The Effect of Entering an Age-Segregated Environment upon the Leisure Activity Patterns of Older Adults

McKechnie's Leisure Activities Blank along with demographic questions were utilized in examining past and present participation in leisure activities of 160 retirement village dwellers in Sacramento, California. In analyzing the data, measures of constriction (dropping of activities), expansion (adding of activities), and change (cumulative difference of activities added and dropped) were used. Data were submitted to analysis through use of the Statistical Package for the Social Sciences including measures of central tendency, frequencies and percentages, and correlation and multiple regression analysis. The latter were used to assess the strength of the relationships between demographic factors and leisure variables and the predictive capacity of the independent variables. Subjects also were asked to complete a semantic differential scale by Neulinger and Breit to assess attitudes toward work and leisure and to see if change, constriction and expansion scores were related to these attitudes. These relationships were tested by analysis of variance. Analyses led to the following conclusions: a. Number of activities participated in dropped slightly (constriction), but frequency increased after moving to an age segregated environment;b. Sex, health, and attitude toward leisure had the strongest predictive relationship with expansion; while current income, health, marital status, and occupation were most highly related to constriction. Total change was most apt to be predicted by sex, residence, education, income, health, and attitude toward leisure. These findings should be interpreted with caution in light of the fact that these factors accounted for only 24 percent of the total variance; andc. Attitude toward work was not related to change, constriction or expansion.