Leisure Patterns of Canadian Female Baby Boomers

Historically, leisure researchers have examined participation in leisure activities by using frequency of individual involvement or categorizing leisure participation into groups such as reading, culture, outdoors, arts & crafts and sports. This study examined participation in leisure activities using the concept of leisure repertoire. Leisure repertoire has been defined as "the number of leisure activities available to or participated in by the individual" (Iso-Ahola, 1980, p. 174). The question arises, how is the range of leisure involvement affected by variables such as age, marital status, highest educational attainment, self-determined health status, age of respondent s youngest child, personal income level, and labour force status of the respondent? The research objectives of the study were to: a) examine the range of leisure involvement for women across the lifespan; and b) examine the influence of socio-demographic determinants on the range of leisure involvement for cohorts of the female boomer generation.

Autorentext

Colleen Whyte is a faculty member in the Department of Recreation and Leisure Studies at Brock University. Her research program is focused within the area of leisure and aging. Past research projects have examined the impact of a move to a long-term care home, and the meanings of leisure from the perspectives of persons living with dementia.