The Core and Balance Model of Family Leisure Functioning: A Systematic Review

The Creation of Military Family Leisure Experiences

“…At any stage of the life course for military families, family leisure can be used to develop and improve communication among all members, which is an important facet of family functioning and well‐being. Family leisure involvement has been found to be directly related to family functioning and provides an opportunity to foster more and better communication among family members (Poff, Zabriskie, & Townsend, ; Townsend et al, ).…”

“…When these traumatic injuries are facilitated and supported by a family professional (e.g., therapist, Certified Family Life Educator, Certified Therapeutic Recreation Specialist) who understands the experiences of military service members and leisure, the individual may be better equipped and empowered to navigate potential barriers to leisure and faster in their return to healthy functioning. Thus, family leisure involvement could play an important role in the recovery efforts of the individual service member, which could contribute to overall family well‐being as well (Hawkins, Townsend, & Garst, ; Townsend, Van Puymbroeck, & Zabriskie, ).…”

“…Novel family leisure experiences can be beneficial in the release of oxytocin and romantic‐partner bonding (Aron, Norman, Aron, McKenna, & Heyman, ; Graham, ; Melton et al, , 2017), and predictable family leisure experiences may lead to higher levels of satisfaction with family life (e.g. Townsend et al, ; Zabriskie & McCormick, ). Thus, low and high levels of novelty may provide potentially different outcomes for family relations.…”

Examining Couple Recreation and Oxytocin via the Ecology of Family Experiences Framework

“…For decades, family and leisure scholars have suggested that couples should spend their time together in rituals, routines, and recreation to provide predictable, regular interactions that enhance couples' relationships (e.g., Doherty, ; Fiese, ; Orthner, ; Schwab & Dustin, ; Zabriskie & McCormick, ). Scholars from these fields describe the positive association between family leisure activities and family bonding (Fiese, ; Hodge et al, , Orthner & Mancini, 1990; Townsend, Van Puymbroeck, & Zabriskie, ; Zabriskie & McCormick, ); yet no studies from these fields have examined the underlying mechanisms of family leisure activities that produce family bonding.…”

“…In relations to family well‐being, previous literature has identified a significant difference between core‐ and balance‐forms of leisure related to family functioning, cohesion, adaptability, and satisfaction with family life (e.g., Townsend et al, ; Zabriskie & McCormick, ). Overall, findings suggest that core (i.e., familiar) and balance (i.e., novel) family leisure promote family functioning; specifically, core family leisure is a stronger and more consistent predictor of family quality of life (Hodge et al, ; Melton & Zabriskie, ; Townsend et al, ). Other literature has noted the differences between parallel‐ and joint‐forms of leisure in marital satisfaction (e.g., Orthner, ; Holman & Epperson, 1984).…”