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Neighborhood Characteristics and Parents' Perceptions of Adolescents' Leisure Time

Explore how neighborhood factors influence parents' views on structured and unstructured leisure activities for adolescents, based on a study from Ghent University.

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Neighborhood Characteristics and Parents' Perceptions of Adolescents' Leisure Time

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  1. The influence of neighborhood characteristics on parents’ perceptions toward adolescents’ structured and unstructured leisure timeDepartmentof Social welfare studies, Ghent University Youth Research Platform (JOP) Annelore Van der Eecken, dr. Lieve Bradt, Prof. dr. Ilse Derluyn

  2. Introduction • Adolescents’ structuredleisure time • Developmental benefits • Differences in participationrates • Parents’ perceptions • Only the result of characteristics of the familie (e.g. social class differences)? • Or influencedbyneighborhoodcharacteristics?!

  3. Introduction • Impact of neighborhood on parents’ perceptions: largelyoverlookedby studies in the leisure time research area • In contrast, scholarsin the field of socialgeographyandenvironmentalpsychology have alreadydocumentedhowneighborhoodcharacteristicsinfluence the parents’ perceptionstowardchildren’s (unstructured) leisure time: • Place of residence (urban/rural) (cf. Johansson, 2003; Valentine, 1997; Witlox & Tindemans, 2006) • Feelings of insecurity(cf. Prezza, Alparone, Cristallo & Luigi, 2005) • Residentialinstability(cf. Prezza, Alparone, Cristallo& Luigi, 2005) • Socialnetworks in the neighborhood(cf. Hüttenmoser, 1995; Johansson, 2003; 2006; Karsten, 2003)

  4. Stillmanyquestions… • Focus on children, but whataboutadolescents? • Focus on the unstructuredleisure time (walking, bikingandautonomy of movement), but whatabout a broad range of structuredandunstructuredleisure time activities (e.g. culturalactivities, sport activities, youthassociations, theatre, etc.)?  Studyaim: gaininginsightintoparents’ perceptions of theirchildren’sleisure time byexamininghowseveralneighborhoodcharacteristics affect these perceptions

  5. Methods • Data from JOP-schoolmonitor (2013) • JOP= Youth Research Platform • Interuniversityandinterdisciplinary partnership • Policy Research Centre (FlemishGovernment) • Gatheringempirical data on youngpeopleandtheir family in Flandersandconduct research • Parents’ survey • Self-reported survey • N = 2,029 parents of secondary school students

  6. Methods • Sample • Socio-demographic background

  7. Methods • Sample • Social class background

  8. Methods • Method: questionnaire • Socio-demographicandsocial class data: • Age, gender, migration background, family composition, education, occupational status and financial situation • Neighborhood characteristics: • Place of residence, feelings of insecurity, neighborhood diversity, residential instability and presence of social networks • Parents’ perceptions of their children’s leisure time: • parents’ views on the importance of organized leisure time activities, the extent to which they support and encourage their children in their leisure activities, the extent to which they grant their children autonomy in their choicesregardingtheir leisure time activities, etc., measured on a Likert scale (1-5)

  9. Results: parents’ perceptions

  10. Discussion • Confirmation of past research: • negativeinfluence of living in anurban environment • negativeinfluence of feelings of insecurity • positiveinfluence of socialnetworks in the neighborhood  Notonlyuseful in explainingdifferences in parents’ perceptionstowardchildren’s independent mobility, but also in parents’ views of theiradolescents’ structuredandunstructuredleisure time!

  11. Discussion • New insights: • Living in a more diverse neighborhood and living in a residential unstable situation, is associated with a higher score on the importance of cultural activities • Culturalactivities= activitiesparentsandchildrencan do on theirown? Meeting places? • Confrontationwith a diversity of culturaltraditionsstimulatesculturalparticipation? • Living in a neighborhoodwith a lower level of Belgianpeople, is associatedwith a lower level of parental support • Parents living in these neighborhoods have otherpriorities(e.g. homework) ? • Lack of appropriateand adequate leisurefacilitiesin these neighborhoods?

  12. Recommendationsforfuture research • Focus on the relationbetween availability of leisureopportunitiesandparents’ views • Focus on the mechanismsbehind the impact of neighborhoodcharacteristicsontoparents’ perceptions (qualitative in-depth studies) • Focus on the influence of parentalperceptions on adolescents’ leisure time activities

  13. Questions? annelore.vandereecken@ugent.be PhD student Ghent University

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