Healthy adolescence in the context of leisure time:The role of organized and unstructured leisure-time activities

Organised activities good for the health and school performance of adolescents Leisure time represents a large portion of adolescents’ time budgets, and the ways it is spent substantially determines their lifestyle and health-related behaviours. Most research on leisure, and organized activities in particular, has thus far been conducted in the USA and Canada. Studies from European countries on this topic are scarce. Therefore, this thesis aimed to examine the associations of adolescents’ participation in organized leisure-time activities (OLTA) and unstructured activities (UA) with health- and school-related outcomes, using a large representative sample of Czech adolescents who participated in the international Health Behaviour in School-aged Children (HBSC) study. OLTA participants were more likely to report enhanced physical and mental health and good school functioning than non-participants. Moreover, participation in OLTA was associated with lower levels of substance use, especially in girls. Otherwise, the associations mostly held for both genders across all age categories (11-, 13- and 15-year-olds) surveyed, even after adjustment for socioeconomic status. However, they varied somewhat by pattern of OLTA participation; e.g. we observed differences in health- and school-related outcomes, with outcomes being best for those participating in the arts. Regarding UA, we found that those involved in unsupervised UA had higher rates of adverse health-behaviours and poor school performance than those who were not involved in such UA. Furthermore, those engaging only in UA were more likely to partake in adverse health behaviours and to do worse at school than those who participated in any OLTA concurrently

Can organized leisure-time activities buffer the negative outcomes of unstructured activities for adolescents' health?

We aimed to assess the associations of involvement in selected unstructured activities (UA) with health-risk behaviours and academic achievement and the degree to which the participation in organized leisure-time activities (OLTA) changes these associations. Using a sample of 6935 Czech adolescents aged 13 and 15 years, we investigated adolescents' weekly involvement in hanging out, visiting shopping malls for fun and meeting friends after 8 p.m., OLTA and engagement in three health-risk behaviours and academic achievement. Weekly involvement in the selected UA was associated with higher odds for regular smoking, being drunk, having early sexual intercourse and low academic achievement. Concurrent participation in OLTA did not buffer these negative outcomes, except for sexual experience. However, those highly engaged only in UA were more likely to participate in the health-risk behaviours and report worse academic achievement than those participating in any OLTA concurrently. The selected UA are strongly associated with an increased occurrence of adolescents' health-risk behaviours and low academic achievement. Concurrent participation in OLTA does not buffer these negative outcomes significantly, but adolescents engaged only in UA consistently report the least favourable outcomes

When children play, they feel better:organized activity participation and health in adolescents

Background: Participation in organized leisure-time activities (OLTA) has been linked to healthy youth development. This study aimed to assess whether participation in OLTA is associated with both physical and mental health in adolescents, and whether this association differs by pattern of activity participation, age and gender. Methods: The present study was based on data from the 2013/2014 Health Behaviour in School-aged Children study in the Czech Republic. This data concerned 10,503 adolescents (49.2 % boys) aged 11, 13 and 15. A cluster analysis was carried out to obtain patterns of activity participation and yielded five groups (all-rounders, artists, individual sports, team sports and inactive). The association between participation in types of OLTA and physical and mental health was analysed using logistic regression models adjusted for age and gender. We also assessed interactions between types of OLTA and gender and age. Results: Participation in OLTA was associated with better self-rated health and higher life satisfaction regardless of gender or age. Participation in team or individual sports was associated with better general health and less frequent health complaints in boys, while participation in art activities was associated with lower occurrence of health complaints in girls and 11-year-olds. Conclusion: Participation in OLTA is associated with better physical and mental health in adolescents. The association varies by pattern of activity participation and is partly gender-and age-specific

Participation in organized leisure-time activities and risk behaviors in Czech adolescents

The study aimed to assess the associations between participation in organized leisure-time activities (OLTA) and risk behaviors, and whether the associations differed by gender, age, and pattern of OLTA involvement. Data from the 2013/2014 Health Behaviour in School-Aged Children study on 10,279 11-, 13-, and 15-year-old Czech adolescents (49.2% boys) were used. We assessed the associations between OLTA participation and risk behaviors, and modification by age and gender. OLTA participants were less likely to smoke, get drunk repeatedly, or skip school and, in contrast, more likely to get injured and fight repeatedly. The associations with lower occurrence of risk behaviors were the strongest for artists, while none was significant for adolescents participating only in team sports. Girls participating in OLTA had lower odds to smoke, get drunk, or skip school than boys, and these boys had higher odds to get injured or fight. OLTA participation is associated with lower occurrence of repeated substance use and truancy and inversely with higher odds for physical fights and injuries. Girls, in general, are at lower risk when participating in OLTA than boys

Is Participation in Organized Leisure-Time Activities Associated with School Performance in Adolescence?

