Bryan P. McCormick

Parent and Child Perspectives of Family Leisure Involvement and Satisfaction with Family Life

The purpose of this study was to examine the relationship between family leisure involvement and satisfaction with family life. The sample consisted of 179 families. Data were analyzed at the parent, child, and family level. Findings indicated that family leisure involvement was the strongest multivariate predictor of family satisfaction from the parent perspective, but was not a significant multivariate predictor from the childs perspective. At the family level of measurement, only the block including Core and Balance family leisure variables explained a significant portion of the variance in family satisfaction. History of divorce was a negative multivariate predictor of family satisfaction across all three perspectives. The nature of the relationships, implications, and recommendations for future research are discussed.

Daily experience of serious leisure, flow and subjective well‐being of older adults

The purpose of this study was to investigate how serious leisure and flow contribute to subjective well‐being (SWB) in the daily lives of older adults. Twenty‐two older adults were recruited from a local aging agency in a midwestern city in the USA. Experience Sampling Method was used to collect data on the daily experiences of the older adults. Hierarchical Linear Modelling was used to predict levels of SWB from experience variables (i.e. serious leisure, flow) and individual difference variables (i.e. gender, retirement). One‐way analyses of variance, random coefficient, and intercepts and slopes‐as‐outcomes models were tested. Serious leisure was positively associated with positive affect (PA), and flow had a significant negative relationship with PA. The results of this study confirm previous findings that SWB is an important consequence of serious leisure in everyday life.

Identity negotiating: redefining stigmatized identities through adaptive sports and recreation participation among individuals with a disability.

Abstract The purpose of this study was to investigate the meanings and outcomes of adaptive sport and recreation participation among individuals with disabilities. In-depth open-ended interviews were conducted with 17 individuals. Analysis of the data followed qualitative data analysis and classical grounded theory utilizing line by line coding, identification of emergent themes, and identification of a core category grounded in the data. Results indicated that participants felt stigmatized and stereotyped, but their adaptive sports and recreation participation provided them with opportunities to build social networks, experience freedom and success, positively compare themselves with others without disabilities, and feel a sense of normalcy. The core variable identified adaptive sports and recreation participation as an opportunity structure that facilitated the identity negotiating process.

Physical activity and psychiatric symptoms in adults with schizophrenia spectrum disorders.

Abstract People diagnosed with schizophrenia spectrum disorders (SSDs) experience significant health disparity due to cardiovascular disease. One key to cardiovascular health is physical activity (PA). In addition, sedentary behavior is recognized as a health threat, independent of PA levels. The current study sought to identify the relationship of psychiatric symptoms of SSD to measured PA and sedentary behavior. Findings indicated that less than half of the sample obtained the recommended minutes of moderate-to-vigorous PA (MVPA) per week. Subjects who were younger and had greater cognitive disorganization engaged in more minutes of MVPA. In contrast, sedentary behavior was only associated with aspects of metacognitive functioning, such that subjects who had greater ability for forming integrated representations of themselves and the related capacity to use knowledge of themselves spent less time in sedentary behaviors. This study expands upon the limited literature available on individuals with SSD and PA levels.

Flow Experience in the Daily Lives of Older Adults: An Analysis of the Interaction between Flow, Individual Differences, Serious Leisure, Location, and Social Context

Cette étude a examiné comment les loisirs sérieux, les différences individuelles, le contexte social et l’emplacement contribuent aux expériences de flux – un état psychologique intense – dans la vie quotidienne des adultes plus âgés. La Méthode d’échantillonnage a été utilisée avec 19 adultes plus âgés dans une ville du Midwest des États-Unis. L’expérience de flux a été la mesure des résultats, et les données ont été analysées à l’aide de la modélisation linéaire hiérarchique. Les résultats ont indiqué que la localité et le statut de l’emploi ont influencé l’expérience de flux des sujets. En outre, les conclusions ont révélé que la retraite était négativement liée à la rencontre de flux, et qu’il y avait une association significative entre le domicile et l’expérience de flux. Les résultats de cette étude améliorent la compréhension des expériences de flux dans la vie quotidienne des adultes plus âgés.

