Sex Roles (2008) 58:342 357
DOI 10.1007/s11199-007-9347-5
ORIGINAL ARTICLE
Time Use, Time Pressure and Gendered Behavior
in Early and Late Adolescence
Margo Hilbrecht & Jiri Zuzanek & Roger C. Mannell
Published online: 16 November 2007
#
Springer Science + Business Media, LLC 2007
Abstract Using a stratified sample of Canadian adoles- major developmental challenge (Erikson 1950). In realizing
cents residing in Ontario (n=2,154) time use patterns and a firm sense of self identity, teens awareness of cultural
perceptions of time pressure are explored to determine values and gendered behavioral expectations becomes
gender differences among younger (12 14 years) and older increasingly salient. Peers become more important as a
adolescents (15 19 years). For both age groups, girls report reference group and can be highly influential in determin-
a higher total workload of schoolwork, domestic activities ing action, perceptions and attitudes. Consequently, as
and paid employment and spend more time on personal teenagers social networks widen and geographic mobility
care while boys have more free time, especially during increases, studies of time use become helpful in under-
early adolescence. Feelings of time pressure for teens standing the process of gender socialization. Reinforced by
increase with age and are significantly higher for girls in media messages and guided by families, schools, and other
both age categories. Gender differences are less pronounced important social institutions, the way in which adolescents
on school days when time is fairly structured, but become allocate their time on a daily basis can have a strong
more consistent with traditional gender schema on the influence on identity development as they explore possibil-
weekend when time use is more discretionary. ities for social roles, relationships and future goals
(Shanahan and Flaherty 2001).
. . .
Keywords Adolescence Time use Time pressure In Canada, there has been an ongoing discourse about
.
Gender gap Gender schema gender equality in response to socio-cultural and economic
changes during the past three decades (Nelson 2006). As such,
it is useful to consider the extent to which the expressed
Introduction social value of an egalitarian society is reflected in the
amount of time allocated by youth to traditionally  male or
Adolescence is a period of tremendous physical, emotional  female activities. The purpose of the study, therefore, is to
and psychological growth. Successfully negotiating these assess whether there are gendered patterns in the way teens
changes and preserving one s unique sense of self while spend their time and to determine if these patterns are more
moving toward adult occupational and family roles is the apparent during early or late adolescence. While time use
analyses do not convey how gender is constructed, they are
useful in terms of understanding how gender is expressed
: :
M. Hilbrecht ( ) J. Zuzanek R. C. Mannell
through general trends and patterns of behavior.
Department of Recreation and Leisure Studies,
The allocation of time to various activity domains can be
University of Waterloo,
viewed in terms of trade-offs and choices. Although some
Waterloo, ON N2L 3G1, Canada
e-mail: [e-mail] activities are determined by biological needs such as
sleeping and eating, others are subject to structural or
J. Zuzanek
e-mail: [e-mail] cultural constraints like school hours, or social expectations
of appropriate behavior. Since there are always 24 h in a
R. C. Mannell
e-mail: [e-mail] day, when time spent on one activity is increased, there is a
Sex Roles (2008) 58:342 357 343
343
corresponding decrease in other areas (Robinson 1999). viewed as a combination of perceptual and behavioral
Patterns of time allocation to important life domains vary patterns produced through social interaction and embedded
according to cultural, demographic and historical factors. in recurrent, everyday activities. Because time use studies
The most recent national time use study of Canadians are concerned with what individuals do on a day-to-day
15 years and older, the General Social Survey (GSS) of basis, the concept of  doing gender is relevant because
2005, showed distinctive gender patterns in the use of time ongoing social interaction will reflect and support the
where time spent by adult men in paid employment and free expression of gender through the way in which individuals
time exceeded that of women and women s time expendi- allocate time to different domains of activity.
ture in household activities and personal care was greater The gender intensification hypothesis allows for greater
than men s. Other aspects of temporal experiences are also consideration of age-related changes associated with gender.
important to consider. Feelings of time pressure for all age This approach contends that behavioral, attitudinal and
groups surveyed were higher for women than for men psychological differences between teenage boys and girls
(Statistics Canada 2005). Since identity development will increase with age as socialization processes exert an
during adolescence is intertwined with gender socialization, influence to conform to adult gender roles (Hill and Lynch
similar disparities in the allocation and experience of time 1983). The onset of puberty signals to others that the
might be expected. This study will explore patterns of time individual is approaching adulthood and behavior is adjusted
use, whether the magnitude of gender differences in the to reflect gender stereotypes of adult males and females.
allocation of time changes or remains stable between early Although there has been some support for this hypothesis in
and late adolescence, and the extent to which male and studies of family socialization experiences, it has not yet
female adolescents experience time pressure. been widely accepted because of the need for more empirical
testing using longitudinal data to further explore gender-
Theoretical Approaches related development (Galambos 2004). Nevertheless, it may
be useful in predicting gender-related differences in time use
Although several theories have been advanced that contribute patterns among younger and older adolescents who may be
to the understanding of gender socialization, gender schema feeling different pressures for gender conformity depending
theory (Bem 1981, 1983),  doing gender (West and on the proximity to adulthood.
Zimmerman 1987) and the gender intensification hypothesis Following these perspectives, it is likely that activities
(Hill and Lynch 1983) provide perspectives that may help characterized as masculine or feminine by adults would be
guide the exploration of adolescent time use. Gender schema similar among adolescents. Bem s approach suggests that
theory builds on both social learning and cognitive devel- gender lenses are firmly in place throughout the lifecycle. If
opment theories and provides a useful guide to describe the so, it would be expected that the use of time by different
process by which humans acquire and transmit culturally age groups of adolescents would be relatively consistent
defined sex-specific concepts of femininity or masculinity. and follow adult gender patterns. On the other hand,  doing
An integral component of Bem s theory is the cultural gender is a more dynamic process, dependent on interac-
schema or  lens as a framework which organizes qualities, tion and context for expression. It allows for the possibility
objects and behaviors as  male or  female through that time use may vary by age, but does not provide a basis
schematic processing. Gender lenses become internalized for predicting the strength or magnitude of differences.
and predispose individuals throughout their lifetime to Bearing in mind the gender intensification hypothesis, time
construct an identity that embodies and reproduces these use differences between adolescent boys and girls are likely
beliefs. Gender schema are transmitted though all social to increase with age. Older teens time use should resemble
institutions and agents of socialization, forming a subliminal adults more strongly because of additional social roles and
pedagogy which reproduces lenses of androcentrism, gender corresponding time commitments such as employment or
polarization, and biological essentialism. Although gender becoming involved in romantic relationships.
schema theory does not fully consider individual agency and Since adult time use patterns show the greatest gender
intentional resistance to gender expectations, it provides a differences in categories of household work, free time, paid
valid framework to illuminate gender differences in adoles- employment, and personal care (Statistics Canada 2005),
cent time use at the aggregate level. each category will be discussed in terms of how adolescent
West and Zimmerman (1987) view gender as a context- males and females may allocate their time and whether
specific, socially guided interactional process.  Doing gender differences have been noted among younger and
gender (p. 126) is both the outcome and rationale for older teens. In addition, time pressure will be considered as
social behaviors and arrangements that reinforce and an aspect of temporal behavior because of distinctive
perpetuate existing gender divisions. Instead of being gender associations found among adults (Mattingly and
understood as a role or set of specific traits, gender is Sayer 2006).
