Parents' social representations about adolescents' leisure

In the United States, there are three philosophic positions in relation to adolescents' leisure (Larson & Seepersad, 2003): non-structured activities, structured activities, and a combination of the two. Taking into account the reality of Portuguese society, what position do parents adopt in relation to their adolescents' leisure? This study's purpose was to identify the representations that parents have about their children's leisure. Semi-structured interviews (Ruquoy, 2005) were given to 70 parents of adolescents in their 9th year of state schools in the Portuguese cities, Coimbra and Santarem. The data treatment technique that was utilized was "content analysis"(Bardin, 2008). For most parents, their children's leisure is seen as part of their development. Adolescents must try a wide range of experiences oriented toward a sort of values and principles that contribute to their overall development. The majority of the interviewed parents feel that they must be a role model for their children, developing behaviours, attitudes, and initiatives that are capable of influencing their children's choices and behaviours. Concerning activities for their children's leisure, these parents mostly preferred sports, for health reasons and because its practice is supervised by adults. In summary, we can say that the viewpoints mentioned by these parents seem to support structured activities.