Date of Award:

5-2015

Document Type:

Thesis

Degree Name:

Master of Science (MS)

Department:

Human Development and Family Studies

Department name when degree awarded

Family, Consumer, and Human Development

Committee Chair(s)

Kathleen W. Piercy

Committee

Kathleen W. Piercy

Committee

W. David Robinson

Committee

Dennis Nelson

Abstract

I interviewed couples who had medium to high marital satisfaction and role balance about the leisure they experience together as a couple. The main goal of this
project was to learn more about the positive aspects of couple leisure experiences. I examined couples’ perceptions of leisure benefits and meaning derived from couple participation in leisure, how couples perceive marital satisfaction is affected by couple leisure, the ways couples balance other roles with leisure, how role balance plays a part in couple leisure, as well as the factors that might constrain or facilitate a positive leisure experience.

Couples find a lot of meaning through participating in couple leisure and seem to derive benefits during couple leisure. Most benefits couples experience are relationship-building and could potentially help maintain couple relationships and may help improve them. Spouses also experienced a few individual benefits as well. Couples perceive that their marital satisfaction increases through participation in couple leisure. Role balance plays a large part in allowing couples to find time for leisure. There were several factors that could constrain couples from having a positive leisure experience and thus being able to reap the benefits and meaning obtained from couple leisure. However, there were also several factors that helped promote positive couple leisure making it easier to receive these benefits and meaning. It is important that couples are able to role balance, so that they are able to benefit from couple leisure time.

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