344 Sex Roles (2008) 58:342 357
Review of Literature youth of the same age. During the 2005/2006 school year,
34.3% of female and 28.3% of male students in Canada
Household Labor aged 15 17 had part-time jobs (Statistics Canada 2006).
Numbers of employed female students were not signifi-
In a study of younger adults, ages 15 29, using time use cantly higher, but gender differences in occupational
modules of the Canadian General Social Surveys (GSS) for distribution were notable. Teenage girls were more likely
1986, 1992 and 1998, Ravanera et al. (2003) concluded that to have jobs in sales and service, whereas boys were more
the gender division in domestic labor begins early in life often employed in primary industry, trades, transport and
and persists, even though time spent in paid employment construction (Statistics Canada 2002). No national employ-
for females has increased over time. Based on data from the ment statistics were available for younger adolescents even
first and fourth waves of the Youth Development Study though they may be formally employed on a part-time basis
(YDS), Gager et al. (1999) compared the time use patterns at age 14 (Ontario Ministry of Labour 2006) and often work
of ninth and twelfth grade students in the United States. for pay informally prior to that age in jobs such as
They found that American children and adolescents are babysitting, delivering newspapers or helping out with
socialized into gender roles through sex-typed parental family businesses.
assignment of domestic chores, with  female chores Shanahan and Flaherty (2001) used a cluster analysis
generally being more time-consuming than  male chores, approach to create a more focused portrait of time use
which creates a wider gender gap in time spent doing among employed American adolescents from grades 9
household labor as teens age. In an analysis of time use through 12 using the first four waves of the YDS. Most
throughout the life cycle among British adults, Gershuny students with part-time jobs were also engaged in many
(2004) suggests that there are human capital implications other domains of activity but time spent in household
attached to the early gendered division of labor. When labor decreased as teens became older. Gager et al. (1999)
young women spend more time in domestic labor at the observed a notable reduction in  female-type, time-
expense of developing other marketable skills, a firmly consuming chores for males when they were employed
rooted and measurable difference in earning potential and but not for females, which contributed to a widening gender
other economic opportunities over the life course may gap in total workload among adolescents. Mortimer (2003)
result. commented that adolescent gender differences,  would
Because of the symbolic connotations of family work appear to anticipate adult men and women s involvements
linked to preparation for future gender-specific adult roles, in familial and extrafamilial spheres (p. 109). This
Mortimer (2003) investigated adolescents contribution to indicates that the gender schema for juggling employment
household work drawing on longitudinal data from the and domestic roles as well as sex-typing of particular types
American YDS. She reports that youth aged 14 and older of work is apparent during adolescence.
contribute substantially to household labor and that it
becomes even more traditionally gender typed throughout Leisure
adolescence. Whether expressed egalitarian values will
become more predictive of actual behavior was a question The amount of time spent in specific leisure activities is
posed by Weinshenker (2005). Through analyses of teens notable because it reflects interests, opportunities and
responses in  The 500 Family Study, which explored time constraints associated with gender. In analyses of survey
use and social dynamics among dual-earner American and interview data for 10th grade Canadian students, Shaw
families and their children between the ages of 12 18, he et al. (1995) identified leisure as an integral part of
found that 67.1% of boys and 66.7% of girls expected to adolescent life that has the potential to either enhance or
share domestic work equally as adults. Children in families complicate identity development. This may be dependent on
where fathers did little housework had less egalitarian the type of leisure activity as well as its gendered
views than those whose fathers did more than half of the connotations. Because leisure is a social phenomenon, it
housework. provides  a social context for the development of intimate
relationships and for the expression of social identities (Iso-
Paid Work Ahola 1999, p. 39) and affords opportunities to either resist
or reproduce socially prescribed gender roles (Shaw 2001).
By older adolescence, part-time jobs are normative for Gender differences in physically active leisure among
youth in North America (Mortimer 2003). Time spent in older teens have been relatively consistent longitudinally
paid employment for 15 19 year olds who participated in and cross-nationally. Girls in the U.S., age 12 17, spend
the American Time Use Survey did not differ significantly less time in physical activity and sport than boys of the
by gender (Vernon 2005) and this is similar to Canadian same age (Larson and Kleiber 1991). Zeijl et al. (2001)
Sex Roles (2008) 58:342 357 345
345
reported similar results for Dutch adolescents and noted that sub-culture at school fosters an environment conducive to
the gender gap in sport and outdoor activity participation greater attention to personal appearance, resulting in
was especially wide among adolescents aged 10 15. In 35 increased time spent on personal care. Unfortunately, this
countries and regions surveyed by the World Health is an area somewhat overlooked in time use research and no
Organization for the Health Behaviour in School-aged recent studies were found that addressed time spent in
Children (HBSC) study, boys aged 11, 13 and 15, showed personal care for younger adolescents.
higher levels of physical activity participation compared to
girls although the gender gap narrowed among older Time Pressure
adolescents (Roberts et al. 2004). A masculine gender
schema with its emphasis on competition, aggression and It is not only the duration of activities but also experiences
physical prowess evident in most competitive sports of time, such as time pressure, which can be gendered.
(Biernat and Vescio 2002; Messner 1990) may be one Time pressure may be conceptualized as the feeling of not
explanation for greater participation by teenage boys. having enough time to get things done and constantly being
Sport is only one of many leisure pursuits with gender rushed. It is associated with higher levels of contracted time
connotations. Both American and Canadian teenage boys (e.g., employment, school, and related travel) and commit-
spend a disproportionate amount of free time compared to ted time (e.g., domestic labor or volunteering), so that
girls playing computer and video games (Anderson 2002; those with heavier total workloads are more likely to
Roberts and Foehr 2004; Statistics Canada 2002). This experience higher levels of time pressure (Zuzanek 2004).
activity may be more attractive to boys because it Other factors may also play a role. Feelings of time
reproduces many stereotypical masculine characteristics pressure are associated with experiences of time fragmen-
such as action, adventure, aggression and domination tation and lack of autonomy over time allocation (Eriksson
(Provenzo 1991). Television and reading are two other et al. 2007). Since 1992, time pressure has increased among
forms of media where gender imbalances in time use have Canadian adults. Social and structural factors such as
been documented. In a study conducted by Erin Research changing work environments, time-intensive child-rearing
Inc. (2003) of Canadian children in Grades 3 through 10, practices, rampant consumerism, and the general  speeding
boys spent slightly more time watching television through- up of the pace of life have been implicated as some of the
out the week and showed a greater interested in watching main contributors (Zuzanek 2004).
television than girls at all ages. Cross-national data from the Jacobs and Gerson (2004) argue that time pressure is not
HBSC study confirms that in most countries, between the simply a personal problem or part of processes beyond
ages of 11 15 adolescent boys spend about 10% more time one s control, but rather a function of social structural
than girls watching television (Todd and Currie 2004). Girls arrangements that disadvantage women. In studies of time
were more inclined to read a book for pleasure, although pressure, there is a high degree of consensus that women
researchers note that this activity declined in frequency for experience time pressure to a greater extent than men.
both males and females in older age categories (Erin Mattingly and Sayer (2006) explored gendered perceptions
Research Inc. 2003). of time pressure among adults in the U.S. between 1975
and 1998 and discovered ongoing gender inequality in time
Personal Care use patterns accompanied by women s stronger perceptions
of time pressure. This trend applies to adolescents as well.
