Abstract
Few researchers have examined the role that life transition events play in the maintenance of or change in leisure behaviors across the transition from adolescence to young adulthood. This study examines the role that leaving home, going to college, having a committed partner, and becoming a parent played in intraindividual change and stability in leisure patterns. The data were from the Michigan Study of Adolescent Life Transitions (MSALT), and were collected during the final year of high school and 3 years following high school. Results suggest that transition events are particularly useful in predicting female leisure pattern stability or change; going to college and leaving home were generally predictive of the maintenance of a stable leisure pattern, while becoming a partner and becoming a parent were predictive of change. For males, the most useful predictor of stability or change was leaving home. However, the nature of the relation of the transition events to pattern stability or change depended on the type of initial leisure pattern.
This is a preview of subscription content, log in via an institution to check access.
Similar content being viewed by others
REFERENCES
Anderson, S. A., and Fleming, W. M. (1986). Late adolescents' home-leaving strategies: Predicting ego identity and college adjustment. Adolescence 82: 453–459.
Aquilino, W. S., and Supple, K. R. (1991). Parent-child relations and parent's satisfaction with living arrangements when adult children live at home. J. Marr. Fam. 53: 13–27.
Arnett, J. J. (1998). Learning to stand alone: The contemporary American transition to adulthood in cultural and historical context. Human Devel. 41: 295–315.
Bachman, J. G., Wadsworth, K. N., O'Malley P. M., Schulenberg, J., and Johnson, L. D. (1997). Marriage, divorce, and parenthood during the transition to young adulthood: Impacts on drug use and abuse. In Schulenberg, J., and Maggs, J. L. (eds.), Health Risks and Developmental Transitions During Adolescence. Cambridge University Press, New York, pp. 246–279.
Barnes, G. M., Welte, J. W., and Dintcheff, B. A. (1992). Alcohol misuse among college students and other young adults: Findings from a general population study in New York State. Int. J. Addict. 27(8): 917–934.
Berk, L., and Goebel, B. (1987). Patterns of extracurricular participation from high school to college. Am. J. Educ. 95(3): 468–485.
Crawford, D. W., and Huston, T. L. (1993). The impact of the transition to parenthood on marital leisure. Person. Soc. Psychol. Bull. 19(1): 39–46.
Crowley, J. E. (1991). Educational status and drinking patterns:Howrepresentative are college students? J. Stud. Alcohol 52(1): 10–16.
Eccles, J. S., and Barber, B. L. (1999). Student council, volunteering, basketball, or marching band: What kind of extracurricular involvement matters? J. Adolesc. Res. 14(1): 10–43.
Entwisle, D. R., and Astone, N. M. (1994). Some practical guidelines for measuring youth's race/ethnicity and socioeconomic status. Child Devel. 65: 1521–1540.
Erikson, E. H. (1963). Childhood and Society (2nd edn.). Norton, New York.
Fasick, F. A. (1988). Patterns of formal education in high school as rites de passage. Adolescence 23(90): 457–468.
Fine, G. A., Mortimer, J. T., and Roberts, D. F. (1990). Leisure, work, and the mass media. In Feldman, S. S., and Elliot, G. R. (eds.), At the Threshold: The Developing Adolescent. Harvard University Press, Cambridge.
Flanagan, C., Schulenberg, J., and Fuligni, A. (1993). Residential setting and parent-adolescent relationships during the college years. J. Youth Adolesc. 22(2): 171–189.
Freysinger, V. J., and Ray, R. O. (1994). The activity involvement of women and men in young and middle adulthood: A panel study. Leis. Sci. 16(2): 193–217.
Furlong, A., Campbell, R., and Roberts, K. (1990). The effects of post-16 experiences and social class on the leisure patterns of young adults. Leis. Stud. 9(3): 213–224.
Gilligan, C. (1982). In a Different Voice. Harvard University Press, Cambridge.
Goldscheider, F. K., and Davanzo, D. (1986). Semiautonomy and leaving home in early adulthood. Soc. Forces 65(1): 187–201.
Greene, A. L., Wheatley, S. M., and Aldava, J. F. (1992). Stages on life's way: Adolescents' implicit theories of the life course. J. Adolesc. Res. 7(3): 364–381.
Henderson, K. A. (1990). The meaning of leisure for women: An integrative review of the research. J. Leis. Res. 22(3): 228–243.
