Empirical Evidence of the Contributions of Leisure Services to Alleviating Social Problems: A Key to Repositioning the Leisure Services Field

Abstract

Relatively concise executive summaries are provided of the scientific evidence supporting the leisure services field's contributions to seven elements of alleviating social problems: reducing environmental stress, community regeneration, cultural and historical preservation, facilitating healthy lifestyles, alleviating deviant behavior among youth, raising levels of educational attainment, and alleviating unemployment distress. By aligning with these seven issues which are increasingly prominent on political agendas, it is suggested that leisure services can be repositioned from being relatively discretionary services to being a central element in the strategies used by government entities to address these issues of concern.

Keywords:

• leisure services
• alleviating social problems
• social exclusion