Personal appearance takes on greater social significance for In Canada, from 1992 and 1998, time pressure increased for
teenage girls and appears to be a long-standing, deeply 15 19 years olds, with girls between the ages of 18 19
ingrained and culturally embedded aspect of  doing gender. reporting the highest levels of time pressure (Zuzanek
More than 60 years ago, for example, the importance of 2000). Again in 2005, Canadian girls between the ages of
appearance and the role of peers in enforcing this priority 15 19 felt more time pressured than boys (Marshall 2007).
among American girls ages 12 18 had been noted by It is possible that younger adolescents between the ages of
Silverman (1945). Given the peer pressure for conformity 12 14 have lower levels of time pressure but their
and the socio-cultural emphasis on female beauty, it is experiences are not well understood despite the recognition
perhaps not surprising that the trend has continued unabated. that their days often involve tightly packed schedules
The 1998 Canadian GSS indicated that 15 19 year old consisting of school, homework, extra-curricular activities,
female students spent 2.2 h per day on personal care, part-time jobs, family and volunteer commitments.
compared to employed females in the same age group who Clearly, time is allocated and experienced differently by
spent 1.9 h. Male students spent significantly less time on teenage boys and girls. Considering the association between
personal care than their female counterparts (Fast and time pressure, stress and decreased health (Zuzanek 2004),
Frederick 2004). It is likely that the peer-oriented adolescent it is worth exploring levels of time pressure among youth.
346 Sex Roles (2008) 58:342 357
In the context of the commonly held social values of gender Method
equality in Canada it is important to assess time use among
younger teens, the degree to which they ascribe to Analyses in this article are based on data from the Ontario
stereotypical or gender neutral behavior, and at what age Adolescent Time Use Study (OATUS), a larger investigation
this becomes apparent. Time use data provide a behavioral examining the impact of changes in the nature of work, family
expression of societal values. By developing a clearer life and leisure on time use, the experience of time pressure,
picture of the relationship of gender and time during psychological well-being, health and involvement in impor-
adolescence, it may be possible to recognize patterns of tant social institutions such as school. Data were collected
activity that contribute to unequal opportunities and to between March 2001 and June 2003 from a non-random,
consider their implications for education, employment, stratified sample of schools drawn from cities representative
leisure, personal relationships and well-being. of the provincial population for income and ethnicity. One
Additionally, there is a lack of time use research on school from a rural location was also included. Parents were
Canadian youth, especially for younger adolescents. Infor- informed by letter in advance that their child had the
mation that may be useful to families, educators and policy opportunity to participate in the study and were asked to
makers is usually derived from American studies and set in consent to such participation. No refusals were received and
a  North American context (Larson and Verma 1999). only one parent telephoned for further information. Students
While there are many cultural similarities between the were given a survey questionnaire which was administered by
United States and Canada due to geographic proximity, a trained Research Assistant and completed during 30 45 min
media influence and some shared cultural traditions, there of regular class time. All students in class when the survey
are also dissimilarities based on political systems, regional was distributed completed it.
differences, and ethnic composition. Therefore, a contribu- The purpose of the questionnaire was to examine
tion of this study is that it will provide information about adolescents perceptions of their: (1) school experience;
how Canadian youth allocate and experience time and the (2) parents workloads, and interactions with them; (3) use
relationship to gendered time use patterns of Canadian of time, including time outside the classroom for leisure,
adults. Furthermore, it addresses a gap in the literature part-time work and volunteer activities; (4) health and
where adolescents younger than age 15 have been largely psychological well-being; and, (5) the possible influence of
excluded from time use studies altogether. the adolescents family circumstances, time use and well-
Due to the lack of previous research, this study is being on their experience of school. Along with demo-
exploratory in nature. It examines how male and female graphic information such as age, gender, and household
adolescents spend their time, the extent to which this varies structure, students were asked about parental employment
between younger and older adolescents, and how these status and work arrangements, details of their own part-time
patterns of activity and the experience of time pressure employment and volunteer activities, leisure activities, and
compare to those of the adult Canadian men and women. In questions related to academic interests, achievement and
addition, the reviewed literature and theoretical approaches future aspirations. Additionally, respondents were asked to
do allow us to make some predictions. We expect that: indicate perceptions of temporal experiences through ques-
tions such as: on a scale of 1 5, where 1 was very little and
1. Time spent on domestic activities by adolescent girls 5, quite a lot,  How much pressure do you feel because of
will be significantly greater than boys and the gender your school work? Similarly, on a scale of 1 5, where 1
gap will be wider for the older age group. was never and 5, quite often,  How often do you wish there
2. For time spent in paid employment the gender difference were more hours in a day? To evaluate feelings of
will be not be significant; however, there will be a busyness for themselves and their parents/guardians, stu-
significant difference between younger and older teens. dents were asked,  Compared to other people you know,
3. Adolescent boys will have significantly more free time how busy are you and the people with whom you live?
than girls, and younger teens more free time than older Not busy at all was coded as 1 and extremely busy as 5. The
teens. Gender differences in time allocation to specific survey also included questions about physical health and
leisure activities will resemble adult leisure patterns. emotional well-being including how often they felt lonely,
4. Girls will spend significantly more time than boys on depressed, and how frequently they were bullied by other
personal care, although differences between age groups kids in school. For each of these questions, 1 was never and
are unclear. 5, quite often on the five-point scales used.
