Young People's Leisure and Lifestyles (Adolescence and Society)

202 Pages·1993·2.24 MB·English

by  Leo B. Hendry

Young people’s leisure and lifestyles
Young People’s Leisure and Lifestyles covers new ground in examining the
importance of leisure in the development of youth lifestyles. The findings quite
clearly show the significance of leisure time, when different forms of self-
expression emerge and, in particular, with the opportunity to socialise outside the
family, self-identity begins to be defined in new ways.
Drawing from the results of a major seven-year longitudinal study involving
10,000 young people, the authors closely analyse issues concerning young
people in school, home, leisure and work settings. They look, for instance, at
young people in the context of the family and explore the impact of parenting style
on lifestyle development. Other important topics considered in relation to young
people’s development include an analysis of social class and occupational
trajectories, ‘risk’ behaviours and adolescent health and well-being, sports
participation, and the formation of friendship groups and the importance of peers
across the adolescent years.
Importantly, the authors also assess whether class and gender relations
override youth culture, values and behaviour as the determining factors of youth
lifestyles. Young People’s Leisure and Lifestyles will be of interest to students of
psychology, social work, sociology, education, youth and community work, and
sport and leisure studies, as well as all those who work professionally with young
people.
Leo B.Hendry is Professor of Education at the University of Aberdeen. Janet
Shucksmith and Anthony Glendinning are Lecturers in the Department of
Education at the University of Aberdeen. John G.Love is Lecturer in Sociology
at the Robert Gordon University in Aberdeen.
Adolescence and Society
Series editor: John C.Coleman
The Trust for the Study of Adolescence
The general aim of the series is to make accessible to a wide readership the
growing evidence relating to adolescent development. Much of this material is
published in relatively inaccessible professional journals, and the goals of the
books in this series will be to summarise, review and place in context current
work in the field so as to interest and engage both an undergraduate and a
professional audience.
The intention of the authors is to raise the profile of adolescent studies among
professionals and in institutes of higher education. By publishing relatively
short, readable books on interesting topics to do with youth and society, the
series will make people more aware of the relevance of the subject of
adolescence to a wide range of social concerns.
The books will not put forward any one theoretical viewpoint. The authors
will outline the most prominent theories in the field and will include a balanced
and critical assessment of each of these. Whilst some of the books may have a
clinical or applied slant, the majority will concentrate on normal development.
The readership will rest primarily in two major areas: the undergraduate
market, particularly in the fields of psychology, sociology and education; and the
professional training market, with particular emphasis on social work, clinical
and educational psychology, counselling, youth work, nursing and teacher
training.
Also available in this series
Identity in Adolescence (second edition) Jane Kroger
The Nature of Adolescence (second edition) John C.Coleman and Leo Hendry
The Adolescent in the Family Patricia Noller and Victor Callan
Young People’s Understanding of Society Adrian Furnham and Barrie Stacey
Growing up with Unemployment Anthony H.Winefield, Marika Tiggermann,
Helen R.Winefield and Robert D.Goldney
Sexuality in Adolescence Susan Moore and Doreen Rosenthal
Adolescent Gambling Mark Griffiths
Adolescent Health Patrick C.L.Heaven
Social Networks and Social Influences in Adolescence John Cotterell
Young people’s leisure and
lifestyles
Leo B.Hendry, Janet Shucksmith,
John G.Love and Anthony Glendinning
London and New York
First published in 1993
by Routledge
11 New Fetter Lane, London EC4P 4EE
This edition published in the Taylor & Francis e-Library, 2005.
“To purchase your own copy of this or any of Taylor & Francis or Routledge’s collection of
thousands of eBooks please go to www.eBookstore.tandf.co.uk.”
