Susan L. Hutchinson

Leisure as a Resource in Transcending Negative Life Events: Self-Protection, Self-Restoration, and Personal Transformation

Negative life events, such as the unexpected loss of a loved one, a disabling accident or a natural disaster, are inevitably distressing and disruptive. Coping with and recovering from such events generally requires a variety of personal and social resources. Previous research on leisure and coping has suggested that leisure orientations and relationships can be important in reducing the likelihood that stress becomes debilitating in some way. But the results of that work are equivocal and generally do not distinguish leisure resources that make events less stressful from those that are employed in coping with stressful events after they occur. This analysis examines the leisure-coping literature as well as recent work on the dynamics of coping and the impact of pleasant events and concludes in identifying four distinguishable functions of leisure that relate to self-protection, self-restoration, and personal transformation.

Leisure as a coping resource: variations in coping with traumatic injury and illness.

The influence of leisure in coping with negative life events likely derives from its powers to distract, to generate optimism about the future, and to preserve a sense of self in the face of trauma (Kleiber, Hutchinson, & Williams, 2002). While there is recent evidence of leisures role in coping with daily hassles and normative life stressors (e.g., Iwasaki & Mannell, 2000), the nature and extent of leisures utility in coping with a life-altering event, such as a traumatic injury, is not well understood. The purpose of this paper is to examine how individuals used leisure in coping with a traumatic injury or the onset of a chronic illness. Qualitative data from two studies involving people with either a spinal cord injury or chronic illness were used for this analysis. Findings support suggestions from earlier research: leisure served to buffer effects of immediate life circumstances and it sustained their coping efforts in various ways. The authors end by discussing the data in light of recent theoretical propositions about the role of positive affect and meaning in coping.

Beyond fun and friendship: the Red Hat Society as a coping resource for older women

ABSTRACT How older women cope with challenges and losses in later life influences not only their physical health but also their psychological wellbeing and quality of life. The purpose of the analysis reported in this paper was to understand how participation in a womens leisure-based social group – the Red Hat Society® – serves as a coping resource for older women. The Society is an international organisation of women aged 50 or more years and has the mission to ‘celebrate the silliness of life’. The Society currently has an estimated one million members in 30 countries. To understand the ways that social group participation may contribute to older womens health and wellbeing, this paper examines the dynamics of leisure-based coping with positive emotions as the focus. Based on an analysis of responses to an open-ended question about meaningful experiences associated with being involved in the Red Hat Society, the sample of 272 members identified the main reasons for their involvement as chronic and acute stressors, challenging life transitions and daily hassles. In addition, they described four ways that participation helped them to manage these stressors: as a context for social support, emotional regulation, sustaining coping efforts, and meaning-focused coping. The results are discussed in relation to theory and previous evidence on the role of positive emotions and leisure in coping.

Inappropriate Parental Divorce Disclosures, the Factors that Prompt them, and their Impact on Parents’ and Adolescents’ Well-Being

Recent research has shown that parents’ inappropriate disclosures about the divorce process can be stressful for adolescents. However, little is known about the conditions that prompt parents to disclose inappropriate information about the divorce to them. The current study examines factors (a lack of social support, a lack of control over divorce stressors, and the severity of the divorce stressors) that potentially influence parents to reveal inappropriate information about the divorce to their adolescents. It also explores the impact that these inappropriate disclosures have on parents’ and adolescents’ well-being. Surveys were gathered from 118 custodial parent–adolescent dyads. The results suggest that a lack of social support and the severity of the stressors did not influence parents’ inappropriate disclosures. Custodial parents’ lack of control over their divorce-related stressors was the only factor associated with their inappropriate disclosures. When a lack of control over divorced-related stressors was considered, parents with less stressful interparental conflict were likely to be distressed by their inappropriate disclosures, whereas parents who had a strained relationship with their former spouse were not. Adolescents’ perceptions of the inappropriate disclosures were also a stronger predictor of adolescents’ well-being than the parents’ perceptions of their own disclosures.

