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  LEISURE -TI1\/IE ACTIVITIES
By E. GRANT YOUMANS
I Progress Report 115 March 1962
I
. Filing Code 26
UNIVERSITY OF KENTUCKY
AGRICULTURAL EXPERIMENT STATION
LEXINGTON

 ‘ Progress Report 115 March 1962
LEISURE·TIME ACTIVITIES Q[_0LDER PERSONS IN SELECTED _
‘ RURAL AND URBAN AREAS QE KENTUCKY
· E. Grant Youmans
Social Science Analyst, Economic Research Service,
U. S. Department of Agriculture
_ University of Kentucky
Agricultural Experiment Station
· Lexington
In cooperation with
Farm Population Branch, Economic and Statistical
Analysis Division, Economic Research Service
U. S. Department of Agriculture

 ACKNOWLEDGMENTS 5
This is one of several reports based on a survey of older Q
persons made jointly by the Department of Rural Sociology, Univer- y
sity of Kentucky, and the Farm Population Branch, Economic and
Statistical Analysis Division, Economic Research Service, U. S. ’
Department of Agriculture. Assistance was provided by a number
of persons: S. C. Bohanan, James S. Brown, A. Lee Coleman, C. \
Milton Coughenour, Thomas R. Ford, Earl Mayhew, Joseph J. Mangalam,
and Ralph Ramsey, all of the University of Kentucky; Gladys K. 1
Bowles, James D. Cowhig, Louis Ducoff, and Margaret Jarman Hagood,
all of the Economic Research Service, U. S. Department of Agricul— K
ture, and Donald Hay of the Department of Health, Education, and
Welfare.
Acknowledgment is made to Silvio O. Navarro, Director of the
Computing Center, and to David A. Sheets, Director of the Office
of Machine Statistics, University of Kentucky, for use of tabulat-
ing equipment. ‘ ~
The survey on which this report is based is a contributing ·
study to the Southern Regional Rural Sociological Research Project
S-44.
-2- _

 ‘* CONTENTS
[ ESS.
A LIST OF TABLES . .... . ................. 4
INTRODUCTION . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .... 5
FAMILY RELATIONSHIPS . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 11
V Q COMMUNITY ACTIVITIES . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 19
HOBBIES AND PASTIMES . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 22
ATTITUDES AND NEEDS . . . . . . . . , . . . . . . . . . . . 30
A IMPLICATIONS . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 35
\ SUMMARY .......... .... ...... ...... 40
-3-

 LIST OF TABLES
Table gg. Page _
1. Selected Characteristics of Persons Aged 60 and Older,
Casey County and Lexington, Kentucky, 1959. . . . . . . . 9 ’
2. Proximity of Children and Siblings to Persons Aged 60 '
and Older, Casey County and Lexington, Kentucky, 1959 . . 13
3. Frequency of Visits with Children For Persons Aged 60
and Older, Casey County and Lexington, Kentucky, 1959, V
by Proximity of Children ..... . ..... . . . . . 15
4. Frequency of Visits With Siblings by Persons Aged 60
and Older, Casey County and Lexington, Kentucky, 1959, p g
by Proximity of Siblings ....... . . . . . . . . . 16 ’
5. Initiation of Visits With Children and Siblings, Re—
ported by Persons Aged 60 and Older, Casey County and
Lexington, Kentucky, 1959 ..... . . . . . . . . . . . 18
6. Participation in Formal Organizations by Persons Aged ° `
60 and Older, Casey County and Lexington, Kentucky,
1959, by Sex ...................... 21 A
7. Informal Community Relationships of Persons Aged 60 M
and Older, Casey County and Lexington, Kentucky, 1959,
by   Q ¤ • ¤ 0 D 0 I I1 Q 0 Q Q 0 0 O Q I G D ¤ O Q O 0  
I
8. Favorite Hobbies and Pastimes of Persons Aged 60 and
Older, Casey County and Lexington, Kentucky, 1959, by ·
  Q Q O O Q 0 0 0 O 0 O 0 B Q 0 U O O Q D 0 0 0 O Q O I  
9. Attitudes of Persons Aged 60 and Older Concerning ,
Activities, Casey County and Lexington, Kentucky, 1959,
by Sexu 0 O Q G 0 0 o 0 v 0 0 Q Q O 0 0 0 0 Q Q O Q O Q O  
-4l