5. Girls will experience significantly higher levels of time As part of the questionnaire, a time diary was used to
pressure than boys. Among older teens, who are predicted collect time use data based on student s recollections of
to have higher levels of obligated time, perceptions of how they had spent the previous day. Fridays and Saturdays
time pressure will be stronger than among younger teens. were omitted from the study since students did not attend
Sex Roles (2008) 58:342 357 347
347
school on the weekend and, therefore, were not asked to to complete a 24-h day, the categories need to be present but
recall information for these days. The days for which data will not be a focus of the discussion. To measure time
were collected were Sunday through Thursday. For the pressure, a composite index was developed and adapted for
analyses, school days and Sundays were separated since the adolescents (Ä…=.72 for ages 12 14, and Ä…=.76 for ages 15
use and experience of time on weekdays and weekends is 19) based on the time crunch index in the Canadian GSS. It
qualitatively different (Zuzanek and Mannell 1993). included measures of students perceptions of how often
A total of 2,154 students participated in the study. They they felt they had more things to do than what they had time
were enrolled in grades 7 12 as well as Ontario Academic for, whether they wished for more hours in a day, how busy
Credit (OAC) courses which follow grade 12. Of these they were, and feelings of pressure from school work. Scores
students, 51.8% were female and 48.2% were male. While could range from 2 to 20. A higher score indicated higher
there were a few respondents (n=20) who were 19 years of levels of time pressure and a score of less than ten suggested
age and ten who were 11 years old, the majority (98.5%) very little time pressure was experienced.
ranged in age from 12 to 18. The respondents were divided Findings reported in this article are mostly descriptive.
into two age groups: younger teens (ages 12 14) and older We believe that this is appropriate considering that little
teens (ages 15 19). Age groupings were based on devel- information is available about gender differences in teen-
opmental changes that occur as individuals progress agers time use patterns, particularly among the younger
through adolescence which were thought to influence age group. Additionally, because of our interest in finding
behavior (psychologically, such as the relative importance out whether and to what extent the theoretical approaches
of the peer group, or structurally, such as opportunities for are relevant to the adolescent population, we conducted two
paid employment). While it is recognized that age group- other types of analyses. Using two-factor analysis of
ings are a very general indicator of development and variance (ANOVA) we compared time use patterns of
maturity, it is not inconsistent with other research. More- adolescents with regard to the four major activities most
over, this grouping allows for greater ease of comparison to strongly associated with a gender gap in the adult
national and international studies of time use such as the population, namely domestic activity, free time, paid
Canadian GSS and American Time Use Study where employment, and personal care for Sundays and weekdays.
adolescents between the ages of 15 19 are included. In The independent variables were gender and age group. The
addition, the size of sub-groups had to be sufficiently large main and interaction effects of these two variables were
to facilitate analysis of variance and any further sub- examined. A two-way analysis of variance was also
division into smaller categories would have compromised conducted to determine the relationship between time
the power of the statistical procedures used. The gender pressure and age group and gender. Finally, regression
distribution for each age group and on school days and analyses were used to explore whether differences in time
Sundays was almost equal (see Table 1). use of adolescent boys and girls could be attributed to
Coding conventions used by statistical agencies were used factors other than gender. Factors that could have affected
to organize time use data into five main categories of analysis: time use and were measured in the survey questionnaire
total workload, including school related time, paid and included: students age, family composition (two-parent as
domestic work; personal needs, including sleep, eating and opposed to single parent), parents employment status (both
personal care; free time, and religious and voluntary activities. employed full time versus the traditional  breadwinner /
The last two categories are listed separately because the homemaker pattern), perceived busyness of parents, and
underlying motivations and sense of obligation make it students academic performance (grade average). These
difficult to include them in the free time category. In order factors have been identified as influential in studies of
children s and adolescents time use in the U.S. (see
Hofferth and Sandberg 2001; Larson and Verma 1999;
Table 1 Characteristics of sample.
Porterfield and Winkler 2007; Voydanoff 2004) and may be
School days Sundays All days
relevant to Canadian youth as well. The questionnaire did
not include questions about parental socio-economic status
Age 12 14
or income because students may not have been able to
Females 286 (23.2) 220 (24.0) 506 (23.5)
accurately assess or report on these factors.
Males 264 (21.3) 187 (20.4) 451 (20.9)
Age 15 19
Females 343 (27.7) 266 (29.0) 609 (28.3)
Males 344 (27.8) 244 (26.6) 588 (27.3)
Results
Total 1,237 (100.0) 917 (100.0) 2,154 (100.0)
The results of the analyses are grouped according to three
N=2,154.
Number (percent).
main categories of time allocation: total workload, personal
348 Sex Roles (2008) 58:342 357
needs, and free time. Mean time spent in these activities, is and 43 min for older boys and 9 h and 42 min for older
presented separately for school days and Sundays and broken girls). Even though older adolescent males spent less time
down by gender for each of the two age groups. T-tests for doing homework, they spent more time in class and
independent samples are used to test the significance of the travelling to school.
gender and age differences and two-way ANOVAs were Given that substantial gender differences have been
used to test for the effects on time use of age and gender and found in time devoted to domestic work among adults and
their interaction for those activity domains for which this pattern was expected to be more strongly established in
significant adult gender differences have been reported in older teens, two-way ANOVAs were used to determine if
the literature. This approach allows a direct test of the age and gender differences among the adolescents increased
gender intensification hypothesis. Time pressure is analyzed with age. For school days, no main effect for age was found
and discussed separately from time use since the experience but there is a significant main effect for gender with girls
of time differs from time allocation. Initially, regression spending more time doing domestic work. The significant
analyses are presented that control for variables that might interaction effect for age and gender suggests that most of
effect the influence of gender and age on time use. the significant gender difference is accounted for by the
difference between females and males in the older age
Regression Results for Time Use Controlling group (see Table 3). Older girls spent significantly more
for Other Variables time on domestic work (30 min compared to 18 min for
older boys) on school days. The gender difference for the
With regard to gendered activity domains of the adult 12 to 14 years olds is small and non-significant (29 min for
population, the regression results support the findings that girls and 25 min for boys). Consequently, it appears that as
personal care and free time are indeed gendered on both teens get older, the asymmetrical gender pattern of domestic
school days and Sundays even when age, family composi- activity on school days begins to resemble that of the adult
tion, parental employment and busyness, and students population.
grades are controlled for. Domestic work appears to be On Sundays younger girls had a significantly higher
influenced most by gender on Sundays only and the amount combined workload than younger boys, with the boys
of homework is affected by age and interestingly by having just two-thirds of the combined total workload of
students grade average much more than by gender. the girls, resulting in a gender gap of 57 min (see Table 4).
Regression analysis of school day domestic work shows, The gender gap in combined total workload for the 15
for example, that the only factor to significantly affect time 19 year old males and females was 36 min. Although not as
spent in domestic activity is grade average. Students with large as for the younger age group, it was also significant.
lower grades helped more around the house than students For both age groups on Sundays, girls spent significantly
with a higher level of academic achievement (²=-.09, more time on homework than boys and the gender gap was
p=.033 for younger teens; ²=-.09, p=.027 for older teens). similar for both age groups.
