A study of the leisure experience of Turkish University students.(Report)

The shortened Leisure Experience Battery, developed by Caldwell, Smith, and Weissinger (1992), was applied to a sample of Turkish university students. The Leisure Experience Battery was developed and tested for US (American) adolescents and university students (Barnett, 2005). In the present study the Battery was used to examine a sample of 207 Turkish university students who were mostly male (71%), urban (86%), unemployed, aged between 18 and 22, and all were single. The findings indicated that the factor structure and subscale reliabilities are very similar to those reported for the US samples. With the exception of the Challenge subscale, bivariate correlations between the subscales--Awareness, Boredom, and Distress--were found to be in line with theoretical expectations, and not to vary significantly with gender.

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Identity development is critical during the college years (Chickering & Reiser, 1993; Mortimer & Larson, 2002). In the literature, relationship between leisure and identity has been identified. In fact, leisure participation is accepted as an antecedent to identity development among some distinguished scholars (e.i., Haggard & Williams, 1991; Mannell & Kleiber, 1997; Shaw, Kleiber & Caldwell, 1995).The prominent theoretical perspective (affirmation theory) among leisure researchers is that leisure influences identity development; Through leisure participation, individuals are able to affirm their identity to themselves as well as express this identity to others (Haggard & Williams, 1992).

In addition, individuals who find great meaningfulness in their leisure may allow leisure to influence their identity to a greater extent than those who find their leisure less meaningful to them. That is, in addition to leisure participation, one's experiences during leisure is significant as it may influence leisure participation. Recently, Caldwell, Smith and Weissinger (1992) conceptualized leisure experience as composed of four dimensions: Boredom, Challenge, Awareness, and Anxiety. Several research have noted that an awareness of leisure resources and potential contribution of an activity influences leisure participation and satisfaction (Jackson & Scott, 1999). Research on leisure suggests that much of adolescent and young adult negative behaviors are motivated by a lack of optimal arousal. The presence of leisure boredom or a lack of optimal arousal in leisure motivates negative behaviors in adolescents and young adults (Iso-Ahola & Crowley, 1991; Larson & Kleiber, 1991). Conversely, the presence of appropriate levels of leisure challenge may serve as a motivating factor for participation. Finally, leisure anxiety and negative feelings towards leisure may result in decreased levels of participation.

Despite the importance of leisure experience in college student's development few instruments are designed to address this topic with this specific population. Caldwell et al. (1992) produced a reliable and valid scale to measure four aspects of the leisure experience in US adolescents. Recently, Barnett (2005) determined its applicability to US university students aged between 18 and 30. That is, she extended the application of the Leisure Experience Battery to those who have made the transition from their teens into their twenties.

The purpose of this study is to explore the appropriateness of the Leisure Experience Battery for Young Adults (LEBYA, Barnett, 2005) to young university students who grew up in cultures other than the US. That is, the present research sets out to determine whether these selected aspects of leisure experience are equally applicable to Turkish university students aged between 18 and 22. In addition, the present study examines whether these leisure experiences exist and interact similarly across gender differences. This study can be seen as a first step to increase our understanding of college students" nature of leisure experience and its association with identity formation process across cultures. In practice, assessment of leisure experience of college students can particularly be useful for student affairs professionals in their effort to enrich students" leisure experiences and hence to improve their personal and social identity.

Method