 LEISURE-§Ly@_ACTIVITIES Q§_QLQ§g PERSONS TN SELECTED
I @L·.é@!&BA·N.ALE&$.2E___.KENTUCKY
Q E, Grant Youmans
INTRODUCTION
One of the phenomenal developments in the past hundred years
has been the tremendous increase in the amount of leisure time
available to men and women in the United States, Tibbittsl esti-
mates that, because of the longer life expectancy and because of
the shorter work week, men today have, on the average, 22 years
more leisure time than did men a century ago, For the average
housewife, with an even longer life expectancy and with simplified
homemaking, the increase in leisure time is even greater, with
V improvements in technology, in medical care, and in living condi-
tions, there is every likelihood that the amount of free time will
continue to increase for people in the United States,
The abundance of leisure time available to men and women
today suggests some important questions, For many older persons-
.4 1Clark Tibbitts, Preface to {ree Time, edited by W. Donahue,
W, W, Hunter, D, H, Coons, and H, K, Maurice (Ann Arbor: University
of Michigan Press, 1958), pp. vii·xii. A century ago the average
life expectancy was about 40 years and a man worked 7O hours a
week. Today, a man has a life expectancy of 70 years and he works
V a 40 hour week,

 -6-
men and women who have withdrawn from gainful employment and
women whose children have grown up and left home-almost all
waking hours are leisure time. How is this free time used?
Is it used wisely, both for the benefit of society and for the A
benefit of the individual? Should it be spent in activities
which are primarily play, recreation, and amusement? Should I
it be spent on activities which merely attempt to prevent bore- ’
dom or physical deterioration? The lack of answers to such W
questions point up the need for empirical studies of how older i
persons use their leisure time today. V,
The general hypothesis of this report is that the social
environment has an important bearing on how older persons view
and use free time. The principal social environmental condition
investigated is that of type of community. The older persons
studied are from two rather disparate areas of the United States. A
One area is representative of modern American industrialized
society. The other area is rural and agrarian, a type that is
rapidly disappearing from the American scene. In what ways do
older persons in these two areas differ in their perceptions of, U
and in their use of, leisure time? Data relevant to this ques-
tion should be useful to action-oriented agencies interested in
developing activity programs for older persons. :
It is recognized that the term "leisure-time activities" »
evades precise definition. Kaplanz suggests that the term includes
2Max Kaplan, "Toward a Theory of Leisure for Social Geron-
tology," in Robert w. Kleemeier, editor: Agigg agg Leisure (New
York: Oxford University Press, 1961), pp. 389-412.

 -7- `
2
both objective and subjective elements, such as (l) an antithesis
to work as an economic function; (2) a pleasant expectation and
recollection; (3) a high degree of voluntary behavior; (4) considera~
~ ble freedom of choice; (5) a close relation to important values of
society; and (6) an activity characterized by the element of play.
Q Anders0n3 has directed attention to some of the difficulties ·
f encountered in obtaining acceptable definitions of leisure, of
I free-time activity, or of play, and concludes that it may be
necessary to study leisure and work activities for some time before
major theoretical constructs can be formulated. As used in this
A report, "leisure-time activities" are identified as family relation-
ships, certain community activities, and favorite pastimes and
hobbies of the older persons studied. These types of activities,
it is assumed, are increasing in importance to older persons, as
activities for pay or profit for older persons are declining in
importance.
This report has a twofold objective:
(l) To examine the use and perceptions of leisure time by
older persons living in a rural and an urban area.
f (2) To point out some implications concerning free·time
activities for organizations and persons involved in
· developing activity programs for older people.
42;John Er Anderson, "Comments," in Robert w. Kleemeier, ibid.,
p. .

