The Influence of Socio-Demographic Factors on the Forms of Leisure for the Students at the Faculty of Physical Education and Sports

Abstract

The study investigates the influences of gender, area of origin and age stage variables and also of the interaction between them, on the free time behavior of the students at the Faculty of Physical Education and Sports from Galati. The questionnaire applied in the academic year 2019–2020 had 85 items and was structured on 4 factors: leisure budget, leisure limiting factors, preferred leisure activities, and leisure sports activities. The multivariate/MANOVA analysis showed statistically significant data for some of the analyzed items, with values of F associated with thresholds p < 0.05. The results support longer screen time for urban areas and for those <25 years and time limitation for the favorite activities of students >25 years, while reading had higher stress scores for men and students <25 years. Men tended to limit their free time working overtime and women limited their free time due to housework. Students from rural areas and men >25 years were more stressed by socializing on the internet and shopping. Financial limitations for preferred activities were higher for women and students <25 years—women read more and visited their friends more often while men had higher scores in relation to involvement in physical activities throughout the week, an aspect also reported for those <25 years. Students >25 years spent more time with their family, while those <25 years socialized more on the internet and had better scores when going out with friends. Those in urban areas did more jogging, men had better scores in relation to playing sports games, higher indicators for the satisfaction generated by sports activity, and women preferred jogging and cycling/rollerblading. Sports games and different types of fitness were the most common variants practiced at the level of the studied group. Conclusion: There was no dominant orientation of the investigated group towards forms of passive leisure and there were no cases of sedentariness, even if the use of technologies (video games, socializing on the Internet and TV) were forms of leisure often used by students.