| Description |
Family leisure often occurs in ways that do not result in families accruing the suggested benefits of leisure. This study sought to examine the interactions that occur during family leisure and how such interactions might influence desired outcomes. Research was conducted from a systems perspective that looked at whole family interactions. Methods for this research included creating a literature review based model of family leisure, gathering interview data from three families, creating models for each family's leisure, and running simulations to examine how changes among elements might impact outcomes. This research found some support for interactions in the initial literature review model, but not for the entire model. Rather, results indicated that families may experience unique elements during their leisure, but that the need to negotiate constraints, increase focused interactions, and decrease fragmented interactions were constant among all families in this study. These findings resulted in a simplified model of family leisure. Finally, simulations provided some insight into the influence specific elements may have on family leisure. The study ended with a simplified model of family leisure, recommendations for practitioners, and suggestions for future research. |