 -8-
Sample
In 1959, men and women aged 60 and older in an area proba-
bility sample of households in a rural Kentucky county and a random '
sample of persons of comparable age in a Kentucky urban area were
interviewed in their homes. No institutionalized older persons were I
included. Casey county, with a total population of slightly over R
14,000 in 1960, is a completely rural county located in the Southern .
Applachlan Region and relatively isolated from any large urban center.
The Lexington urbanized area had a population of about 112,000 persons _ . ‘
in 1960. 1
Selected characteristics of the sample are presented in Table 1. 1
The age range was 60 to 97 years, with a median of 69 years. The `
sample included slightly more women than men, a difference due to
the greater proportion of female respondents in the urban sample. .
Three-fifths of the respondents were married, and a third were widowed. g
More married persons were in the rural sample than in the urban, and
more widowed persons-—partlcularly women——ln the urban sample. One-
fifth of the urban sample was non·white, compared with less than one
percent for the rural sample. The sample was predominantly Protestant. A
The urban respondents, compared with the rural persons, had more
formal education and substantially higher incomes. I

 a '9`
F
Table 1. Selected Characteristics of Persons Aged 60 and Older,
J Casey County and Lexington, Kentucky, 1959
· Characteristic Rural Urban Total
(Casey County) (Lexington)
Eg; Pct. gg; Pct. gg; Pct.
4 aes 1
Male 312 S0 220 36 532 43
Female 315 50 389 64 704 57
1 eas
60-64 166 27 152 25 318 26
65·69 159 25 145 24 304 24
70-74 124 20 143 23 267 22
75 and over 178 28 169 28 347 28
(Median) (69) (70) (69)
Marital Status
Married 429 68 308 51 737 60
Widowed 161 26 252 41 413 33
Never married 23 4 37 6 60 5
Divorced or Separated 14 2 12 2 26 2
Residence
Farm 439 70 -- -- 439 36
Village or town 131 21 -- -· 131 10
Open country, not farm 57 9 -- -— 57 5
· Large city —- •- 609 100 609 49
A Race
I White 627 100 482 79 1,109 90
· Non-white * * 127 21 127 10

 -10-
Table 1 · ‘
Page 2 ·
  (
Characteristic Rural Urban Total
(Casey County) (Lexington)
 
gg; Pct. No. Pct. gg; Pct. _
Rell ion .
Protestant 494 79 521 86 1,015 82 .
Catholic 14 2 26 4 40 3 —
Jewish 1 — 10 2 11 1 4
Other 25 4 13 2 38 3
No response 93 15 39 6 132 ll
Formal Education _
0-4 grades 222 35 103 17 325 26
5-8 grades 329 52 206 34 535 43
9-12 grades 35 6 142 23 177 14
13-16 grades 21 3 109 18 130 11
17 or more grades 4 1 20 3 24 2
no response 16 3 29 5 45 4
(Median) (5.5) (8.1) (6.5)
Annual Money Income
None 36 6 16 3 52 4
$1 - 499 164 26 59 10 223 18
$500 - 999 201 32 134 22 335 27
$1,000 - 2,999 169 27 203 33 372 30
$3,000 - 4,999 23 4 69 11 92 8
$5,000 and over 18 3 80 13 98 8
No response 16 2 48 8 64 5
(Median) ($762) ($1,704) ($964)
Total cases (627) (100) (609) (100) (1,236) (100)
 
*Less than 0.05 percent.

 y -11-
H FAMILY RELATIONSHIPS
)
I For most persons in the United States, young and old, family
relationships are an important "free time" interest and activity.
I Almost no one is without some degree of contact with family members,
and for many persons these are the most frequent of interpersonal
* relationships. Primary group relationships seem necessary for .
I emotional well-being, and it is in the family setting that the
individual finds his major source of psychological support. For
older men and women who have withdrawn either partly or fully from
gainful employment, and for women whose children have grown up and
left home, relationships with members of their family may be the
most important events in their lives.
Two aspects of family relationships are examined in this
i report: (1) the spatial distribution of the older person's family
that is, the proximity of his children and of his brothers or
sisters; and (2) the visiting patterns existing between the older
person and his children and between the older person and his
brothers or sisters.

