Adolescent participation in leisure activities: “The less, the more” or “the more, the more"?

Abstract Data from a sample of 3,294 eighth‐ and 11th‐grade students in 12 Pennsylvania communities were used to examine two contrasting conceptualizations of participation in leisure activities. The one, termed “the less, the more,” suggests that the less an individual is involved in work and other activities, the more likely it is that he/she will participate in given leisure pursuits. The other, “the more, the more,” hypothesizes that the more an individual is involved in other things, the more he/she will seek out and utilize additional opportunities for leisure participation. Utilizing measures of involvement of the youth in work for pay and chores at home, actual and desired participation in school and community organizations, socializing with peers and family members, reading, and watching television, the analysis provided some tentative support for the hypothesis of “the more, the more.” Only time spent watching television clearly contradicted this perspective.