Leisure in community life of older rural residents

Much of the research on leisure among older people has focused on the impact of leisure on psychological well‐being. However, there appears a need to examine leisure from a more sociological level in terms of its impact on the social structures in which elderly people are embedded. The purpose of this study was to examine leisure as a context for interaction within the community lives of two subgroups of older residents in one rural region of South Carolina. Research methods were consistent with an interpretive approach. Findings indicated that older lifelong residents of the region had experienced a steady erosion of social leisure interaction due to changes in social structures. In contrast, older in‐migrant residents had created and maintained their communities principally through social leisure involvements. The findings are discussed in terms of the role of leisure in both the creation and dissolution of social bonds.

Self-experience as leisure constraint: the case of Alcoholics Anonymous.

Previous research has yielded a variety of models and conceptual frameworks of leisure constraints that have focused on describing various dimensions or categorizations of constraints, as opposed t...

Predicting Transitory Mood From Physical Activity Level Among People With Severe Mental Illness in Two Cultures

Background: Previous studies have indicated that physical activity (PA) is positively related to health-related quality of life and well-being among people with severe mental illness (SMI). Physical activity is broadly defined in this research as any skeletal muscle movement resulting in energy expenditure, including common daily activities such as housework and gardening, as well as walking for transportation and formal exercise. Although the physical health benefits of PA are well documented, evidence suggests that PA provides psychological benefits as well. Aims: The purpose of this study was to identify if PA level was associated with transitory mood in the everyday lives of people with SMI across two cultures. Methods: Subjects were drawn through mental health centres in Serbia (n = 12) and the USA (n = 11). Data were collected using both experience sampling methodology and accelerometry. Data were analyzed using hierarchical linear modelling. Results: Subjects demonstrated low levels of PA, which did not differ significantly between groups. Hierarchical analysis indicated that PA remained significantly positively associated with mood after accounting for individual variation, and this was consistent across groups. Conclusions: This study reinforces previous findings that people with SMI demonstrate low PA levels generally. It also supports the consideration of physical activity interventions as a regular part of psychiatric rehabilitation. It appears that increased PA may have the potential to affect both physical health and mood among people with SMI.

Examining the role of self-monitoring and social leisure in the life quality of individuals with spinal cord injury.

The level of social leisure for the high self-monitors with spinal cord injury (SCI) was hypothesized to be related to life quality, while the level of social leisure would not be related to life quality for the low self-monitors with SCI. A total of 206 individuals with SCI who reside in community responded to the questionnaire that measured life quality, self-monitoring, and social leisure participation along with demographics. Three blocks of independent variables were entered sequentially to examine the contribution of the block to explained variance (R2) in life quality. Particularly, an interaction term was created as a product of self-monitoring and social leisure in order to test the hypothesis. The findings of the study did not reveal a significant change in R2 suggesting that the relationship of social leisure to life quality was not dependent on ones level of self-monitoring. Instead, there was a significant main effect of social leisure participation on life quality in this sample. Implications for further research and practice are discussed.

Community involvement, planning and coping skills: pilot outcomes of a recreational-therapy intervention for adults with schizophrenia.

Purpose: The Independence through Community Access and Navigation (I-CAN) intervention was developed to increase community participation in adults with schizophrenia spectrum disorders (SSD) through identification of interest-based recreation activities and supported participation. Method: Ten individuals consented to participate in a 10-week pilot intervention. Eight individuals participated in the intervention, during which time they worked with a recreational therapist to identify interest-based recreation activities, develop participation goals and coparticipate with the recreational therapist. At the end of the intervention, seven participants were involved in a semistructured interview to understand their perceptions of the intervention, including its outcomes and effectiveness. Therapists’ notes and transcripts from the semistructured interviews were used to understand clients’ perception of the intervention. Results: Thematic analyses of seven exit interviews suggested the primary perceived outcomes of the intervention included: increased community involvement; development of planning skills; and the development of coping skills. These were facilitated by the therapeutic relationship between the client and therapist. Conclusions: This project provides preliminary support for the I-CAN as a participant-centered method for individuals with SSD to develop skills in the community. Implications for practice and future research are presented. Implications for Rehabilitation The Independence through Community Access and Navigation intervention uses community-based recreation to promote community participation through the development of competence, autonomy and relatedness. The promotion of independent community-based recreation participation through supported participation may increase planning abilities, coping skills and community participation. An interactive leadership style, where control is balanced between therapist and client, may help facilitate perceived competence and autonomy.