Leisure Time Activities and Subjective Happiness in Early Adolescents from Three Ibero-American Countries: The Cases of Brazil, Chile and Spain

(1) Background: The aim of the present study is to analyze subjective happiness in relation to leisure time in 10-year-old boys and girls from Brazil, Chile and Spain and to determine which leisure time activity has a greater effect on their subjective happiness and whether there are differences acc...

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Main Authors: Diego Gomez-Baya, Tania Gaspar, Rafael Corrêa, Javier Augusto Nicoletti, Francisco Jose Garcia-Moro
Format: Article
Language:English
Published: MDPI AG 2023-06-01
Series:Children
Subjects:
Online Access:https://www.mdpi.com/2227-9067/10/6/1058
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author Diego Gomez-Baya
Tania Gaspar
Rafael Corrêa
Javier Augusto Nicoletti
Francisco Jose Garcia-Moro
author_facet Diego Gomez-Baya
Tania Gaspar
Rafael Corrêa
Javier Augusto Nicoletti
Francisco Jose Garcia-Moro
author_sort Diego Gomez-Baya
collection DOAJ
description (1) Background: The aim of the present study is to analyze subjective happiness in relation to leisure time in 10-year-old boys and girls from Brazil, Chile and Spain and to determine which leisure time activity has a greater effect on their subjective happiness and whether there are differences according to gender. (2) Methods: Data from the third wave of the Children’s Worlds Project was used, which was collected by administering self-report measures to representative samples in each country. The sample was composed of 4008 early adolescents from Brazil (22.1%, <i>n</i> = 886), Chile (22.8%, <i>n</i> = 913) and Spain (55.1%, <i>n</i> = 2209). The mean age of the sample was 10.17 years (SD = 0.57), and 51.7% were girls. (3) Results: In terms of subjective happiness, moderate to high means were observed, with higher scores in boys and the Spanish sample. The results showed some differences in leisure time activities among children from Brazil, Chile and Spain. Furthermore, the results highlighted the importance of relaxation time with the family to promote happiness in pre-adolescence across genders and countries. Additionally, playing outdoors and doing homework were also found to be protective factors for subjective happiness. (4) Conclusions: In Brazil, Chile and Spain the most consistent result was the positive effect of spending time relaxing with the family on subjective happiness.
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spelling doaj.art-814c553d588546099dc6983b588caac92023-11-18T09:51:00ZengMDPI AGChildren2227-90672023-06-01106105810.3390/children10061058Leisure Time Activities and Subjective Happiness in Early Adolescents from Three Ibero-American Countries: The Cases of Brazil, Chile and SpainDiego Gomez-Baya0Tania Gaspar1Rafael Corrêa2Javier Augusto Nicoletti3Francisco Jose Garcia-Moro4Department of Social, Developmental and Educational Psychology, Universidad de Huelva, 21071 Huelva, SpainEnvironmental Health Institute, Universidade de Lisboa, 1649-028 Lisboa, PortugalSchool of Public Policy and Government, Getúlio Vargas Foundation, Rio de Janeiro 22231-010, BrazilDepartment of Humanities and Social Sciences, Universidad Nacional de La Matanza, Buenos Aires B1754JEC, ArgentinaDepartment of Social, Developmental and Educational Psychology, Universidad de Huelva, 21071 Huelva, Spain(1) Background: The aim of the present study is to analyze subjective happiness in relation to leisure time in 10-year-old boys and girls from Brazil, Chile and Spain and to determine which leisure time activity has a greater effect on their subjective happiness and whether there are differences according to gender. (2) Methods: Data from the third wave of the Children’s Worlds Project was used, which was collected by administering self-report measures to representative samples in each country. The sample was composed of 4008 early adolescents from Brazil (22.1%, <i>n</i> = 886), Chile (22.8%, <i>n</i> = 913) and Spain (55.1%, <i>n</i> = 2209). The mean age of the sample was 10.17 years (SD = 0.57), and 51.7% were girls. (3) Results: In terms of subjective happiness, moderate to high means were observed, with higher scores in boys and the Spanish sample. The results showed some differences in leisure time activities among children from Brazil, Chile and Spain. Furthermore, the results highlighted the importance of relaxation time with the family to promote happiness in pre-adolescence across genders and countries. Additionally, playing outdoors and doing homework were also found to be protective factors for subjective happiness. (4) Conclusions: In Brazil, Chile and Spain the most consistent result was the positive effect of spending time relaxing with the family on subjective happiness.https://www.mdpi.com/2227-9067/10/6/1058leisure time activitiessubjective happinessearly adolescentscross-sectionalIbero-American
spellingShingle Diego Gomez-Baya
Tania Gaspar
Rafael Corrêa
Javier Augusto Nicoletti
Francisco Jose Garcia-Moro
Leisure Time Activities and Subjective Happiness in Early Adolescents from Three Ibero-American Countries: The Cases of Brazil, Chile and Spain
Children
leisure time activities
subjective happiness
early adolescents
cross-sectional
Ibero-American
title Leisure Time Activities and Subjective Happiness in Early Adolescents from Three Ibero-American Countries: The Cases of Brazil, Chile and Spain
title_full Leisure Time Activities and Subjective Happiness in Early Adolescents from Three Ibero-American Countries: The Cases of Brazil, Chile and Spain
title_fullStr Leisure Time Activities and Subjective Happiness in Early Adolescents from Three Ibero-American Countries: The Cases of Brazil, Chile and Spain
title_full_unstemmed Leisure Time Activities and Subjective Happiness in Early Adolescents from Three Ibero-American Countries: The Cases of Brazil, Chile and Spain
title_short Leisure Time Activities and Subjective Happiness in Early Adolescents from Three Ibero-American Countries: The Cases of Brazil, Chile and Spain
title_sort leisure time activities and subjective happiness in early adolescents from three ibero american countries the cases of brazil chile and spain
topic leisure time activities
subjective happiness
early adolescents
cross-sectional
Ibero-American
url https://www.mdpi.com/2227-9067/10/6/1058
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