What motives are important for participation in leisure-time activities at Swedish youth centres?

Abstract

Objective: This study aimed to explore the motives of young people in multicultural suburbs for participating in youth-centre activities. Design and setting: The study employed practice-based research with a focus on collaboration and methodological diversity. Data on motives for participation were collected in spring 2013 at two non-governmental organisation (NGO)-run youth centres located in the suburbs of two cities in Sweden using surveys and focus-group interviews. Method: The study used mixed methods, with qualitative data being used to help explain initial quantitative findings. Statistical analysis was conducted using measures of competence and social motives. Qualitative analysis used both deductive and inductive content analysis. Results: Study findings suggest that motives concerning competence development and socialising are insufficient to account for why young people in multicultural, socially disadvantaged suburbs participate in youth-centre activities. The study highlights the importance of additional motives influencing participation in leisure-time activities. The additional motives of ‘fun/undemanding’ and ‘support’ were found to be important to most young people in this study. Conclusion: Study findings suggest that motives for participation in youth-centre activities have to do with characteristics of the participants, of the neighbourhood in which the centre is located and the specific type of unstructured leisure-time activity. Future motive measurement scales should include items concerning socioeconomic status, activities provided and young people’s degree of influence over the activities in which they participate.

Leisure-time youth centres as health-promoting settings: Experiences from multicultural neighbourhoods in Sweden

“…The proportion of young people who self-report the different motives as ‘very important’ ( n =163). From Geidne et al [20]. …”

“…Data were collected through annual surveys on three occasions: the first emphasising who participates [19], the second the motives of participation [20] and the last what the young people gained from participation. Both individual and group interviews were made, deepening the questions above, as well as focusing on the strategies used in every-day activities [17].…”

“…The quantitative data were analysed with descriptive statistics, chi-square distributions, t -tests and logistic regression [17–20]. The qualitative data were analysed with inductive and deductive qualitative content analyses [17–20]. The qualitative data are used to help explain initial quantitative findings as one type of mixed methods, that is, explanatory sequential design [23].…”

“…This debate paper aims to advocate for the importance of meaningful leisure time for young people from a health-promotion perspective using experiences from two youth centres in multicultural neighbourhoods in Sweden. It is based on results from a study on leisure-time youth centres as health-promoting settings [17–20] in a special venture financed by the Swedish government [21].…”

Perceptions of community safety and social activity participation among youth in South Africa

“…However, the rationale for involvement and its stance as a protective factor against crime and violence is unclear. A research done on Swedish adolescents found that seeing friends, doing something fun or interesting were the main motivations for social activity participation [ 39 ]. However, this type of qualitative inquiry is missing in the South African context where motivations may differ based on socio-cultural and crime differences in the two countries.…”