ADOLESCENT AND ADULT LEISURE PATTERNS - A REASSESSMENT

Using data drawn from a panel study of persons originally surveyed in 1947, this research note updates findings reported in a previous analy sis (Scott & Willits, 1989) concerning the linkages between adolescent leisure participation and involvement in similar activities later in life. We previously reported that the leisure activities people engage d in as high school sophomores were predictive of the same kinds of le isure activities they pursued in 1984 when the respondents were in the ir fifties. The present analysis examined these relationships using da ta from the same subjects collected in 1992. Adolescent leisure partic ipation continued to be predictive of the leisure choices of these peo ple in their early sixties as well. Moreover, adolescent leisure parti cipation was among the better predictors of adult leisure involvement at both points in these adults' lives. Together, these findings suppor t the continuing long-term impact of youthful leisure involvement.