Recreational Activity Clustering among Adolescents

Abstract

Data on participation in 15 recreational activities were obtained from a sample of 2,760 junior and senior high school students. Interrelationships among activities were examined by use of a hierarchical clustering procedure for males and females within each of the following four age groups: 11–12, 13–14, 15–16, and 17–18.

The data indicated that the two a priori designated clusters of outdoor recreation and competitive recreation activities were of limited value for categorizing interrelated activities. However, the clustering procedures suggested that if the outdoor recreation and competitive recreation clusters were defined more narrowly, many of the activities within them did interrelate. A third group of activities emerged which had a very low relationship to the other two clusters and to each other. They were given the generic title “unique recreation activities” to indicate their relative independence.

Key Words:

• adolescents
• recreational activities
• activity clusters