Social factors affecting leisure A case study of the 15-64 year- old in the city of Jouybar, Mazandaran, Iran

Abstract

Leisure activities are those by which individuals develop their talent and personality free from work obligations or life requirements. The way we spend our leisure time is a reflection of social, economic and cultural circumstances of our society. Effective use of free time could considerably improve the quality of social and economic life of individuals. The present study is explores the social factors affecting the use of leisure time by subjects aged of 15-64 in the city of Jouybar, Mazandaran, Iran. The study uses the survey method a total sample of 510 members was chosen based on multistage cluster sampling. The independent variables of the study whose relationships were examined with the amount of leisure time (active and passive) include: socio-economic status (income, parental education and occupation), marital status, residency, age and gender. The results of study demonstrated that the average active leisure time (1.87 out of 4) was more than average passive leisure time (1.4 out of 4). The examination of the leisure patterns showed that, being with the family and watching television were the most important leisure activities among the respondents. In addition, the results of multivariate linear regression showed that, the four independents variables of age, education, parental education had significant impact on leisure. Beta coefficients indicated that the variable of age had the strongest (-.32) and education had the weakest (.117) effect on leisure time.

Keywords

• sociology of leisure
• active leisure
• passive leisure
• lifestyle
• city of Jouybar.