Family Leisure in Three Communities

Abstract

In three communities—a Western university town, a Midwest mill town, and an Eastern new town—associations, role constraints, and satisfactions perceived in an inclusive range of leisure activities were examined in 374 interviews. Family interaction heads the ranking of activities selected as among the most important to adult respondents. Over half the 2,372 activities studied are usually done with family members. This includes over 70 percent of the 596 recreational activities and slightly less than 40 percent of 217 that are cultural. Leisure associations and orientations change during the family life cycle. For example, marriage and parenthood decrease the proportion of activities done alone or with friends for reasons intrinsic to the activity itself. However, family leisure is more than a convenience or obligation. Positive satisfaction with the relationships is as significant as constraining role expectations in participation decisions. The family is found to be a central social context of leisure and leisure is important to developmental family research.