Freedom to explore the self: How emerging adults use leisure to develop identity

Abstract

During a period of newly attained freedom preceding commitments expected in adulthood, emerging adults are faced with the major task of identity development. Leisure provides a context with relative freedom wherein emerging adults explore new experiences and access opportunities not always available in more constrained environments like work and school. In this case study of 40 emerging adults from 18 countries (Mage=23.14 years), qualitative interviews were used to investigate the role of leisure as a context for identity development. Results indicate five major themes for leisure-based identity development in emerging adulthood: discovering identity, forming identity, defining identity, positioning identity, and forgoing opportunities. These themes support leisure as an additional context wherein emerging adults may flourish on the pathway toward adulthood. Access to both novel and familiar leisure provide a context for emerging adults to actively direct their identity development through decisions made in leisure time.

The role of family and personality traits in Internet gaming disorder: A mediation model combining cognitive and attachment perspectives

“…Therefore, the developmental period of emergent adulthood presentsdistinctively to adolescenceincreased vulnerability for the development of gaming addiction, psychiatric disorders, and psychosocial problems (Hein & Berman, 2016) partially due to: (a) increased autonomy and freedom to define work/study/leisure choices and a delay in commitments to adult roles and openness to experience (Bleidorn & Schwaba, 2017;Layland, Hill, & Nelson, 2018); (b) anxiety and ambivalence associated with abundant choice in relation to employment, education, relationship formation, and independent living (McMillin, 2017); (c) differential developmental trends in emotion regulation strategies and novelty-seeking behaviors (Hussain, Williams, & Griffiths, 2015;Mitchell, Gao, Hallett, & Voon, 2016;Zimmermann & Iwanski, 2014); (d) personality development that continues past adolescence (Roberts & Davis, 2016); (e) contextual factors such as less physical activity, or other adult activities that may create "role incompatibility" with time spent online (Corder et al, 2017;Henchoz et al, 2016;Ream, Elliott, & Dunlap, 2013); and (f) increased time spent on media for need gratification (Coyne, Padilla-Walker, & Howard, 2014).…”

Predicting Loneliness from Where and What People Do

“…Leisure time is when work, school, or family responsibilities do not restrict the individual; time when people can choose to do something they enjoy. Engaging in leisure activities has been associated with identity development and mental well-being (Lampinen et al 2006;Layland et al 2018). Activities that require perseverance or that contribute to career development have a positive impact on personal growth and happiness, and active and productive leisure activities have been found to predict involvement in social relationships (Kim et al 2015;Toepoel 2013).…”

Theatrical Performance as Leisure Experience: Its Role in the Development of the Self

“…Freedom and satisfaction, as the basis of the leisure experience, also affect the development of the self and identity (as recently noted, among others, by Codina et al, 2017;Dattilo et al, 2018;Layland et al, 2018). Regarding the self-descriptions linked to the theatrical performance, the centrality of the acquisition of competences -practical and intellectual -can be observed in the answers obtained.…”