I Could Probably Run a Marathon Right Now : Embodiment, Space, and Young Women's Leisure Experience

This research uses Camp Blaze, a firefighting camp for young women, to explore ways that the body and processes of embodiment are integral to learning about firefighting. We also address the role that the leisure space of the camp plays in simultaneously constraining and enabling young womens use and understanding of their bodies. Analysis of observational, interview, and photo data revealed that learning about firefighting involved several interconnected processes of embodiment. Results include how the processes of embodiment operated and the importance of learning and social context.

Is “Raging” Good for Health?: Older Women's Participation in the Raging Grannies

We explore the meanings and potential health-related benefits of older womens participation in the Raging Grannies, a voluntary activist organization. The groups activities are focused on social and political protest while also challenging stereotypes about aging women. Drawing on qualitative interview and focus group data, we employed empowerment theory as a means to examine the ways in which participation in the Raging Grannies contributed to older womens personal empowerment. Results were constructed around four key themes: (1) personal and social factors influencing involvement in the Raging Grannies; (2) leisure as a context for “raging,” (3) empowering processes within the Raging Grannies, and (4) empowering outcomes resulting from participation.

Embedded spirituality: gardening in daily life and stressful life experiences.

BACKGROUND There is a limited body of research examining the relationship between spirituality and leisure, or the impact of leisure in the context of daily life, and life with stressful events. AIM To examine the meaning of gardens and gardening across different life experiences using hermeneutic phenomenology to focus on the lived experience of leisure gardening. METHODS Most participants were interviewed once in each season over a 1 year period usually in their home. There were 42 participants (27 women and 15 men) in this study. Fifteen individuals had been diagnosed with cancer and were in varying stages of diagnosis and treatment. Three people had a chronic and progressive disease. Four women were grieving the death of their spouse. Participants ranged in age from 32 to 80 years. RESULTS In this paper, we focus on the spirituality-related themes in this study: spirituality as connectedness; spirituality as an expression of inner being; the garden as a spiritual place and gardening as spiritual activity; gardening as a spiritual journey; and, stewardship. Participants with religious views saw their garden as an extension of their spirituality and a confirmation of their beliefs. Participants with secular or sacred views of spirituality that was not related to any religious beliefs were more likely to embed their spirituality in their relationship with nature as manifested in their garden. CONCLUSION This study extends current theory regarding leisure and its contribution to meaning focused coping, and spirituality as a significant component of leisure in living with stressful health and life events.

Don't Let the Bastards See you Sweat: Masculinity, Public and Private Space, and the Volunteer Firehouse

In this paper we examine the ways that traditional definitions of masculinity are challenged within the domestic space of the volunteer firehouse. Our aim is to blur the dichotomies of public–private, masculine–feminine, heroic–weak, and moral–immoral. By examining practices associated with being a volunteer firefighter we present deeper and expanded notions of what it means to be a man in this context. Volunteer firefighters create a private space within the firehouse that offers escape from the public demands of masculinity. It is within this space that they can receive and give comfort and experience bonding, friendship, and a deep sense of belonging by embracing emotions normally off limits to men, including self-disclosure, familiarity, and affection. Although acknowledging the masculine hegemony that constructs mens involvement in firefighting and the firehouse, we also highlight the emotional work done by men as they engage in their public and private firefighting roles.

Reflections on the "voice of authority" in leisure research and practice.

Abstract This research note represents an attempt to bring reflective practice to the foreground in leisure research. The paper presents results from a previous study and then critically deconstructs assumptions that informed that analysis. This deconstruction highlights the ways that analyses, even within qualitative research, are limited and are filtered through the lens of the researcher; it illustrates what it means to take a “reflective turn” (Schön, 1991) towards reflective research in leisure studies. The paper ends by reflecting on new epistemologies and the researcher/researched relationship as it examines the question, “How do we ‘decenter’ the voice of authority in leisure research and practice?”

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.