ANALYSIS OF LEISURE TIME AND SOCIAL RELATIONSHIPS IN A GROUP OF TEENAGERS IN MOLDOVA

Abstract

Objectives. The aim of the study is to find out how students spend their free time and to assess the daily time allocated to these activities; also to determine the presence (or absence) of the group of friends and the parents’ level of interest concerning the child’s school performance and free time activities. Material and methods. The survey was carried out on a group of 212 pupils, in the 7th and 8th grade, from two different schools, who completed a questionnaire with items about leisure time and social relationships. Results. Television programs are not viewed by 25.00% young people, the differences calculated by grade and school being statistically insignificant (p>0.05). The time spent on the computer is "zero" in 31.13% cases; the differences are statistically insignificant. The presence of the group of friends is recognized by 56.60% young people, but there are also 10.84% ​​of cases in which the option "none" is chosen; the calculated differences are statistically significant (p˂0.05) for both grades and schools. There are 26.88% situations where students do not spend time with friends outside the school. Parents "always" have time when it comes to school performance only in 26.88% of cases and concerning the pupil’s leisure activities in 23.58% of cases. Differences calculated by grade and school are statistically insignificant (p>0.05). Conclusions. There are many problems with how teenagers spend leisure time and with the parent’s level of interest about school performance.

Keywords

• computer games
• leisure activities
• parents
• teenagers