IDEAS home Printed from https://ideas.repec.org/a/gam/jsusta/v17y2025i3p1070-d1578929.html
   My bibliography  Save this article

The Impact of Socio-Demographic Variables on the Daily Use of Leisure Time by Adults in Poland with a Particular Focus on Older People

Author

Listed:
  • Iwona Bąk

    (Department of Applied Mathematics in Economics, Faculty of Economics, West Pomeranian University of Technology, Janickiego 31, 71-270 Szczecin, Poland)

  • Agnieszka Sawińska

    (Institute of Spatial Management and Socio-Economic Geography, Faculty of Economics, Finance and Management, University of Szczecin, Mickiewicza 64, 71-101 Szczecin, Poland)

Abstract

The sphere of leisure time fulfils important roles in human life, translating into the quality of life of the individual and society. Hence, comprehensive research is being conducted on the ways in which different age groups, including older people, use leisure time. However, few of them take into account factors related to the place of residence, which are important for respondents’ leisure time activities. This study aims to fill the gap in this regard. The aim of the article is to identify socio-demographic variables determining the way adults spend their leisure time, with a particular focus on older people in selected border municipalities in Poland. The study included 1068 individual questionnaire questionnaires completed in 2021 by respondents of border municipalities. One of the non-probability techniques was chosen as the method for selecting elements for the sample, namely, the quota method, which took into account the following characteristics of the population: age, gender, and place of residence. The analyses used selected methods of descriptive statistics and multivariate comparative analysis. The results confirmed that leisure use varied by gender, age, and education. The research also showed that, in the case of older people, leisure time use is influenced by elements relating to their place of residence. Particularly important were the development of green areas in the municipality, safety in the municipality, and the cleanliness of recreational sites.

Suggested Citation

  • Iwona Bąk & Agnieszka Sawińska, 2025. "The Impact of Socio-Demographic Variables on the Daily Use of Leisure Time by Adults in Poland with a Particular Focus on Older People," Sustainability, MDPI, vol. 17(3), pages 1-23, January.
    • Handle: RePEc:gam:jsusta:v:17:y:2025:i:3:p:1070-:d:1578929
    as

    Download full text from publisher

    File URL: https://www.mdpi.com/2071-1050/17/3/1070/pdf
    Download Restriction: no
    File URL: https://www.mdpi.com/2071-1050/17/3/1070/
    Download Restriction: no
    ---><---

    References listed on IDEAS

    as
    1. Ettema, Dick & Schwanen, Tim, 2012. "A relational approach to analysing leisure travel," Journal of Transport Geography, Elsevier, vol. 24(C), pages 173-181.
    2. Marta Kuc, 2012. "The Use Of Taxonomy Methods For Clustering European Union Countries Due To The Standard Of Living," Oeconomia Copernicana, Polskie Towarzystwo Ekonomiczne Oddzial w Toruniu, Wydzial Nauk Ekonomicznych i Zarzadzania UMK, vol. 3(2), pages 5-23, June.
    3. Bertil Vilhelmson & Eva Thulin & Erik Elldér, 2022. "Is ageing becoming more active? Exploring cohort-wise changes in everyday time use among the older population in Sweden," European Journal of Ageing, Springer, vol. 19(3), pages 447-461, September.
    4. Fionn Murtagh & Pierre Legendre, 2014. "Ward’s Hierarchical Agglomerative Clustering Method: Which Algorithms Implement Ward’s Criterion?," Journal of Classification, Springer;The Classification Society, vol. 31(3), pages 274-295, October.
    5. Arentze, Theo A., 2015. "Individuals' social preferences in joint activity location choice: A negotiation model and empirical evidence," Journal of Transport Geography, Elsevier, vol. 48(C), pages 76-84.
    6. Marta Kuc, 2012. "The Use Of Taxonomy Methods For Clustering European Union Countries Due To The Standard Of Living," Oeconomia Copernicana, Institute of Economic Research, vol. 3(2), pages 5-23, June.
    7. Li-Shiue Gau & Pham Thuy Duong & Jong-Chae Kim, 2022. "Parallel Leisure Sport Activities Diversity with Economic, Social and Human Development Indicators," Social Indicators Research: An International and Interdisciplinary Journal for Quality-of-Life Measurement, Springer, vol. 164(3), pages 1403-1425, December.
    8. Wiles, Janine L. & Allen, Ruth E.S. & Palmer, Anthea J. & Hayman, Karen J. & Keeling, Sally & Kerse, Ngaire, 2009. "Older people and their social spaces: A study of well-being and attachment to place in Aotearoa New Zealand," Social Science & Medicine, Elsevier, vol. 68(4), pages 664-671, February.
    9. Robert Goodin & James Rice & Michael Bittman & Peter Saunders, 2005. "The Time-Pressure Illusion: Discretionary Time vs. Free Time," Social Indicators Research: An International and Interdisciplinary Journal for Quality-of-Life Measurement, Springer, vol. 73(1), pages 43-70, August.
    10. Sara Santini & Flavia Galassi & Johannes Kropf & Vera Stara, 2020. "A Digital Coach Promoting Healthy Aging among Older Adults in Transition to Retirement: Results from a Qualitative Study in Italy," Sustainability, MDPI, vol. 12(18), pages 1-16, September.
    11. Mattan S. Ben-Shachar & Indrajeet Patil & Rémi Thériault & Brenton M. Wiernik & Daniel Lüdecke, 2023. "Phi, Fei, Fo, Fum: Effect Sizes for Categorical Data That Use the Chi-Squared Statistic," Mathematics, MDPI, vol. 11(9), pages 1-10, April.
    Full references (including those not matched with items on IDEAS)