 -12-
Proximity gf Children ggg Siblings _
At the time of the interview, 80 percent of the older persons ‘
reported they had children living, and 82 percent said they had
brothers or sisters living. More of the rural than of the urban y -
older personsé reported that they had children living (88 and ¤
72 percent, respectively), and more of the rural-than of the urban
respondents said they had brothers or sisters living (92 and 72 l `
percent, respectively). M l` -.*‘ ` _
The proximity of the older respondents to their children and
to their brothers or sisters is indicated in Table 2.._Almost half _ o _
the respondents (44 percent) lived in the same household with one ~ 2
or more of their children. Only 6 percent of the respondents with
living siblings lived in the same household with one or more of
their brothers or sisters. Two-thirds of the respondents with
children (67 percent) reported that one or more of their children I
lived within a distance of 9 miles, but only half the respondents
with siblings (52 percent) reported that one or more of their
brothers or sisters lived within this distance. On the average,
the children living apart from the older persons were as widely
dispersed as were the siblings living apart. The average (median) `
distance of the children from the older respondents was 45 miles, .
and the average distance of the siblings from the older respondents
was 43 miles. I ·
4The 0.05 level of probability was used in testing the signifi-
cance of differences. Differences which are not statistically
significant but supply supporting evidence are referred to as slight.

 -13-
‘ Table 2. Proximity of Children and Siblings to Persons Aged 60 and Older,
Casey County and Lexington, Kentucky, 1959
Proximity of l ........§B£l§£EE......... ......_.§£El£E§E......_..
or more Rural Urban Total Rural Urban Total
(Casey C0.)(Lexington) (Casey Co.)(Lexington)
Pct.* Pct.* Pct.* Pct.* Pct.* Pct.*
In same household 46 40 44 5 8 6
Within 9 miles 71 62 67 60 41 52
10-49 miles 37 17 28 37 31 35
50-250 miles 66 26 48 42 37 40
Over 250 miles 38 43 40 33 38 35
3 Total with living
children or siblings (544) (439) (983) (575) (437) (1,012)
None or not living (83) (170) (253) (52) (172) (224)
Total cases (627) (609) (1,236) (627) (609) (1,236)
*Percentages add to more than 100 because of multiple responses.

 -14-
A slightly larger proportion of the rural than of the urban
older persons lived in the same household with one child or more
(46 and 40 percent, respectively). However, the children of the X
rural older persons had migrated farther from home than the A .
children of the urban older persons. The average (median) dis-
tance from home of one or more rural children was 47 miles, and V
for urban children, 37 miles. ‘
A slightly larger proportion of urban than of rural respondents _
lived in the same household with a sibling (8 and 5 percent, respec—
tively). However, the siblings of the urban respondents were more V
widely dispersed than were the siblings of the rural respondents. U V
The urban respondents reported that they had one or more siblings
living at an average (median) distance of 57 miles. For the rural
respondents, the average distance was 37 miles.
Visiting Patterns
The older persons were questioned about the frequency of their
visits with their children and with their siblings, and about
initiating such visits.
Freguency gf ylsltg. As might be expected, proximity was an
important factor ln the frequency of visits between the older person .
and his children and between the older person and his siblings
(Tables 3 and 4). Although the average (median) distance between 4 ·
the older person and his children was approximately the same as
the average distance between him and his siblings, the older person

