship between levels of participation and levels of interest in leisure activities was investigated via analysis of a comprehensive 77 item questionnaire administered to 247 adolescents. Factor analytic techniques were used to summarize the data, enabling comparisons to be made between boys and girls. Adolescents were found to engage in and be interested in activities characterised by their sex stereotyped nature, although in general none of the popular pursuits was either physically or mentally demanding. There was a high correlation between participation and interest, with adolescents participating in activities that interested them. The implications of these findings are discussed.