Karen Gallant

Serious Leisure as an Avenue for Nurturing Community

Using a communitarian framework to explore relationships between individuals and community, survey research was used to examine relationships among volunteers’ personal value orientations of individualism and collectivism, experiences of volunteering as serious leisure, and perceptions of sense of community and social cohesion. Based on survey responses from 300 current volunteers at ten voluntary organizations, findings linked collectivism and individualism to serious leisure, which in turn strongly associated with sense of community and social cohesion. In these empirical findings, serious leisure emerged as a pathway for nurturing community.

Celebrating, challenging and re-envisioning serious leisure

In this article, we explore and expand theorizing about serious leisure examining its complexities and contradictions and its potential for the social sphere, applying particularly the critical lens of feminist communitarianism. Beginning with a critique of the reliance on activity-based definitions of serious leisure in empirical research and conceptualizations of serious leisure as embedded in a series of dualisms such as positive–negative, work–leisure and serious–casual, we suggest serious leisure be re-envisioned as a complex experience influencing and influenced by the sociopolitical context. We also explore the functional, normative nature of previous literature on serious leisure and the possibility of re-envisioning serious leisure as an expressive and creative experience that nurtures diversity. Advocating for increased attention to the sociopolitical context and the adoption of a critical lens, we suggest that serious leisure experiences may be gendered, commodified and stratified. We advocate for a more complex analysis of serious leisure linked to social and political spheres and celebrate its potential as an avenue for nurturing social ties and building identity. Finally, based on the preceding analysis, we offer a re-envisioned definition of serious leisure for consideration.

The Benefits of Recreation for the Recovery and Social Inclusion of Individuals with Mental Illness: An Integrative Review

Abstract Previous research has shown the physical health benefits of physical activity for individuals with mental health challenges to their recovery, including reduced symptoms, weight reduction, and improved cardiovascular health. The focus of this previous research has excluded an exploration of the benefits of all types of recreation (including physical activity, creative pursuits, and social recreation) and the possibility of these benefits supporting broader recovery goals, including social inclusion. Through an integrative review and critical appraisal of existing literature, we outline the benefits, barriers to participation, and characteristics of successful programs of a range of community-based recreation. Results included 35 papers and indicate that physical, social and creative community recreation can contribute to the recovery and social inclusion of individuals with mental health challenges. Additionally, inclusive recreation environments set the stage for cultivating friendships if staff is properly trained on supporting camaraderie among participants and facilitating communication with groups they lead.

Recreation for mental health recovery

ABSTRACT The purpose of this paper is to articulate a rationale for increased collaboration between the mental health system and recreation system by embracing recovery-oriented practice. We provide practical examples of the potential for this collaboration from our current ‘Recreation for Mental Health’ project. For example, recreation programs intended for individuals with mental health problems should be informed by individuals in the recreation sector, mental health sector and individuals with mental illnesses. As such, programming should reflect current understandings of recovery-oriented care, the benefits of recreation for mental health and consider the perspectives of those living with mental health problems. Additionally, opportunities for recreation engagement can be supported in ‘community arenas’: recreation spaces where individuals with mental health problems are not thought of or identified as mental health consumers and where they can fully participate in safe and supportive recreation environments. Finally, we outline suggestions for next steps including a number of intersectoral activities such as information sharing, asset mapping, knowledge translation, research and program evaluation.

Childhood traumas, mental health and physical health in adulthood: testing physically active leisure as a buffer

Using data from the 2005 Canadian Community Health Survey, we examine the potential role of physically active leisure as a moderator of the typically negative health outcomes that follow experiences of childhood trauma. In our analyses, experiences of childhood trauma were associated with lower self-rated mental and physical health. Participation in physically active leisure was associated with higher levels of self-rated mental health and particularly physical health among trauma survivors. The results suggest physically active leisure may serve as a buffer for those with a history of childhood trauma; specifically, we found the benefits of participation in physically active leisure in enhancing physical health may be particularly important for those who have experienced multiple forms of childhood traumas.

