The Time Use of Teenagers

Keywords

Adolescents, Family composition, Parental involvement, Teenagers, Time use

Abstract

This paper uses American Time Use Survey (ATUS) data to describe the time use of teenagers ages 15–17, with a focus on activities that may affect teenagers’ well-being such as sleep, eating, schoolwork, and selected leisure activities. We find that teenagers with an employed mother spend less time on homework and computers, are less likely to eat with parents, but spend more time in supervised activities. Teenagers with a single mother spend more time in paid work, are less likely to eat dinner with their parent, and spend more time in unsupervised activities, but they also get more sleep. Adolescents with more educated mothers spend more time studying and on the computer, less time watching television, and are more likely to eat dinner with parents. Family income correlates positively with teenagers’ paid work, homework, computer use, and the likelihood of eating with parents, but is negatively associated with sleep. Family size is positively related to time spent in caregiving activities, sleep, and eating with parents, but is associated with less computer use.

Original Publication Citation

Wight, Suzanne; Suzanne Bianchi, Joseph Price, and Bijou Hunt. “Teenage Time Use” Social Science Research, 38(4): 792-806, 2009

Document Type

Peer-Reviewed Article

Publication Date

2009

Publisher

Elsevier

Language

English

College

Family, Home, and Social Sciences

Department

Economics

University Standing at Time of Publication

Associate Professor

Link to Full Text

Share

COinS