BACKGROUND:Organized leisure-time activities (OLTA) have been identified as a context suitable for improvement of school performance. This study aimed to assess the associations between participation in OLTA and school engagement, school-related stress, academic achievement and whether these associations differ by specific pattern of OLTA participation, gender and age. Furthermore, it assessed whether OLTA participants are more likely to acquire support for schoolwork from outside the family. METHODS:The sample concerned 10,483 adolescents (49.2% boys) aged 11, 13 and 15 from the Health Behaviour in School-aged Children data collection in 2014 in the Czech Republic. Logistic regressions adjusted for gender and age were used to analyse the associations between participation in OLTA and four education-related outcomes. RESULTS:Participation in OLTA was associated with higher school engagement, lower levels of school-related stress and better academic achievement regardless of gender and age. The strongest associations were observed for adolescents involved in various types of OLTA concurrently, with odds ratios ranging from 1.34 (95% confidence interval (CI) 1.17-1.54) for lower school-related stress to 1.97 (95% CI 1.73-2.25) for above-average academic achievement. OLTA participants were also more likely to have a non-familial person to help them with schoolwork, though this association was weaker in 15-year-olds. CONCLUSION:Youth involvement in OLTA is linked to general better school performance and attachment to school. Adolescents participating in more activities at the same time have the best school performance

Trojrozměrné modelování proudění v koleně

Import 20/04/2006Prezenční výpůjčkaVŠB - Technická univerzita Ostrava. Fakulta strojní. Katedra (338) hydromechaniky a hydraulických zařízen

Healthy adolescence in the context of leisure time: The role of organized and unstructured leisure-time activities

Organised activities good for the health and school performance of adolescents Leisure time represents a large portion of adolescents’ time budgets, and the ways it is spent substantially determines their lifestyle and health-related behaviours. Most research on leisure, and organized activities in particular, has thus far been conducted in the USA and Canada. Studies from European countries on this topic are scarce. Therefore, this thesis aimed to examine the associations of adolescents’ participation in organized leisure-time activities (OLTA) and unstructured activities (UA) with health- and school-related outcomes, using a large representative sample of Czech adolescents who participated in the international Health Behaviour in School-aged Children (HBSC) study. OLTA participants were more likely to report enhanced physical and mental health and good school functioning than non-participants. Moreover, participation in OLTA was associated with lower levels of substance use, especially in girls. Otherwise, the associations mostly held for both genders across all age categories (11-, 13- and 15-year-olds) surveyed, even after adjustment for socioeconomic status. However, they varied somewhat by pattern of OLTA participation; e.g. we observed differences in health- and school-related outcomes, with outcomes being best for those participating in the arts. Regarding UA, we found that those involved in unsupervised UA had higher rates of adverse health-behaviours and poor school performance than those who were not involved in such UA. Furthermore, those engaging only in UA were more likely to partake in adverse health behaviours and to do worse at school than those who participated in any OLTA concurrently

Leisure Time Use and Adolescent Mental Well-Being: Insights from the COVID-19 Czech Spring Lockdown

Background: As leisure—one of the crucial life domains—was completely disrupted by the COVID-19 pandemic, our study aimed to investigate how adolescents spent their leisure time during the Spring 2020 lockdown. Secondly, we aimed to investigate the associations between the perceived changes in leisure time use, the leisure activities adolescents engaged in, and the associations with well-being during the Spring 2020 lockdown in Czechia. Methods: Data from 3438 participants were included in this study (54.2% girls; mean age = 13.45, SD = 1.62). First, the initial number of items measuring leisure, electronic media use, and sports was reduced through Principal Component Analysis (PCA). Multivariate linear regression models tested the associations between leisure domains and mental well-being Results: The amount of leisure time, together with socially active leisure and sports and physical activity, formed the strongest positive predictors of mental well-being, whereas idle activities and time spent on electronic media acted as negative predictors. The amount of time spent doing schoolwork was unrelated to mental well-being. Conclusions: Overall, our results support the idea that leisure as a promoting factor for well-being is not just a matter of its amount but rather of engagement in meaningful and fulfilling activities