 -15-
Table 3. Frequency of Visits With Children For Persons Aged 60 and Older,
A Casey County and Lexington, Kentucky, 1959, by
Proximity of Children
Proximity of Children
Frequency -7-7-—···-7--**—-···——-—········——····-——-·—-—--··—-·····
within 9 miles 10-49 miles 50-250 miles Over 250 miles
of Visits —-——————--—-— -——-—-——-—-— —————-——-—-——— ——-————-—-—
Rura1* Urban** Rural* Urban** Rura1* Urban** Rural* Urban**
Pct. Pct. Pct. Pct. Pct. Pct. Pct. Pct.
Daily 35 44 2 12 -- -- —- ~—
Weekly 50 48 30 39 2 7 1 1
Monthly 13 4 41 37 20 41 4 5
2-4 times year 2 3 22 ll 53 35 28 34
Yearly -— *** 4 —- 21 12 31 26
Less frequently *** 1 1 1 4 5 36 34
Total with children
at each distance (384) (272) (199) (75) (359) (112) (204) (187)
*Casey county
· **Lexington
***Less than 0.05 percent.

 -16- .
Table 4. Frequency of Visits With Siblings By Persons Aged 60 and Older,
Casey County and Lexington, Kentucky, 1959, by
Proximity of Siblings ~
 
Frequency Proxim1ty of S1 11ngs _
of Visits Within 9 Miles 10-49 Miles 50-250 Miles Over 250 Miles
Rura1* Urban** Rural* Urban** Rural* Urban** Rural* Urban** A
Pct. Pct. Pct. Pct. Pct. Pct. Pct. Pct.
Daily 13 21 -· 1 —- -- -- ·-
Weekly 33 43 5 16 -- 2 —- —-
Monthly 29 17 25 37 3 9 3 S
2-4 times year 17 12 41 29 24 35 5 12
Yearly 5 2 19 11 40 31 21 29
Less frequently 3 5 10 6 33 23 71 54
Total with Siblings
at each distance (347) (177) (214) (136) (243) (160) (189) (165)
 
*Casey county _
**Lex1ngt0n

 -17-
visited more often with his children than with his siblings. Urban
older persons visited more frequently than rural older persons with
their children and with their siblings (Tables 3 and 4), a difference
probably related to the poorer transportation facilities available
_ to rural older persons as well as to their more limited financial
resources.
A Initiating Visits. Very few older persons reported that they 1
usually initiated visits either with their children or with their
siblings (4 and ll percent, respectively). Substantial proportions
said that they exchanged visits about equally with their children
and with their siblings (35 and 45 percent, respectively), and
substantial proportions said that their children and their siblings
usually initiated the visits (54 and 39 percent, respectively).
Rural older persons depended much more on their children and
siblings to initiate visits than did urban older persons. For
example, the proportions of rural and urban older persons who said
their children usually visited them were 69 and 35 percent, respec-
tively, and the proportions who said their siblings usually visited
them were 47 and 28 percent, respectively (Table 5). These rural-
urban differences in the initiation of visits probably reflect, as
_ did the frequency of visits, the poorer transportation facilities
in the rural area as well as the more limited financial resources
I of the older rural persons.

 -18-
Table 5. Initiation of Visits with Children and Siblings,
Reported by Persons Aged 60 and Older, Casey
County and Lexington, Kentucky, 1959
 
Initiation Children Siblings
of Visits Rural Urban Total Rural Urban Total D
(Casey Co.)(Lexington) (Casey Co.)gLex1ngton)
hss. Ps;. 1’.¢.t.·. 2;.1;.. 2.:.:4. Pax; ’
Visit usually made
by respondent 2 7 4 7 15 ll
Visit usually made
by children or
siblings 69 35 54 47 28 39
Exchange visits U
about equally 25 47 35 40 51 45 ’
No response 4 ll 7 6 6 5
Total with children
or siblings (544) (439) (983) (575) (437) (1,012)
F

