Adolescents’ choice and pursuit of their most important and interesting leisure activities

ABSTRACT

This study investigated the choice and pursuit of adolescents’ most important and interesting leisure activity. It is underpinned by the concept of serious leisure, recent perceptions of seriousness as a continuum and calls for incorporating contextual elements of serious activity pursuit. A questionnaire survey was administered to 832 students from 10 secondary schools in Hong Kong. Students were asked to nominate leisure activity that they regarded as most important and interesting as well as to complete an adapted version of the Serious Leisure Inventory and Measure (SLIM). Results showed the popularity of sports and performance and graphic arts activities and of psychological reasons for activity choice. There were variations in activity choice between boys and girls and across schools as well as across levels of seriousness in activity pursuit. The study adds to the scant knowledge of adolescents’ serious leisure and enhances understanding of motives for and meanings of serious engagement.

KEYWORDS:

• Adolescents
• serious leisure
• secondary school
• education
• Hong Kong

Acknowledgments

The work described in this paper was fully supported by a grant from the Research Grants Council of the Hong Kong Special Administrative Region, China (Project No. 12601115, HKBU).

Disclosure statement

No potential conflict of interest was reported by the authors.

Additional information

Funding

This work was supported by the Research Grants Council of the Hong Kong Special Administrative Region, China [12601115].

Notes on contributors

Atara Sivan

Atara Sivan is professor and head of the Department of Education Studies at the Hong Kong Baptist University. Her research focuses on youth leisure and leisure education and she has contributed to the body of knowledge through numerous journal articles, books, and presentations in international conferences worldwide. She is the editor-in-chief of the World Leisure Journal, president and fellow of the World Leisure Academy, and the founder and president of the World Leisure Organization–Hong Kong Chapter.

Vicky Tam

Vicky C. Tam is Professor in the Department of Education Studies, Hong Kong Baptist University. Her research interests relate to child and adolescent development, parenting, students' homework, and learning communities. She has published in a range of journals, including Education Studies, Psychological Reports, Asia-Pacific Journal of Education, School Community Journal, Learning Communities Journal, and International Journal of Behavioral Development, Journal of Family & Economic Issues, and Youth & Society.

Gertrude Siu

Gertrude Po-Kwan Siu is a nurse educator who has been involved in various mental health nursing programs in Hong Kong, including registered and enrolled, hospital-based, and university programs. She pursued her PhD in education in the area of adolescents’ serious leisure and is an active member of the World Leisure Organization – Hong Kong Chapter. She has been teaching at the Open University of Hong Kong. 

Robert Stebbins

Robert A. Stebbins, FRSC is Professor Emeritus in the Department of Sociology at the University of Calgary He has written or edited more than 50 books, including most recently Leisure's Legacy: Challenging the Common Sense View of Free Time. Stebbins was elected Fellow of the Royal Society of Canada in 1999.