Leisure Time Allocation in Accordance with the Sufficiency Economy Philosophy of Adolescents in Bangkok

Abstract

     The main purpose of this research was to study the compatibility of leisure time allocation and the Sufficiency Economy Philosophy. It aimed to focus on youth's leisure time allocation: 1) for pursuits without interrupting their daily activities, 2) being compatible with social conditions, and 3) preventing them from having a risky life-style. The target group was 500 secondary school students (Mathayomsuksa 3) sampled from 7 selected schools in Bangkok. Data were collected by questionnaires and analyzed by descriptive statistics. The research findings indicated that the majority of the respondents (84%) rated the compatibility of leisure time allocation and the Sufficiency Philosophy Economy as fairly high to high, whereas a few (16%) rated it as fairly low. According to the analysis of the three core aspects of the philosophy—namely, Moderation, Reasonableness and Self-immunity—it was found that for the Reasonableness aspect, the majority of the respondents (94.6%) allocated leisure time as fairly high. For the aspect of Self-immunity, most respondents (80.8%) allocated leisure time from fairly high to high. Less than half of the respondents (32%) indicated leisure time allocation with regards to the Moderation aspect being fairly low to low. The findings of this study indicated that insufficient Moderation was significant since the respondents spent more time on leisure activities than on major activities, which were supposed to be done. As a result, this significant issue should be brought to the attention of not only the family on a micro-level but also the government on a macro-level. This issue was considered of high impact because leisure time allocation can affect the long-term physical, emotional, and social development of youths. Inappropriate time allocation is an unavoidable factor which affects the potential of human resources in the future.