Girls did spend more time than boys on domestic work on With respect to the amount of domestic activity, there
school days but when the other variables were controlled appears to a substantial difference for younger students
this difference was not significant (²=.07, p=.087). On across school days and Sundays. Whereas younger boys
Sundays, a different picture emerged. Older teens spent less time in this activity increased from 25 min on school days
time helping around the house and teens in families where to 32 min on Sundays, younger girls time increased from
both parents were employed helped more, but gender still 29 min on school days to 1 h and 7 min on Sundays. Older
had the strongest effect on time spent in domestic activities teens also increased their domestic activity time on Sundays
(²=.17, pd".001). compared to school days (from 18 min on school days to
24 min on Sundays for older boys, and from 30 min on
Total Workload school days to 42 min on Sundays for older girls). These
time use levels indicate that on Sundays the amount of time
Total workload is comprised of school-related time (attend- spent on domestic activities by younger teens and girls was
ing classes, homework, and travelling to and from school), greater than time spent by older teens and boys, but that
part-time employment, and domestic work. Among youn- among the older teens the gender differences were
ger adolescents, the total workload on school days for girls considerably smaller. The results of the age/gender
is higher than for boys by 31 min (see Table 2). Much of ANOVA for Sunday domestic activity supports the signif-
this difference is in domestic work and in school-related icance of this pattern with significant main effects found for
time, where in the latter activity girls spend significantly both age and gender (see Table 5). There was also a
more time on homework. Older students total workload on significant interaction effect indicating that gender was
school days is almost identical for males and females (9 h significantly less influential among older teens. Likely the
Sex Roles (2008) 58:342 357 349
349
Table 2 Time use on school days by age and gender (grand means hours and minutes per day).
12 14 years 15 19 years
Boys Girls Gender Boys Girls Gender
N = 264 286 Gap* 344 343 Gap*
School related time 8:13 8:42 +0:29* 8:57 8:41 -0:16
Attending classes/at school 6:21 6:29 +0:08* 6:38 6:17 -0:21*
Homework, after school lectures 1:15 1:38 +0:23* 1:36 1:46 +0:10*
Travelling to/from school 0:37 0:36 -0:01 0:43 0:38 -0:05
Paid work including travel 0:08 0:07 -0:01 0:28 0:31 +0:03
Domestic work including travel 0:25 0:29 +0:04 0:18 0:30 +0:12*
Total workload 8:46 9:17 +0:31* 9:43 9:42 -0:01
Personal needs 9:37 9:44 +0:07 8:41 9:04 +0:23*
Sleep 8:29 8:09 -0:20* 7:21 7:30 +0:09
Eating at home 0:39 0:39 0:00 0:42 0:39 -0:03
Personal care 0:39 0:56 +0:17* 0:38 0:55 +0:17*
Voluntary organizations 0:01 0:02 +0:01* 0:04 0:07 +0:03*
Religious activities 0:03 0:04 +0:01 0:02 0:03 +0:01
Free time 5:31 4:49 -0:42* 5:21 4:56 -0:25*
Watching TV and video 1:30 1:12 -0:18* 1:22 1:11 -0:11*
Reading 0:15 0:19 +0:04 0:14 0:15 +0:01
Social leisure 1:24 1:32 +0:08* 1:19 1:39 +0:20*
Physically active leisure 0:53 0:33 -0:20* 0:31 0:29 -0:02
Movies, music and entertainment 0:03 0:05 +0:02 0:08 0:07 +0:01
Hobbies 0:09 0:15 +0:06* 0:16 0:18 +0:02
Rest and relaxation 0:11 0:05 -0:06* 0:14 0:14 0:00
General computer use and surfing 0:30 0:38 +0:08* 0:44 0:36 -0:08*
Computer games 0:35 0:09 -0:26* 0:35 0:06 -0:29*
Unspecified time 0:03 0:04 +0:01 0:09 0:07 -0:02
Total 24:00 24:00 0:00 24:00 24:00 0:00
The gender gap is the difference in minutes of girls time use compared to boys .
*Significant within age group at the pd".05 level using Independent Samples t-test for Equality of Means.
greater demands of homework and paid employment in the sales and service sector, including retail sales, fast
experienced by both male and female older teens reduces food and other restaurants. The only sectors in which boys
the size of the gender difference compared to younger more frequently worked were entertainment/recreation and
teens. However, the significant gender differences within agriculture or industry.
both age groups indicate the disproportionately heavy
domestic workload for girls persists, especially when time Personal Needs
is less structured by the rhythm of the school day.
There was no significant difference according to gender Activities included in personal needs were time spent
for time spent in paid employment on either school days or sleeping, eating at home, and in personal care. There was
Sundays (see Tables 2, 3, 4 and 5). As expected, there was no significant difference between girls and boys in time
a significant main effect for age on both school days and spent sleeping on school days. On Sundays, when all teens
Sundays with 15 19 year olds spending much more time appeared to catch up on their sleep, 12 14 year olds slept
working for pay than 12 14 year olds. No interaction effect about a half hour longer than the older age group, and
for age and gender was found for time spent in paid males slightly longer than females. There was no significant
employment on either school days or Sundays. Some difference according to time spent eating at home on either
interesting gender differences were found in numbers of Sundays or school days.
teens reporting various types of paid work (see Table 6). The most obvious gender difference was in time allotted
Younger adolescent females were involved primarily in to personal care. For both age groups on school days and
babysitting, although a few had paper routes. Boys most Sundays girls spent significantly more time on personal
often delivered newspapers or, if living in rural areas, care than boys (see Tables 2 and 4). Although more time
helped out on the farm. Among older teens, girls were less was devoted to personal care by males and females on
involved in babysitting and were more likely to have jobs school days, it was almost identical for both age groups.
350 Sex Roles (2008) 58:342 357
Table 3 Relationship between time spent in selected activity domains (minutes per day), gender and age on school days.
Source of variation Sum of squares Df Mean square FP
Domestic activity
Main effects
Age 1,733.723 1 1733.723 1.071 .301
Gender 17,841.477 1 17841.477 11.026 .001
Interaction effect
Age and gender 4,054.732 1 4,054.732 2.506 .004
Error 2,000,048.225 1,236 1,618.162
Employment
Main effects
Age 149,808.529 1 149,808.529 30.67 .000
Gender 268.849 1 268.849 .055 .815
Interaction effect
Age and gender 1,308.988 1 1,308.988 .268 .605
Error 6,037,275.932 1,236 4,884.527
Personal care
Main effects
Age 390.853 1 390.853 .495 .482
Gender 85,937.171 1 85,937.171 108.792 .000
Interaction effect
Age and gender 22.843 1 22.843 .029 .864
Error 976,343.702 1,236 789.922
Free time
Main effects
Age 101.171 1 101.171 .006 .937
Gender 348,410.446 1 348,410.446 21.270 .000
Interaction effect
Age and gender 23,605.345 1 23,605.345 1.441 .023
Error 20,246,585.096 1,236 16,380.732
Significant effect attributable to variable/interaction at .05 level.
Both younger and older boys spent almost 40 min on younger age group had 5 h and 31 min of free time
personal care whereas girls spent almost an hour. Similarly, compared to 4 h and 49 min for girls, creating a gender gap
on Sundays when personal care time decreased, there was of 42 min. Among older teens, girls had 4 h and 56 min of
little difference according to age. Younger and older males free time whereas boys had 5 h and 21 min, creating a
spent 22 and 28 min, respectively whereas younger girls gender gap of 25 min.
devoted 39 min to personal care and older girls, 41 min. On Sundays, the significant main effect of gender for
The ANOVAs for personal care on school days and free time was due to younger boys having 1 h and 27 min
Sundays confirmed that there was a strong significant main more free time than younger girls and older boys having
effect for gender, but not for age, and no interaction effects 54 min more than older girls. Also, the significant main
were found (see Tables 3 and 5). effect for age reflects the finding that younger teens had
more free time than older teens, which was not unexpected
Free Time considering that the 12 14 year olds had fewer employment
or homework demands (see Tables 4 and 5). No significant
On school days, the two-way ANOVA for time spent in free interaction effect was found. These gender differences are
time activities indicates that the age main effect is not consistent with adult time use patterns where men have
significant but that the gender main effect is significant (see significantly more free time than women.