 -19-
COMMUNITY ACTIVITIES
‘ The community in which a person lives provides opportunities
I for various leisurestime activities. Some persons become involved
I in com unity activities; others, for various reasons, do not. The
· physically able person can move about the community. When he gets
IA bored with one form of activity or with a particular person, he
may search for another which may more adequately meet his needs.
· In the com unity, the older person is not subjected to many of the
` constraints and restrictions which would maintain if he were
V placed in an institution. The co munity activities of the older
respondents in this study are examined under two broad types:
(1) their participation in formally organized groups in the com-
munity and (2) their informal relationships with people in the
community.
Participation ig_F0rmal Organizations
The older men and women were asked what clubs and organiza-
tions they attended regularly. As shown in Table 6, almost all
the respondents participated in some form of church activity, and
' for the great majority of persons this was the only community
· activity engaged in. A larger proportion of women than of men
reported that they took part in religious activities. The

 eggs .
average (mean) number of organizations participated in was l¤6
per persona Thirteen percent of the respondents said they
took part in no formally organized group activitiesc The organi~
zations participated in by the men and women were (in descending
order) religious, service and welfarev clubs and lodges, farm _ 4
organizations, Veterans“ organizations, labor organizations, and
goldeneage clubso A `
Slight differences existed between rural and urban persons k
in their participation in formally organized activitieso The »
urban persons participated in slightly more community activities
(average [mean] number 1.7 for urban and l°5 for rural). Slightly "
A more of the urban respondents reported they took part in church i
and church related activities, but more of the rural persons said A
they took part in Sunday School activities. Slightly more urban
than rural persons took part in all other community groups shown
in Table 6, with the exception of farm organizationso Six percent
of the urban persons but none of the rural took part in "golden= `
age clubs¤" T
Informal Com unit Activities ‘
The older persons were asked about their informal relation=
ships with people in their community—~such as whether they knew
people in the community well, how often they visited with friends
and neighbors, and in what ways they helped friends and neighbors.

 -21- r
1 Table 6. Participation in Formal Organizations by Persons Aged 60
and Older, Casey County and Lexington, Kentucky, 1959,
‘ by Sex
Rural Urban
.1 0rga“iz8ti°n (Casey County) (Lexington) T°ta1
- Male Female Total Male Female Total
.I@* £9.£:.* E!=;* EE:} 22* E" E&*
_ Church 73 93 83 85 94 91 87
Sunday School 34 47 40 24 32 30 35
Other church activity 2 2 2 7 18 14 8
Service and welfare -- 7 3 3 13 9 6
Clubs and lodges 9 2 5 15 4 7 6
Social clubs 1 3 2 6 10 8 5
Farm organizations 10 2 6 2 2 2 4
Veteranls organizations 6 —— 3 5 1 2 3
Golden—age clubs -- -- -- 1 10 6 3
Labor organizations -- -- ·- 7 1 3 1
No participation 25 — 9 · 16 ll 9 10 13
Total cases (312) (315){V (627) (220) (389) (609) (1,236)
7 (Mean) (1.3) (116) (1.5) (1.5) (1.9) (1.7) (1.6)
*Percentages add to more than 100 because of multiple responses.

 -22- ’
The rural older persons reported a greater degree of informal
co munity activity than did the urban older persons. The propor-
tions of rural and of urban respondents who said they knew people _
in the community well were 92 and 65 percent, respectively. Over
half the rural respondents (53 percent) reported that they helped
their friends and neighbors, but only 32 percent of the urban older I I
persons made this statement. Those who said they gave help to their *
neighbors named a variety of ways this help was given, such as help I
in case of illness, help with work, financial help, transportation,
food, and "being a good neighbor." -
In response to the question, "How often do you visit with _
friends and neighb0rs?" about one—fourth (23 percent) said "fre- A
quent1y," about one—third (33 percent) said "occasionally," and A
the remainder said "seldom." The urban older persons visited with
friends and neighbors only slightly less often than did the rural `
older persons (Table 7).
HOBBIES AND PASTIMES I
A new period of life has been added to the adult years for l
most men and women in the United States. In early adulthood the ·
individual is occupied with raising a family and establishing r
his place in the community. In later middle age the pressures
and responsibilities of parenthood are mainly over, and the person ·
must cope with his new role in retirement. After years of work and
family responsibilities, the individual has abundant time for new _

