Active leisure participation can promote the psychological health of economically-disadvantaged children through peer supportPrevious research indicates that exercise and nature-related leisure activities contribute to the psychological health of children and youth. The aim of this study was to add to the literature by exploring the effects of active leisure participation on economically-disadvantaged children’s psychological capital, while also investigating how peer support might influence the process.
This study was conducted in Taiwan with 483 economically-disadvantaged youth participating. Study participants (age 13-18) completed an online survey assessing (1) active leisure participation, (2) peer support, and (3) psychological capital. Active leisure participation focused on two areas: “exercise” (which included participation in such activities as sports, swimming, dance, fitness, etc.) and “nature travel” (which involved such nature-related activities as mountain hiking, travel, fishing, shrimp fishing, etc.) Three items on the survey assessed peer support: “I can share my feelings with my classmates”; “My classmates and I can understand each other”; and “I can share my life and heart with my classmates”. Psychological capital focused on four areas of psychological health: self-efficacy, hope, optimism, and resilience.
Survey responses indicated that only one-tenth of the youth participated in “nature travel” frequently. Researchers thus combined exercise and “nature travel” items into a single category – “active leisure participation” – and coded responses as “frequently” or infrequently” in relation to level of participation. For nearly half of the target population, the level of active leisure participation was coded as being “infrequent”. Analysis of the data showed that active leisure participation had a direct effect on peer support but no direct effect on psychological capital. Peer support, however, was an important mediator between active leisure participation and psychological capital, indicating that active leisure participation had an indirect effect on psychological capital.
This study showed that active leisure participation had a direct and positive effect on peer support, and that peer support positively influenced psychological capital in the areas of self-efficacy, optimism, hope, and resiliency. These findings support efforts to provide increased opportunities for youth to participate in active leisure activities in schools and other community environments, especially for economically-disadvantaged children and youth.
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