Table 3). In fact, the gender differences in the amount of Time spent engaged in some free time activities differed
free time reported by both the younger and older age groups according to gender, while time spent in others, such as
were significant (see Table 2). A significant age and gender going to the movies, was similar for boys and girls.
interaction effect was also found and is explained by the Teenage boys watched more television than girls, with
finding that the differences between boys and girls were younger boys spending the most time doing so on Sundays
more pronounced among the younger teens. Boys in this (2 h, 22 min) and school days (1 h, 30 min) (see Tables 2
Sex Roles (2008) 58:342 357 351
351
Table 4 Time use on Sundays by age and gender (grand means hours and minutes per day).
12 14 years 15 19 years
Boys Girls Gender Boys Girls Gender
N = 187 220 Gap* 244 266 Gap*
Total workload 1:51 2:48 +0:57* 3:00 3:36 +0:36*
Homework 1:10 1:28 +0:18* 1:57 2:14 +0:17*
Paid work including travel 0:09 0:13 +0:04 0:39 0:40 +0:01
Domestic work including travel 0:32 1:07 +0:35* 0:24 0:42 +0:18*
Personal needs 12:02 12:15 +0:13 11:52 11:53 +0:01
Sleep 10:24 10:16 -0:08 10:05 9:52 -0:13
Eating at home 1:16 1:20 +0:04 1:19 1:20 +0:01
Personal care 0:22 0:39 +0:17* 0:28 0:41 +0:13*
Voluntary organizations 0:00 0:03 +0:03* 0:00 0:09 +0:09*
Religious activities 0:19 0:31 +0:12* 0:15 0:22 +0:07*
Free time 9:31 8:04 -1:27* 8:30 7:36 -0:54*
Watching TV and video 2:22 2:14 -0:08 2:03 1:56 -0:07
Reading 0:20 0:27 +0:07* 0:26 0:29 +0:03
Social leisure 2:16 2:31 +0:15* 2:13 2:35 +0:12*
Physically active leisure 1:40 1:01 -0:39* 0:55 0:24 -0:31*
Movies, music and entertainment 0:04 0:06 +0:02 0:06 0:11 +0:05*
Hobbies 0:16 0:15 -0:01 0:17 0:10 -0:07*
Rest and relaxation 0:30 0:13 -0:17* 0:21 0:26 +0:05
General computer use and surfing 0:51 0:53 +0:02 1:13 1:13 0:00
Computer games 1:11 0:25 -0:46* 0:55 0:12 -0:43*
Unspecified time 0:06 0:07 +0:01 0:09 0:04 -0:05
Total Travel 0:11 0:12 +0:01 0:15 0:22 +0:07*
Total 24:00 24:00 0:00 24:00 24:00 0:00
The gender gap is the difference in minutes of girls time use compared to boys .
*Significant within age group at the pd".05 level using Independent Samples t-test for Equality of Means.
and 4). While the difference for television viewing was both age groups (see Table 4). Younger males spent 2 h and
significant on school days, it was not on Sundays (see 16 min in social leisure compared to 2 h and 31 min for
Tables 2 and 4). The older teenage girls spent the least younger girls on Sundays. For older boys, the
amount of time watching television on both school days corresponding figure was 2 h and 13 min and for older
and Sundays. Generally, boys spent more time in physical girls it was 2 h and 35 min.
activities than girls. It was especially noticeable among Free-time computer use was divided into two broad
younger teens where girls spent 33 min compared to boys categories: general computer use and surfing (including
53 min on school days, and on Sundays younger girls spent ICQ/MSN and chat room activities), and computer gaming.
1 h and 1 min compared to 1 h and 40 min for younger There was almost no difference between males and females
boys. The gender gap for physically active leisure was not for general computer use on Sundays but there were
significant for older teens on school days but was significant gender differences on school days. Younger
significant on Sundays when boys spent 55 min compared girls spent more time in this activity than boys (38 min for
to 24 min for girls. younger girls compared to 30 min for younger boys) but
Social leisure was another area where a gender gap was interestingly, the reverse was true for the 15 19 year olds
found although it was not as substantial as for physical (44 min for older boys compared to 36 min for older girls).
activity. Girls socialized significantly more with friends and However, computer gaming had a distinct gender pattern.
family than boys in both age categories on school days and On school days, older and younger boys spent the same
Sundays. The greatest difference in social leisure time was amount of time playing computer games (35 min) whereas
between boys and girls in the older age group on school both age groups of girls spent less than 10 min. On
days when older girls spent 1 h and 39 min in social leisure Sundays, girls increased time spent playing computer
compared to 1 h and 19 min for older boys (see Table 2). games but the gender gap remained substantial. Younger
On Sundays, the gender difference was very similar for girls spent 25 min playing computer games compared to
352 Sex Roles (2008) 58:342 357
Table 5 Relationship between time spent in selected activity domains (minutes per day), gender and age on Sundays.
Source of variation Sum of squares Df Mean square FP
Domestic activity
Main effects
Age 66,762.215 1 66,762.215 14.237 .000
Gender 162,065.760 1 162,065.76 34.559 .000
Interaction effect
Age and gender 20,783.772 1 20,783.772 4.432 .036
Error 4,290,894.606 915 4,689.502
Employment
Main effects
Age 181,623.059 1 181,623.059 19.770 .000
Gender 1,024.750 1 1,024.75 .112 .738
Interaction effect
Age and gender 277.290 1 277.29 .030 .862
Error 8,405,831.160 915 9,186.701
Personal care
Main effects
Age 3,223.393 1 3,223.393 2.887 .090
Gender 51,873.656 1 51,873.656 46.463 .000
Interaction effect
Age and gender 1,730.858 1 1,730.858 1.550 .213
Error 1,021,552.805 915 1,116.451
Free time
Main effects
Age 461,971.575 1 461,971.575 15.783 .000
Gender 1,092,746.080 1 1,092,746.08 37.333 .000
Interaction effect
Age and gender 277.290 1 277.290 .030 .862
Error 26,782,026.133 915 29,269.974
Significant effect attributable to variable/interaction at .05 level.
younger boys who spent 1 h and 11 min. Similarly, older throughout the week (see Tables 2 and 4). For the older age
girls spent 12 min on this activity compared to older boys group, there was no significant difference for time spent in
who spent 55 min playing computer games. rest and relaxation. It was equal for males and females on
Rest and relaxation show mixed results. Younger boys school days and just 5 min longer for boys on Sundays.
spent significantly more time relaxing than younger girls Other free time activities varied according to age and
Table 6 Category of employment by age and gender (percentage of employed students).
