The Stability of Leisure Preferences

Abstract

AbstractThe present study investigated the stability of leisure preferences across a two-year time span. Leisure preference data were collected from 126 married couples shortly after their marriages (1981) and again two years later (1983). Results indicate that individuals' preferences for specific leisure activities are significantly and positively correlated across a two-year measurement period, and a gender difference is evidenced in the pattern of stability coefficients. Results also indicate that the average reported preference for specific leisure activities generally declines over time, more significantly so for men than women, and that husbands and wives show no pattern of increased leisure preference similarly over the first two years of marriage. Implications of these results for leisure service delivery are considered.KEYWORDS: Leisurepreferencesstabilitymarriagerecreationmethodology