Hendry, L. B. (1989). The influence of adults and peers on adolescents' lifestyles and leisure styles. In K. Hurrelman and U. Engel (eds.), The Social World of Adolescents: International Perspectives. Walter de Gryter, Berlin, pp. 245–263.
Hoff, A. E., and Ellis, G. D. (1992). Influence of agents of leisure socialization on leisure self-efficacy of university students. J. Leis. Res. 24(2): 114–126.
Holman, T. B., and Epperson, A. (1984). Family and leisure: A review of the literature with research recommendations. J. Leis. Res. 16(4): 277–294.
Horna, J. (1989). The leisure component of the parental role. J. Leis. Res. 21(3): 228–241.
Huston, T. L., and Ashmore, R. D. (1985). Women and men in personal relationships. In Ashmore, R. D., and Del Boca, F. K. (eds.), The Social Psychology of Female-Male Relations: A Critical Analysis of Central Concepts Academic Press, Orlando, pp.167–210.
Iso-Ahola, S. E. (1980). The Social Psychology of Leisure and Recreation. Wm. C. Brown, Dubuque.
Iso-Ahola, S. E., and Buttimer, K. (1981). The emergence of work and leisure ethics from early adolescence to early adulthood. J. Leis. Res. 13: 282–288.
Kandel, D. B., and Raveis, V. H. (1989). Cessation of illicit drug use during young adulthood. Arch. Gen. Psychiat. 46: 109–116.
Kelly, J. R., and Godbey, G. (1992). The Sociology of Leisure. Venture, State College, PA.
Kleiber, D. A., and Rickards, W. H. (1985). Leisure and recreation in adolescence: Limitation and potential. In Wade, M. G. (ed.), Constraints on Leisure. Charles C. Thomas, Springfield, Illinois, pp. 289–318.
Lindsay, P. (1984). High school size, participation in activities, and young adult participation: Some enduring effects of schooling. Educ. Eval. and Pol. Analys. 6(1): 73–83.
Marcia, J. E. (1966). Development and validation of ego identity status. J. Person. Soc. Psychol. 3(5): 551–558.
Otto, L. B., and Alwin, D. F. (1977). Athletics, aspirations, and attainments. Sociol. Educ. 50: 102–113.
Otto, L. B., and Featherman, D. L. (1975). Social structural and psychological antecedents of selfestrangement and powerlessness. Am. Sociol. Rev. 40: 701–719.
Raymore, L. A. (1995). Leisure behavior and the transition from adolescence to young adulthood. Leis. Stud. 14: 202–216.
Raymore, L. A., Barber, B., Eccles, J., and Godbey, G. (1999). Leisure behavior pattern stability across the transition from adolescence to young adulthood. J. Youth Adolesc. 28(1): 79–103.
Rapoport, R., and Rapoport, R. N. (1975). Leisure and the Family Life Cycle. Routledge and Kegan Paul, Boston.
Schulenberg, J., Bachman, J. G., O'Malley, P. M., and Johnston, L. D. (1994). High school educational success and subsequent substance use: A panel analysis following adolescents into young adulthood. J. Health Soc. Behav. 35: 45–62.
Sherrod, L. R., Haggerty, R. J., and Featherman, D. L. (1993). Introduction: Late adolescence and the transition to adulthood. J. Res. Adolesc. 3(3): 217–226.
Surra, C. A. (1985). Courtship types: Variation in interdependence between partners and social networks. J. Person. Soc. Psychol. 49(2): 357–375.
Witt, P. A., and Goodale, T. L. (1981). The relationship between barriers to leisure enjoyment and family stages. Leis. Sci. 4(1): 29–49.
Zirkel, S., and Cantor, N. (1990). Personal construal of life tasks: Those who struggle for independence. J. Person. Soc. Psychol. 58: 172–185.
Author information
Authors and Affiliations
Rights and permissions
About this article
Cite this article
Raymore, L.A., Barber, B.L. & Eccles, J.S. Leaving Home, Attending College, Partnership and Parenthood: The Role of Life Transition Events in Leisure Pattern Stability From Adolescence to Young Adulthood. Journal of Youth and Adolescence 30, 197–223 (2001). https://doi.org/10.1023/A:1010345825065
Issue Date:
DOI: https://doi.org/10.1023/A:1010345825065