Ages 12 14 Ages 15 19
Male Female Total Male Female Total
Babysitting 3.2 27.7 30.9 1.0 2.7 3.6
Paper route 16.5 8.3 24.8 1.4 1.7 3.1
Sales/retail 5.4 5.0 10.4 14.7 19.8 34.5
Home/with family member 4.7 3.6 8.3 .7 2.7 3.4
Agriculture/industry 6.1 1.1 7.2 2.2 1.0 3.1
Entertainment/recreation 3.6 3.2 6.8 7.2 5.6 12.8
Fast food restaurant 1.1 1.4 2.5 7.2 11.4 18.6
Other restaurant 1.1 1.1 2.2 2.4 5.3 7.7
Clinic/nursing home .7 .4 1.1 .5 2.9 3.4
Cafeteria .4 .0 .4 .0 .2 .2
Other 3.2 2.2 5.4 4.6 4.8 9.4
Total 46.0 54.0 100.0 42.0 58.0 100.0
Sex Roles (2008) 58:342 357 353
353
Table 7 Relationship between feelings of time pressure, gender and age.
Source of variation Sum of squares df Mean square FP
Time pressure
Main effects
Age 743.247 1 743.247 58.848 .000
Gender 554.346 1 554.346 43.892 .000
Interaction effect
Age and gender 56.214 1 56.214 4.451 .035
Error 28,859.197 2,285 12.630
Significant effect attributable to variable/interaction at .05 level.
gender but no distinctive patterns were evident on either Discussion
school days or Sundays.
The results of this study show that time use patterns for
Time Pressure adolescent males and females are very similar to Canadian
adults. On weekdays, when structural constraints on time
Perceptions of time pressure were affected significantly by allocation are greater, older teens time use patterns are
both age and gender and a significant interaction effect was more consistent than younger teens with gendered patterns
also found (see Table 7). Feelings of time pressure were of adults. School day patterns, therefore, substantiate the
significantly higher among girls and older teens. Of a gender intensification hypothesis that behavior will become
possible score ranging from 2 to 20 on the time pressure more similar to adult gender roles as teens become older.
index, the younger boys mean score was 13.4 compared to On Sundays, when there are greater amounts of discretion-
14.1 for girls. Among older teens mean time pressure ary time, there was less evidence of  intensifying gender
increased to 14.2 for boys and 15.5 for girls. Not only is the role behavior, but time use patterns for both age groups are
level of perceived time pressure greater for girls compared similar to traditional masculine and feminine gender
to boys and greater for older adolescents but the gender gap schema. All of the categories identified as indicative of a
widens significantly with age as well (see Fig. 1). gendered behavior pattern among adults were mirrored by
Fig. 1 Perceived time pressure
16.00
by age group and gender.
Male
15.52
15.50
Female
15.00
14.50
Mean Score
14.22
(2 - 20)
14.00
14.06
13.50
13.39
13.00
12.50
12.00
12 to 14 years 15 to 19 years
Age Group
354 Sex Roles (2008) 58:342 357
adolescents with the exception of time spent in paid and parents perceptions of appropriate work for males and
employment. This supports the claim of West and females. It may also suggest larger, but hidden societal
Zimmerman (1987) that,  a person s gender is not simply constraints that restricted opportunities for teens to obtain
an aspect of what one is, but, more fundamentally, it is work in gender atypical jobs.
something that one does, [sic] and does recurrently, in The unequal division of domestic labor for adults was
interaction with others (p.140). Accordingly, as adolescents reproduced among adolescents according to ascribed
progress toward adulthood the implications of the gender gap behavioral expectations of males and females, socialized
in time use need to be considered on a broader societal level. according to different gender schema. Allocation of time to
In some activity categories the gender gap was consistent domestic activities confirmed that like their adult counter-
between males and females from an early age. For instance, parts, female adolescents have greater responsibilities than
time spent on personal care was strongly associated with males for household labor. The gender intensification
gender, regardless of age. Cultural norms that emphasize a hypothesis suggests that the gap should be widest among
focus on appearance for girls and women are particularly older teens as they prepare for adult roles. While this was
strong and are reflected in greater amounts of time spent on true on school days, older students showed a decrease in
personal care, especially on school days. Attention to time spent on domestic activities on Sundays and the
personal appearance and physical beauty among girls is gender difference became less pronounced. This is likely
part of the feminine gender schema as well as an important attributable to the substantial increase in time spent in paid
aspect of  doing gender that is well developed even in employment, which has also been noted in the findings of
early adolescence. Conversely, not devoting as much time Gager et al. (1999) and Shanahan and Flaherty (2001).
to personal care fits a masculine gender schema for both Even though it was expected that girls would spend
age groups of boys. more time on domestic activities than boys, the magnitude
Consistent with expectations based on structural deter- of the gender gap among younger teens on Sundays was
minants of employment, older teens were more likely to be rather surprising. While there may be some negotiation of
juggling part-time jobs with their school work and other domestic responsibilities by adolescents, power dynamics
obligations and interests. Unlike adults, equal labor force within families are such that parents are usually responsible
participation by teenage girls is expected since they do not for assigning household chores since children are seldom
yet have the additional caregiving and household respon- proactive in this regard. Therefore, although adults may
sibilities of many adult women. Similarly, most adolescent express societal values of gender equality, the much heavier
boys have not yet acquired a  breadwinner role, so the domestic workload during early adolescence for daughters,
impetus for increasing their time in paid labor is largely at least on the weekend, shows that publicly expressed
absent. From a gender perspective, more revealing than the values do not necessarily match actions in the private
amount of time in paid employment was how work-related sphere. As Gershuny (2004) has indicated, this can have a
time was experienced in terms of employment activities and detrimental influence on girls future opportunities in terms
location. Younger girls most often worked as babysitters of marketable skills and income, even though Western
whose primary responsibility was caring for younger societal norms suggest a more egalitarian approach to the
children in private homes. Boys, however, usually worked division of labor. Moreover, this differential socialization
outside the domestic environment, consistent with mascu- process leads to a heavier domestic workload for females
line employment characteristics. Even though either gender that continues in adult life (Bianchi et al. 2006; Sayer
would be capable of any of the part-time jobs pursued by 2005), leaving women to contend with the  second shift
younger adolescents (and, indeed, there were a few male (see Hochschild 1989).
babysitters and female newspaper carriers), the  feminine While male adolescents spent less time in domestic
or  masculine typing of these part-time jobs is evident and activity, they had more time for leisure. It may be that the
reflective of adult roles where women are more involved gender schema for males includes a sense of entitlement to
with private, home-based, care giving activities, and men leisure, whereas for girls there is a notion that leisure is
with the public, outside world of work. residual, or something that happens after other obligations
Similar patterns were observed for the 15 19 year olds. have been met. This perception has been observed among
Older teenage girls were over-represented in the sales and adult women (see Kay 1998; Shaw et al. 2003) and it may
service, fast food, and restaurant sectors and under- be that the adolescent girls in the study had internalized this
represented in the entertainment/recreation and agricultural attitude as well. The gender gap in leisure narrows with age
sectors. Again, this may be indicative of gendered as teens contend with greater employment and academic
perceptions of job categories by the adolescents themselves, responsibilities but as with adult women, and consistent
or it may have been the result of opportunities made with the gender intensification hypothesis, older teenage
available to teenage girls and boys because of employers girls have less free time than their younger counterparts.