    Most related items

    These are the items that most often cite the same works as this one and are cited by the same works as this one.
    1. Merz, Joachim & Rathjen, Tim, 2011. "Intensity of Time and Income Interdependent Multidimensional Poverty: Well-Being and Minimum 2DGAP – German Evidence," IZA Discussion Papers 6022, Institute of Labor Economics (IZA).
    2. Mahmud Rice, James & Goodin, Robert E. & Parpo, Antti, 2006. "The Temporal Welfare State: A Crossnational Comparison," Journal of Public Policy, Cambridge University Press, vol. 26(3), pages 195-228, December.
    3. Lingchao Meng & Kuo-Hsun Wen & Zhijie Zeng & Richard Brewin & Xiaolei Fan & Qiong Wu, 2020. "The Impact of Street Space Perception Factors on Elderly Health in High-Density Cities in Macau—Analysis Based on Street View Images and Deep Learning Technology," Sustainability, MDPI, vol. 12(5), pages 1-19, February.
    4. Jara-Díaz, Sergio & Rosales-Salas, Jorge, 2017. "Beyond transport time: A review of time use modeling," Transportation Research Part A: Policy and Practice, Elsevier, vol. 97(C), pages 209-230.
    5. Maksym Polyakov & Morteza Chalak & Md. Sayed Iftekhar & Ram Pandit & Sorada Tapsuwan & Fan Zhang & Chunbo Ma, 2018. "Authorship, Collaboration, Topics, and Research Gaps in Environmental and Resource Economics 1991–2015," Environmental & Resource Economics, Springer;European Association of Environmental and Resource Economists, vol. 71(1), pages 217-239, September.
    6. Giger, Markus & Mutea, Emily & Kiteme, Boniface & Eckert, Sandra & Anseeuw, Ward & Zaehringer, Julie G., 2020. "Large agricultural investments in Kenya’s Nanyuki Area: Inventory and analysis of business models," Land Use Policy, Elsevier, vol. 99(C).
    7. Xie, Hualin & Wang, Wei & Zhang, Xinmin, 2018. "Evolutionary game and simulation of management strategies of fallow cultivated land: A case study in Hunan province, China," Land Use Policy, Elsevier, vol. 71(C), pages 86-97.
    8. Walker, Nathan L. & Styles, David & Coughlan, Paul & Williams, A. Prysor, 2022. "Cross-sector sustainability benchmarking of major utilities in the United Kingdom," Utilities Policy, Elsevier, vol. 78(C).
    9. Elisabetta Lazzaro & Carlofilippo Frateschi, 2017. "Couples’ arts participation: assessing individual and joint time use," Journal of Cultural Economics, Springer;The Association for Cultural Economics International, vol. 41(1), pages 47-69, February.
    10. Ettema, Dick & Zwartbol, Danielle, 2013. "The structure of joint leisure trips: analyzing two-person leisure trips of Dutch students," Journal of Transport Geography, Elsevier, vol. 31(C), pages 216-225.
    11. Andronis, Lazaros & Maredza, Mandy & Petrou, Stavros, 2019. "Measuring, valuing and including forgone childhood education and leisure time costs in economic evaluation: Methods, challenges and the way forward," Social Science & Medicine, Elsevier, vol. 237(C), pages 1-1.
    12. Abang Zainoren Abang Abdurahman & Syerina Azlin Md Nasir & Wan Fairos Wan Yaacob & Serah Jaya & Suhaili Mokhtar, 2021. "Spatio-Temporal Clustering of Sarawak Malaysia Total Protected Area Visitors," Sustainability, MDPI, vol. 13(21), pages 1-19, October.
    13. Danxue Fan & Meiyue Li, 2025. "Coupling and Coordinated Development Analysis of Digital Economy, Economic Resilience, and Ecological Protection," Sustainability, MDPI, vol. 17(9), pages 1-25, May.