Measurement of feelings of obligation to volunteer: the Obligation to Volunteer as Commitment (OVC) and Obligation to Volunteer as Duty (OVD) scales

Abstract While definitions of volunteering centre on the concepts of freedom and choice, in practice volunteering can be imbued with aspects of obligation. This paper describes the development of measures of feelings of obligation to volunteer. As a foundation for scale development, a literature review of feelings of obligation to volunteer suggested two dimensions of obligation: commitment, related to the devotion of volunteers who engage in serious leisure and the rewards that result, and including sub-dimensions of reward, affective attachment, flexibility and side bets; and duty, related to volunteers’ feelings of being burdened by their volunteer pursuits, comprised of the sub-dimensions of expectation, burden and constraint. These two distinct dimensions of obligation to volunteer evolved as two measures in a scale-development process that included review of potential items by subject experts and volunteers, exploratory factor analyses of potential items using data from a student sample and validation of the scale with a volunteer sample.

“Removing the thorns”: the role of the arts in recovery for people with mental health challenges

Abstract Background: While the arts have long been associated with mental health, the role of self-directed arts participation in recovery has not been fully explored. Methods: We explored the question: From the perspectives of people living with mental health challenges, how does participation in and exhibiting or performing one’s art impact recovery? Six individual interviews and 19 narratives by artists with mental health challenges associated with an arts exhibit were analyzed using inductive thematic analysis. Results: The data are described by the themes providing structure and continuity, (re)creating our personal stories and building community. Novel findings include ongoing engagement in the arts as providing continuity during turbulent times. The role of the arts in advocacy on mental health was highlighted. Conclusion: While artists sometimes perceived paternalism in audience members, the arts provided a powerful means of communicating about mental illness, countering stigma and challenging dominant ways of conceptualizing mental illness.

Deepening Partnerships through Co-Leadership: Integrating First Voice Perspectives into the Recreation for Mental Health (R4MH) Project

Abstract With a common goal of increasing social inclusion through collaboration between the mental health and recreation sectors, the Recreation for Mental Health Project was a partnership between Dalhousie University, Recreation Nova Scotia, and the local Canadian Mental Health Association branch. Aims: Central to this project was the meaningful involvement of individuals with First Voice perspectives—in this case, people with lived experience of mental health challenges. This paper describes key strategies used to privilege First Voice perspectives throughout this project. Methods: The strategies included (a) advisory committee membership, (b) arts-based activities, (c) community-based research, and (d) co-leadership in project dissemination. Findings and conclusion: Initial strategies related to the project’s overall direction and research activities culminated in shared dissemination activities that fostered co-leadership. This co-leadership created the opportunity to intentionally discuss the challenges and facilitators of partnerships between people with First Voice experience and researchers throughout the project. Significance: This intentional process of exploring multiple perspectives bridged notions of ‘us’ and ‘them’, cultivating a sense of solidarity across shared experiences of exclusion and agency. Key principles related to relationships, multiple identities, and power-sharing are synthesized.

What’s a Drink with Friends?: A Qualitative Systematic Synthesis of Social Drinking as Leisure

Abstract To enrich our understanding of how leisure scholars are engaged in the topic of social drinking, this qualitative systematic synthesis consolidates and describes leisure literature related to social drinking. Following Saini and Shlonsky’s (2012) methods for systematic syntheses of qualitative literature, this review included articles from 11 leisure journals, published between 2006 and 2016, resulting in a total of 249 abstracts reviewed. Upon applying inclusion criteria to focus the review on descriptions of social drinking, 17 articles were included in the synthesis and analysis. Notably, descriptions of social drinking in the leisure literature are less common than those which emphasize the broad health implications. Descriptions of social drinking are most present when presented as an adjunct to another leisure pursuit, as in the context of sporting events and tourism.

Serious Leisure: Past, Present, and Possibilities

This chapter describes the development, use, and potential of serious leisure—the concept developed by sociologist Bob Stebbins to describe the systematic pursuit of hobbyist, amateur, and volunteer activities characterised as unique in both the effort required and the benefits that follow. This chapter explores critiques of serious leisure, such as the lack of attention to its stratified nature and its focus on individual rather than community or collective outcomes. Further, the qualities and types of serious leisure are described as they are understood today, including the place of serious pursuits (serious leisure and devotee work) alongside casual and project-based leisure in what Stebbins refers to as the “serious leisure perspective”. Overall, this chapter both describes and critiques the evolution of serious leisure as a concept and a theory and explores its potential as a framework for studying and understanding leisure in the twenty-first century.