Sex Roles (2008) 58:342 357 355
355
Time spent in physical activity corresponds to established tions about societal expectations and gendered behaviors
trends among the adult population. Additionally, like adults that reproduce unequal allocations of committed and free
whose participation in physically active leisure declines with time in adolescence, and which may subsequently influence
age, there was a similar decrease in physical activity time for different experiences of time use and time pressure among
older adolescents. On school days the gender gap was not men and women in adulthood.
significant, which may suggest relatively equal opportunities There are some limitations of the study that should be
to participate in physical activity and sport through school. acknowledged. The cross-sectional rather than longitudinal
On Sundays when it was significant, girls may be more design of the study limits any conclusive testing of the
constrained by a higher total workload, perhaps fewer gender intensification hypothesis. While we can know the
opportunities within the community, and a real or perceived behaviors of each age cohort, we do not follow the time use
lack of support from families and peers. Categories of sport, patterns of the same group as they become older.
like types of employment, have strong gender associations. Furthermore, while the findings support both gender
Of interest in future studies in relation to  doing gender schema theory and the concept of  doing gender, what
would be to examine the amount of time devoted to more remains unclear is which socialization agents might be
typically feminine pursuits such as dance, figure skating, and exerting the strongest influence on teen s time use. During
fitness classes or  masculine types of activities like hockey, the week, presumably the structure of the school day
football and rugby. imposes certain temporal opportunities and constraints.
The large gender difference in time spent playing Nevertheless, expectations of parents, peers, and media
computer games extends the findings of earlier research messages also interact to influence behavior. On Sundays,
(Anderson 2002; Erin Research Inc. 2003; Roberts and these factors become even stronger determinants in percep-
Foehr 2004; Todd and Currie 2004) where male adolescents tions of choice in time allocation. Of interest also would be
in both age groups spent longer hours than females engaged teens experiences of control over their time. Time control
in computer gaming during free time. Again, the nature of would have implications for better understanding the
the games was not available, but considering the over- experience of time pressure as well as whether gendered
whelming number of stereotypical masculine qualities activities are chosen by the individuals themselves, or
associated with many of the most popular computer games, whether they were considered obligatory. This type of
it is likely that content reinforced and reproduced a research could also allow greater insight into social pressure
masculine schema. Access to leisure as well as the type of for gender conformity among teens of different age groups.
the activities pursued is an important part of  doing Finally, while this study is meant to contribute to research
gender, especially when considering the amount of time on Canadian adolescents, the sample of schools was non-
spent on computer gaming by boys, and the disproportion- random and drawn from only one province. Future research
ate amount of time allocated by girls to computer-mediated would benefit from a broader geographic distribution of
social leisure through MSN/ICQ activities. respondents in order to represent the many regional and
Previous research has shown that time pressure is cultural differences within Canada.
experienced more acutely by adult women than men
(Mattingly and Sayer 2006; Zuzanek 2004) and by older Conclusion
adolescent girls more so than boys (Zuzanek 2000).
Similarly, female students of both age groups in this study Analyses of adolescents show that gender differences in the
reported significantly higher levels of time pressure than use and experience of time are evident in early adolescence
males. No doubt adding to the sense of time pressure was and are culturally sanctioned and reinforced as part of the
girls comparative lack of leisure time and greater time dominant gender schema. This phenomenon was particu-
expenditure on domestic activities, homework, and paid larly noticeable in the reproduction of masculine and
employment obligations which generally increased with feminine behavior through time spent on personal care,
age. It may also be that prevailing gender schema expressed types of paid employment, leisure, and domestic activities.
through different parental expectations and/or greater During the school week when time is more structured,
monitoring of girls activities and whereabouts contributes gender differences are less common especially among
to adolescent girls decreased autonomy over their use of younger adolescents. On Sundays, however, with greater
time, which can also lead to increased feelings of time discretionary time, time use patterns are much more
pressure. Considering the levels of time pressure experi- consistent with gender typical adult patterns. There is
enced by adult women, choice of activity and control of mixed support for the gender intensification hypothesis.
time is an area that merits further attention in future Inconsistent with expectations based on the hypothesis, the
research on children and adolescents. It also raises ques- gender gap in free time decreased rather than increased for
356 Sex Roles (2008) 58:342 357
older adolescents. Additionally, the gap narrowed for older Galambos, N. (2004). Gedner and gender role development in
adolescence. In R. M. Lerner & L. Steinberg (Eds.), Handbook
teens domestic activities on Sundays rather than expanded.
of adolescent psychology ((pp. 233 262)2nd.nd ed.). Hoboken,
On school days, however, in support of the hypothesis,
NJ: John Wiley & Sons, Inc.
older girls did perform greater amounts of domestic activity
Gershuny, J. (2004). Time, through the life course, in the family. In
J. Scott, J. Treas, & M. Richards (Eds.), The Blackwell
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companion to the sociology of families (pp. 158 173). Malden,
during adolescence is also contingent on external factors
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such as school and employment that structure daily and
Hill, J. P., & Lynch, M. E. (1983). The intensification of gender-related
weekly routines. Throughout the week, girls experienced
role expectations during early adolescence. In J. Brooks-Gunn &
A. C. Petersen (Eds.), Girls at puberty: Biological and psychoso-
higher levels of time pressure than boys. The significant
cial perspectives (pp. 201 228). New York, NY: Plenum.
gender gap in time pressure is apparent during early
Hochschild, A. (1989). The second shift: Working parents and the
adolescence and intensifies with age. Even though substan-
revolution at home. New York, N.Y.: Viking.
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spend their time. Journal of Marriage and Family, 63,
recent decades, patterns of time use among youth indicate
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Iso-Ahola, S. E. (1999). Motivational foundations of leisure. In E. L.
adherence to traditional gender behavior. Although some
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Jacobs, J. A., & Gerson, K. (2004). The time divide: work, family, and
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gender inequality. Cambridge, MA: Harvard University Press.
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among Canadians. women s lifestyles in time-crunched households. Loisir Et
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Acknowledgements The authors would like to thank the Social
P. Tolan & B. Cohler (Eds.), Handbook of clinical research and
Sciences and Humanities Research Council of Canada and the
practice with adolescents (pp. 125 145). New York, NY: Wiley.
Canadian Institute for Health Information for financial support that
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enabled the collection and analyses of data reported in this article.
time across the world: Work, play and developmental opportu-
nities. Psychological Bulletin, 125, 701 736.
Marshall, K. (2007). The busy lives of teens. Perspectives on Labour
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