Free-time activities in middle childhood: Links with adjustment in early adolescence

This study assessed links between free-time activities in middle childhood (bobbies, sports, toys and games, outdoor play, reading, television viewing , and hanging out) and school grades, conduct, and depression symptoms both concurrently and 2 years later, in early adolescence. It also explored two mechanisms that might underlie activity-adjustment links: whether the soci al contexts of children's activities mediate these links, child effects exp lain these connections, or both. Participants were 198 children (M = 10.9 y ears, SD = .54 years) in Year 1, and their parents. In home interviews in Y ears 1 and 3 of the study, mothers rated children's conduct problems, child ren reported on their depression symptoms, and information was collected on school grades from report cards. In seven evening phone interviews, childr en reported on the time they spent in free-time activities during the day o f the call and their companions in each activity. Links were found between the nature of children's free-time activities and their adjustment. The soc ial contexts of free-time activities explained activity-adjustment links to a limited degree; with respect to child effects, evidence also suggested t hat better adjusted children became more involved in adaptive activities ov er time.