Simultaneously published in the USA and Canada
by Routledge
29 West 35th Street, New York, NY 10001
Reprinted 1996
© 1993 Leo B.Hendry, Janet Shucksmith, John G.Love and Anthony Glendinning
All rights reserved. No part of this book may be reprinted or
reproduced or utilized in any form or by any electronic, mechanical,
or other means, now known or hereafter invented, including
photocopying and recording, or in any information storage or
retrieval system, without permission in writing from the publishers.
British Library Cataloguing in Publication Data
A catalogue record for this book is available from the British Library
Library of Congress Cataloguing in Publication Data
Young people’s leisure and lifestyle/Leo B.Hendry…[et al.],
p. cm.—(Adolescence and society)
Simultaneously published in the USA and Canada
Includes bibliographical references and index.
1. Youth—Social life and customs. 2. Leisure—Social aspects. 3.
Socialization. 4. Youth—Recreation. I. Hendry, Leo B. II. Series.
HQ796.Y5824 1993
305.23′5–dc20 92–45832
ISBN 0-203-40728-8 Master e-book ISBN
ISBN 0-203-71552-7 (Adobe eReader Format)
ISBN 0-415-04350-6 (Print Edition)
Contents
List of illustrations vi
Acknowledgements ix
1 Adolescence and adolescent lifestyles 1
2 The Young People’s Leisure and Lifestyles Project 21
3 Young people and leisure 31
4 Young people and sport 53
5 School and work 69
6 Young people and families 83
7 Young people, peers and friends 104
8 Young people and health 121
9 Developing lifestyles in adolescence 149
10 Some concluding thoughts 160
Appendix: Panel study areas—types of environment 171
Bibliography 173
Name index 185
Subject index 189
Illustrations
FIGURES
1.1 The ‘focal theory’ model 9
1.2 An attempt at an integrating model 11
2.1 Sampling design and response rates for 1987, 1989 and 1991 25
3.1 Focuses of interest and types of leisure pursuits 34
3.2 Pre-adolescent leisure activities: (a) percentage belonging to an 39
organised club or group; (b) percentage visiting friends’ house on a
weekly basis; (c) percentage spending most time with friends and
percentage spending most time with family when not at school
3.3 Adolescent leisure activities (weekly participation rates): (a) 41
percentage attending a youth club or group; (b) percentage attending a
sports club; (c) percentage visiting friends; (d) percentage hanging
around the local neighbourhood with friends; (e) percentage attending
discos; (f) percentage attending pubs
3.4 Adolescent relational issues: (a) percentage perceiving ‘being pretty/ 46
good-looking/attractive’ as important to peer group popularity; (b)
percentage perceiving ‘being themselves, being individual’ as
important to peer group popularity; (c) percentage spending a lot of
‘spare’ time with groups of peers; (d) percentage agreeing that what
young people do and how they dress outside their home is their own
business; (e) percentage spending a lot of ‘spare’ time with family
6.1 Family functioning characterised in terms of level of competence and 93
family ‘style’
6.2 Parenting styles as interactions of parental acceptance and control 94
6.3 Variables relating to family functioning: (a) I cause trouble to my 98
family; (b) parents critical of (same-sex) friends; (c) parents have
strong views about my appearance
7.1 Associations with a best friend, a same-sex peer group and a girl- 109
friend/boy-friend: (a) percentage spending a lot of spare time with a
same-sex best friend; (b) percentage spending a lot of spare time with a
same-sex peer group; (c) pecentage spending a lot of spare time with a
girl-friend/boy-friend
7.2 Peer acceptance and popularity: (a) percentage perceiving peer group 115
acceptance as important; (b) percentage perceiving smoking and
vii
drinking as important to peer group popularity; (c) percentage
perceiving conformity in appearance as important to peer group
popularity
9.1 ‘The classless society’: intergenerational class mobility for young 154
people of 17–22 years of age (n=989). The statistical models are valid
for both sexes: (a) more likely events; (b) less likely events
9.2 Young women’s developing lifestyles (cluster analyses— abridged 156
form)
