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Gender Role Self-Concept and Leisure Activities of Adolescents

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Abstract

The present study investigated the relevance of gender role self-concept to leisure activities of female and male adolescents. A sample of 310 Austrian adolescents (14 to 16 years old) participated in the study. Gender role self-concept was measured based upon a multi-dimensional conceptualization that includes positive and negative self-descriptions. Gender role self-concept significantly predicted female-typed and male-typed leisure activities in addition to participants’ gender and partially mediated the link between gender and female-typed leisure activities. The analyses revealed gender-congruent as well as gender-incongruent associations between both the positive female and male role self-concept and the gender-typed leisure activities. Self-description with socially undesirable masculine traits was related to antisocial activities like using drugs, but also with socializing and sports activities.

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Author information

Authors and Affiliations

  1. Department of Psychology, University of Graz, Universitaetsplatz 2, 8010, Graz, Austria

    Ursula Athenstaedt, Gerold Mikula & Cornelia Bredt

Authors
  1. Ursula Athenstaedt
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  2. Gerold Mikula
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  3. Cornelia Bredt
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Corresponding author

Correspondence to Ursula Athenstaedt.

Appendix

Appendix

Items of the revised gender role behavior scale.

German

English

Rasen mähen

Mow the lawn

Betten machen*

Make the beds

dem Freund/der Freundin die Tür aufhalten*

Hold the door open for your partner

anderen gut zuhören*

Listen attentively to others

Geschirr abwaschen*

Do the dishes

Tisch decken*

Set the table

sich bei Freunden einhacken*

Take a friends arm

sich um jemanden kümmern*

Take care for somebody

Glühbirnen wechseln

Change light bulbs

Auto waschen

Wash the car

einen Knopf annähen*

Sew on a button

das Fleisch auf den Grill legen

Cook meat on the grill

Freunde umarmen*

Hug a friend

Schneeschaufeln

Shovel snow

Geschenke für Mitschüler organisieren*

Buy a present for a colleague

dem Freund/der Freundin in den Mantel helfen

Help your partner into her or her coat

für die Familie einkaufen gehen*

Shop for the family

  1. Note. The items with an asterisk belong to the feminine behavior scale. The other items belong to the masculine behavior scale. Items were translated into English and back to German. I thank Joachim I. Krueger (Brown University, U.S.A.) for the helpful assistance with the item translation.

Items for the leisure activity scale.

German

English

einen Einkaufsbummel machen

Going on a shopping tour

eine Tageszeitung lesen

Read a daily newspaper

ins Kino gehen

Going to the movies

Briefe schreiben

Write letters

gemeinsam mit der Familie etwas unternehmen

Doing something together with the family

Alkohol konsumieren

Consuming alcohol

Fernsehen

Watch TV

am Rad basteln

Tinkering at the bicycle

Joggen

Jogging

Rauchen

Smoking

Lokale besuchen

Visiting restaurants

FM4 hören

Listening the radio station FM4

ein Musikinstrument spielen

Playing a music instrument

Skateboarden

Skate boarding

Parties feiern

Celebrating parties

ins Theater/in die Oper gehen

Going to the theatre/opera

Spaziergänge und Ausflüge machen

Going for a walk and on an excursion

Illegale Drogen konsumieren

Consume illegal drugs

im Internet surfen

Surfing in the internet

eine Kampfsportart (z.B. Judo) betreiben

Doing a combatant sport (e.e., judo)

Gartenarbeit /sich mit Pflanzen beschäftigen

Gardening/dealing with plants

politische Themen diskutieren

Discuss political topics

Diskotheken besuchen

Visiting discos

für den Umweltschutz/Tierschutz eintreten

Standing up for environment protection/animal protection

sich stylen

Styling

Faulenzen

Loafing

Handarbeiten

Do handiwork

Vorträge besuchen

Visiting talks

Computerspiele/Videospiele spielen

Play computer games/video games

Ausstellungen/Museen besuchen

Visiting exhibitions/museums

Reiten

Hoarse riding

Gymnastik/Aerobic/Ballett betreiben

To do gymnastics/aerobics/ballet

ins Jugendzentrum gehen

Going to the youth centre

mit dem festen Freund/der festen Freundin zusammensein

Being together with your boyfriend/girlfriend

an Demonstrationen teilnehmen

Participating at demonstrations

Gesellschaftsspiele spielen

Play sociable games

eine Extremsportart (z.B. Bungee Jumping) betreiben

Doing extreme sports (e.g., bungee jumping)

gemeinsam mit Freunden etwas unternehmen

Doing something together with friends

Videos schauen

Watching videos

Bücher lesen

Reading books

an sportlichen Wettkämpfen teilnehmen

Participating at sport competitions

Telefonieren

Being on the phone

ein Tagebuch schreiben

Writing a diary

sich mit Tieren beschäftigen

Dealing with animals

Bodybuilding betreiben

Doing bodybuilding

Verreisen

Going on a journey

Popkonzerte besuchen

Visiting pop concerts

Sportveranstaltungen besuchen

Visting sport events

Zeichnen und malen

Drawing and painting

im Freien spielen

Playing out-doors

Comics lesen

Reading comics

Fußball spielen

Playing soccer

Ö3 hören

Listening to the radio station Ö3

Schwimmen

Swimming

Mit dem Computer beschäftigen (ausgenommen Internet)

Dealing with the computer (not internet)

Musik hören

Listening to music

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Athenstaedt, U., Mikula, G. & Bredt, C. Gender Role Self-Concept and Leisure Activities of Adolescents. Sex Roles 60, 399–409 (2009). https://doi.org/10.1007/s11199-008-9543-y

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