The role, nature and purpose of leisure and its contribution to individual development and well-being
British Journal of Guidance & Counselling,
Vol. 33, No. 1, February 2005
The role, nature and purpose of leisure and its contribution to individual development and well-being LINDA TRENBERTH
Department of Management, Birkbeck, University of London, Malet Street, London WC
1E 7HX, UK; email: l.trenberth@bbk.ac.uk
While there has been a growth in leisure coping research the debate as to how leisure functions as a coping strategy and is distinguishable from more general coping strategies, that is, strategies not directly associated with leisure, continues. How leisure functions as a coping strategy and its role as a therapeutic technique with important implications for counselling is the focus of this symposium. What is clear from this symposium is that there is an increasing awareness of the importance of leisure as a coping and therapeutic tool with a growing body of research directly addressing the way and under what conditions leisure can contribute to health, well-being and workÁ life balance.
The association between leisure and health is one that has been alluded to for some time. The theme that emerges from much of this literature is that leisure has the potential to reduce stress. The evidence to support this theme stems from a growing body of research that now points to the importance of leisure as a means of helping people cope with stress. This research has strong parallels with the psychological literature, particularly the notion that if coping strategies are classified as problem or emotion focused then leisure may operate as a form of emotion focused coping where the motives for engaging in leisure activities have stress reducing properties.
Set against this context Linda Caldwell addresses the issue of under what conditions and why leisure can be therapeutic and contribute to health and well-being. The leisure-health literature can, Caldwell argues, be generally organised around three classes of research. The first
Vol. 33, No. 1, February 2005
The role, nature and purpose of leisure and its contribution to individual development and well-being LINDA TRENBERTH
Department of Management, Birkbeck, University of London, Malet Street, London WC
1E 7HX, UK; email: l.trenberth@bbk.ac.uk
While there has been a growth in leisure coping research the debate as to how leisure functions as a coping strategy and is distinguishable from more general coping strategies, that is, strategies not directly associated with leisure, continues. How leisure functions as a coping strategy and its role as a therapeutic technique with important implications for counselling is the focus of this symposium. What is clear from this symposium is that there is an increasing awareness of the importance of leisure as a coping and therapeutic tool with a growing body of research directly addressing the way and under what conditions leisure can contribute to health, well-being and workÁ life balance.
The association between leisure and health is one that has been alluded to for some time. The theme that emerges from much of this literature is that leisure has the potential to reduce stress. The evidence to support this theme stems from a growing body of research that now points to the importance of leisure as a means of helping people cope with stress. This research has strong parallels with the psychological literature, particularly the notion that if coping strategies are classified as problem or emotion focused then leisure may operate as a form of emotion focused coping where the motives for engaging in leisure activities have stress reducing properties.
Set against this context Linda Caldwell addresses the issue of under what conditions and why leisure can be therapeutic and contribute to health and well-being. The leisure-health literature can, Caldwell argues, be generally organised around three classes of research. The first