Constraints to Leisure Physical Activity Participation for Women: A Perspective of Young Mothers living in the Rural Areas of Lesotho

Abstract

Constraints to Leisure Physical Activity Participation for Women: A Perspective of Young Mothers living in the Rural Areas of Lesotho

Matsepo Khau Global Sport Management, Department of Physical Education The Graduate School Seoul National University

The study on constraints to leisure physical activity participation for women has been a growing research for years. This study focused on knowledge constraints, personal constraints, socio-cultural, socio-economic, perceptions of rural mothers and policy constraints. The purpose of this study was to explore constraints to leisure physical activity participation for young mothers living in the rural areas of Lesotho in order to add weight to previous researches and to inform policy

makers with interventions tailor made to promote active lifestyle and wellness for this particular group. A descriptive case study was conducted on a sample size consisting of ten young mothers with ages ranging from 19 to 25 years old. In-depth interviews were conducted and analysed to respond to the research question. Conclusions drawn from this study include socio-economic and socio-cultural factors as the prevailing constaints limiting participation and the most significant constraint is social identification. For policy makers to promote participation for young mothers in the rural areas, policy should restructure social grouping and add young mothers as an additional category at program level in order to appeal to this group.

Key words :Leisure Constraints Model, Physical Activity, Leisure, Young mothers, Rural Areas. Student Number: 2015 - 22356