Development of adolescents' leisure interests and social involvement: perspectives and realities from youth and local stakeholders in Quebec

Abstract

Many municipal stakeholders deplore the poor participation of adolescents in out-of-school activities while also acknowledging their lack of understanding about the latter's interests in terms of leisure. Therefore, this study is to further understand how adolescents develop their leisure expectations and their level of social involvement in their communities. For these purposes, 18 focus groups were conducted with 72 youth aged between 12 and 17 years old as well as with 26 local stakeholders. The findings show that the way these adolescents approach leisure is closely linked to personal convictions and motivations along with the search for pleasure. This study also shows evidence of a strong influence from the family and from peers in regard to how these youth assert their leisure interests and get involved in their communities. Finally, this study underlines the importance of fostering adolescents' participation by allowing them to get involved in programming and entertaining the recreational offer in their community.

Keywords:

• adolescents
• leisure interests
• social involvement
• municipal recreation
• Quebec

Disclosure statement

No potential conflict of interest was reported by the authors.

Notes on contributors

Romain Roult is both a geographer and a professor at the Department of Leisure, Cultural and Touristic Studies at the Université de Trois-Rivières. His research focuses on different projects relating to physical activity and its relationship to constructed and natural environments.

Chantal Royer is a professor at the Department of Leisure, Cultural and Touristic Studies at the Université de Trois-Rivières. His research focuses on different projects relating to youth and leisure.

Denis Auger is a professor at the Department of Leisure, Cultural and Touristic Studies at the Université de Trois-Rivières. His research focuses on different projects relating to the public leisure.

Jean-Marc Adjizian is a doctoral student at the University of Ottawa. His research focuses on different projects relating to leisure and social participation.

Notes

1. The RCM of Joliette is mainly constituted of rural territories and is located 75 kilometres east of the Montreal metropolitan area.

2. The focus groups conducted were mixed sex and the moderator in charge of each group had to ensure that an equivalent right to speak was given to each participant.

3. In the present study, the youth that participated in organized recreational activities are called participants, while those that participated in personal leisure activities are called non-participants.

4. A garage league is an expression used in Quebec to designate an amateur and recreational league.

5. ‘La Guignolée’ is an annual event in Quebec held during Christmas time which consists of the collection of food and money for the most deprived.

Additional information

Funding

This research was possible due to funds from the RCM of Joliette and the Université du Québec à Trois-Rivières.