 -23-
Table 7. Informal Community Relationships of Persons Aged
60 and Older, Casey County and Lexington, Kentucky, 1959,
· by Sex
_ Informal _______Eg;i5_______ -......jEf El.......
Relationships (Casey County) (Lexington) T°t81
Male Female Total Male Female Total
Pct. Pct. Pct. Pct. Pct. Pct. Pct.
Know people in
community well 94 89 92 65 66 65 79
Help friends and
neighbors 55 50 53 32 32 32 42
Visit with friends
or neighbors
frequently 24 22 23 23 24 24 23
occasionally 37 38 38 27 27 27 33
seldom 39 40 39 48 47 47 43
no response —- ·— -- 2 2 2 1
Total cases (312) (315) (627) (220) (389) (609) (1,236)

 ~24= . 1
interests, hobbies, and pastimes. For some older persons this
can be a period in life of adventure and personal growth; for
others it is a period of aimless drifting. One indication of (
how this new period of life is used may be seen in the hobbies -
the older people claim. Respondents were asked: "What are
your favorite pastimes or hobbies?" They named an average A ·
(mean) of 2.6 hobbies and pastimes per person. The average `
number for rural persons was 2.5 and for urban persons 2.7. Only V
5 percent said they had no favorite hobbies or pastimes. The
hobbies and pastimes mentioned have been placed in major group= _
ings adapted from a classification scheme outlined by Max _
Kaplan.5 The groupings are: (1) immobile pastimes, (2) explora-
tion pastimes, (3) creative pastimes, and (4) sociability and
association. It is recognized that the categories are not l
mutually exclusive, but they are useful for analyzing the data
at hand.
Immobile Pastimes
The category of free-time activity called immobile pastimes
refers to "bringing the world" to the person. Immobility is not
to be confused with the mental passivity of those who merely sit, »
stare, and remain unmoved for hours at a time. The term as used
here refers to some kind of mental activity or emotional response
on the part of older persons. The person may be severely
5Max Kaplan, "Toward a Theory of Leisure for Social Geron-
tology," in Robert W. Kleem ier, Lbig., pp. 406-409. _

 -25-
restricted in his ability to move about. He may be physically
handicapped. For one reason or another he may be confined to
his home, to a wheelchair, or even to his bed, However, the
term immobile pastime suggests that despite the older person's
_ inability to get around, he is psychologically involved in the
pastime to some degree. I
4 The most popular immobile pastime reported by the older
men and women studied was "listening to radio or watching tele-
· vision programs." This activity was named by over half the
respondents (52 percent), a proportion which exceeded by far the
proportion that named any other one leisure—time activity
(Table 8). About a third (36 percent) of the respondents named
reading as a leisure-time activity, and 13 percent said they
spent leisure time "sitting and thinking." Persons living in
the rural community did not differ to any significant degree
T from those living in the urban area in their participation in
immobile pastimes. Slightly larger proportions of men than
women reported that they listened to radio or watched television
programs, and more women than men reported that they engaged in
reading.
_ Exploration Pastimes
In contrast`to immobile pastimes which refer to bringing the
world to the person, exploration pastimes refer to "going to the
world" by the person. Exploration may include a wide variety of
mental, emotional, and physical activities which suggest a "going

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out for someth1ng," a desire to meet the outside world and to
take the consequences of such action. Exploration activity
requires considerable self-reliance, a degree of aggressiveness,
and the ability to move around by one's self. , ·
Very few of the older persons studied (16 percent) reported l , g
that they engaged in activities which could be classified as
exploratory. Three such pastimes were mentioned, (1) travel and `
taking rides, (2) shopping, and (3) movies. Slight differences l
were found between the rural and the urban older persons and
between the men and the women. Slightly more of the urban 7 _
than of rural respondents said they shopped and went to the movies.
A slightly larger proportion of the men than of the women said that
they traveled and took rides. .
Creative Past