9.3 Young men’s developing lifestyles (cluster analyses—abridged form) 157
TABLES
1.1 The personal and social learning tasks of adolescence 7
2.1 Regional breakdown of the YPLL sample in 1987 23
2.2 Distribution of father’s social class by cohort for the YPLL sample in 24
1987, 1989 and 1991
2.3 Distribution of the sexes by cohort for the YPLL sample in 1987, 27
1989 and 1991
3.1 Types of leisure involvement in late adolescence by labour market 48
position
4.1 Percentage of sport participants claiming influence of family on 55
involvement (13–16 years)
4.2 Percentage of sport participants by context of involvement (13–16 56
years)
4.3 Percentage of sport participants claiming influence of friends on 58
involvement (13–16 years)
4.4 Sport involvement by gender and age group 61
4.5 Sport involvement by current socioeconomic status (17–24 years) 62
4.6 Questionnaire items relating to ‘attitude to sport’ index 63
4.7 Mean score on ‘attitude to sport’ index by type of sport involvement 63
4.8 Mean score on ‘attitude to sport’ index by current socioeconomic 64
status (17–24 years)
4.9 Type of sports involvement of those who attend a sports fixture more 65
than once a month
4.10 Self-assessed health status by type of sports involvement 67
5.1 Attitudes to school by gender and age group 72
5.2 Attitudes to school by gender and social class of head of household 73
(13–20 years)
5.3 Attitudes to education and future employment by gender and social 74
class of head of household (13–16 years)
5.4 Educational qualifications (school level courses) by gender and social 76
class of head of household (17–20 years)
viii
5.5 Current labour market position by gender and age group for young 77
people beyond the statutory period of secondary education
5.6 Percentage of young people with five or more SCE Ordinary grade 79
passes by current labour market position, gender and age group
5.7 Factors underlying attitudes towards work (17–20 years) 80
5.8 Current labour market position by gender and social class of head of 81
household (19–20 years)
6.1 Amount of leisure time spent with family versus peers over the 87
course of one week
6.2 Family styles of young men in mid-adolescence 99
7.1 Interrelationships among the amount of leisure time young people 111
spend with a (same-sex) best friend, with an (opposite-sex) boy-
friend/girl-friend and with a (same-sex) peer group
7.2 Factors relating to perceived popularity/unpopularity with peers 114
7.3 Self-concept and self-esteem in relation to the peer group 117
8.1 Smoking prevalence by age group 126
8.2 Smoking prevalence by current socioeconomic status (17–24 years) 127
8.3 Percentages of self-reported smoking in ACORN areas (17–24 years) 127
8.4 Percentages of young people claiming drug users for ‘close’ friends 133
by age
8.5 Self-assessed health status by gender and age 139
8.6 Self-assessed health status by social class of head of household 141
8.7 Factors underlying the data used to characterise mid-adolescent 144
lifestyles (15–16 years)
8.8 A typology of mid-adolescent lifestyles (15–16 years) 146
Acknowledgements
The authors gratefully acknowledge the support and co-operation of various
individuals and organisations in carrying out the longitudinal study on which this
book is based. We would like to thank trustees and executive officers of the
Health Promotion Research Trust, in particular Professor Gary Love, Dr Fay
Bendall and Mr Richard Wakeford; the Scottish Sports Council, in particular Mr
Jon Best; all members of the advisory committee of the project under the able
chairmanship of Professor John Nisbet; all the schools which took part and all
the young people in Scotland and north-east England who collaborated with us
and provided us with such valuable insights into their lifestyles and leisure as
they grew up. Finally the project would not have been possible without the loyal
supporting work at different times of Ms Janette McCrae, Ms Jeanette Scott and
Mrs Gill West, along with other research associates and a host of fieldworkers.
Within the Department of Education we also received superb administrative and
secretarial assistance from Mrs Sheila Riach, Mrs Marjory Reilly and Mrs
Margaret Sinclair.