Perceived leisure of women 50 to 65 years of age
Abstract
Whether one accepts the objective definition of leisure as “time left over after work,” or the subjective definition as “a state of mind,” leisure is “a person's own perception and inference of quantity and quality of activities.” The quality of an experience is seldom based on the time it occupies, or the money spent. However, as Schor (1991) suggests, U.S. Americans are more likely to take a second job rather than use time for leisure. An analysis by Putnam (2000) suggests that older people are more likely to have more time and money and therefore will have a greater perceived freedom in leisure. Both Schor (1999) and Putnam (2000) support the need for this study because they both agree that many people perceive that they do not have enough time or enough money to do the things they like. Discussions in the popular and academic literature on “social capital” and “quality of life” in the US suggests that there are difficulties in transition (family, work, time constraints) to leisure behavior within retirement. Subjects are 385 women between the ages of 50 and 65 who respond to the Subject's Personal Data, (to identify their leisure profile), and the Leisure Diagnostic Battery, (to measure “perceived freedom in leisure”). Subjects criticize the LDB as an inappropriate measure of their lives, and do not identify with the physical inferences of “recreation.” ANOVA tests are used to test the ten hypotheses, and few differences are found between groups. The subjects are “busy” (92.7%); do not have enough time (72.5%); and do not have enough money (57.7%); claim to: relax (86.3%), play (47.8%), and have a healthy lifestyle (64.0%); and state: “work is life” (21.8%), “work is leisure” (10.4%), “life is work” (20.5%), and “leisure is work” (7.3%). The author concludes with the proposed “Samuel Assessment for Social Capital & Quality of Life Profile.”
Degree
Ph.D.
Advisors
O'Leary, Purdue University.
Subject Area
Recreation|Gerontology|Sports medicine
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