140 | Chapter 15 “The combination of working full-time, living together and the birth of our daughter, was especially time-consuming. Because well, if you only have to work then it is not too bad. And I have friends who live together but don’t have kids, and they have more time than people like me.” (Simon) On the other hand, some participants perceived more temporal space and flexibility when they started studying and started to live on their own, thanks to increased autonomy. Or as one of the participants put it: “When I was still living at home there was just a weekly rhythm and that was the same every week. When I started studying, that weekly rhythm just disappeared. There is much more variation, much more to organise yourself and determine yourself. If I wanted to join a sport activity at the universities sport centre, on a Wednesday morning, I did so. If there was a lecture, well, I wouldn’t go sporting. Yes, there was more space.” (Nina) Social resources When participants started studying and working, engaged in an intimate relationship and became a parent, they were confronted with more social responsibilities and activities, prevailing norms and expectations of themselves and others associated with being a good student, professional, partner, mother or father. Participants deemed it important to live up to this and act and achieve accordingly at school, at work and at home. Therefore, in general, they socially committed to their new, more adult roles and considered the related responsibilities and activities as more socially rewarding and relevant than practising sport. As a result, they experienced less space and/or importance for sport participation, especially when taking the perceived decrease in temporal resources (i.e., less leisure time and more time restrictions) into consideration. In the words of some participants: “During adolescence you start thinking about, yes, beginning to work and learning is more important to me than being active in sport.” (Inge) “My social contacts, which I found very important to spend time with, uh, in the time you have left. Like when my husband is home, and to go visit someone and have some tea at least once a week or go shopping with my mother, to name some things.” (Eva)
RkJQdWJsaXNoZXIy MjY0ODMw