    14. Mulu Abraha Woldegiorgis & Janet E. Hiller & Wubegzier Mekonnen & Jahar Bhowmik, 2018. "Disparities in maternal health services in sub-Saharan Africa," International Journal of Public Health, Springer;Swiss School of Public Health (SSPH+), vol. 63(4), pages 525-535, May.
    15. Monika Stanny & Łukasz Komorowski & Andrzej Rosner, 2021. "The Socio-Economic Heterogeneity of Rural Areas: Towards a Rural Typology of Poland," Energies, MDPI, vol. 14(16), pages 1-23, August.
    16. Inje Cho & Kyriaki Kaplanidou & Shintaro Sato, 2021. "Gamified Wearable Fitness Tracker for Physical Activity: A Comprehensive Literature Review," Sustainability, MDPI, vol. 13(13), pages 1-15, June.
    17. Niels-Hugo Blunch & David C. Ribar & Mark Western, 2020. "Under pressure? Assessing the roles of skills and other personal resources for work-life strains," Review of Economics of the Household, Springer, vol. 18(3), pages 883-906, September.
    18. Anca Gabriela Ilie & Marinela Luminita Emanuela Zlatea & Cristina Negreanu & Dan Dumitriu & Alma Pentescu, 2023. "Reliance on Russian Federation Energy Imports and Renewable Energy in the European Union," The AMFITEATRU ECONOMIC journal, Academy of Economic Studies - Bucharest, Romania, vol. 25(64), pages 780-780, August.
    19. Jon Ellingsen & Vegard H. Larsen & Leif Anders Thorsrud, 2020. "News Media vs. FRED-MD for Macroeconomic Forecasting," CESifo Working Paper Series 8639, CESifo.
    20. Sokhna Dieng & Pierre Michel & Abdoulaye Guindo & Kankoe Sallah & El-Hadj Ba & Badara Cissé & Maria Patrizia Carrieri & Cheikh Sokhna & Paul Milligan & Jean Gaudart, 2020. "Application of Functional Data Analysis to Identify Patterns of Malaria Incidence, to Guide Targeted Control Strategies," IJERPH, MDPI, vol. 17(11), pages 1-23, June.

    More about this item

    Keywords

    ;
    ;
    ;
    ;
    ;

    Statistics

    Access and download statistics

    Corrections

    All material on this site has been provided by the respective publishers and authors. You can help correct errors and omissions. When requesting a correction, please mention this item's handle: RePEc:gam:jsusta:v:17:y:2025:i:3:p:1070-:d:1578929. See general information about how to correct material in RePEc.

    If you have authored this item and are not yet registered with RePEc, we encourage you to do it here. This allows to link your profile to this item. It also allows you to accept potential citations to this item that we are uncertain about.

    If CitEc recognized a bibliographic reference but did not link an item in RePEc to it, you can help with this form .

    If you know of missing items citing this one, you can help us creating those links by adding the relevant references in the same way as above, for each refering item. If you are a registered author of this item, you may also want to check the "citations" tab in your RePEc Author Service profile, as there may be some citations waiting for confirmation.

    For technical questions regarding this item, or to correct its authors, title, abstract, bibliographic or download information, contact: MDPI Indexing Manager (email available below). General contact details of provider: https://www.mdpi.com .

    Please note that corrections may take a couple of weeks to filter through the various RePEc services.

    IDEAS is a RePEc service. RePEc uses bibliographic data supplied by the respective publishers.