“I Can't Have My Mom Running Me Everywhere”: Adolescents, Leisure, and Accessibility

Abstract

This study examined how adolescents defined leisure and problems of accessibility encountered as they attempted to pursue their chosen leisure activities. Data drawn from semi-structured interviews indicated that regardless of location, the key issue was a shared concern about the general inability to independently access leisure pursuits. Among the causes of frustration were the lack of accessible spaces as well as the social sanctions prohibiting the use of such spaces for unstructured activities. Further constraints included gender, socio-economic status, race/ethnicity and age.

KEYWORDS:

• Adolescents
• leisure
• accessibility