Leisure and Youth Development: Self-Management, Contexts, Perception of Guaranteed Rights and Wellbeing

Dear Colleagues,

The Special Issue of Youth, entitled “Leisure and Youth Development: Self-Management, Contexts, Perception of Guaranteed Rights and Wellbeing”, invites authors to explore the role of leisure in the construction of well-being, autonomy, and active citizenship among young people.

Far from being understood as a simple time of rest or escape, leisure is an educational, relational, and emotional space that is key to integral development and quality of life. In the youth stage, leisure acquires a formative and social value that has a direct impact on well-being, identity, self-realisation, and social integration. Drawing on an interdisciplinary approach that integrates sociology, leisure pedagogy, positive psychology, self-determination theory, and youth studies, this Special Issue seeks to bring together theoretical, empirical and applied research that analyses how leisure experiences can promote psychological and social well-being, personal autonomy, and positive youth development.

The following thematic axes will be addressed in this publication:

• Leisure as a human right and as an essential dimension of youth well-being.
• Personal and social competences linked to the self-management of leisure: autonomy, intrinsic motivation, creativity, emotional self-regulation.
• Leisure education as a means of empowerment and vital learning.
• Relationship between self-management of leisure and well-being, life satisfaction and leisure satisfaction
• The role of family, educational and community contexts in the promotion of healthy and meaningful leisure.
• Structural, gender and socio-economic barriers that condition equitable access to leisure.
• Inclusive leisure practices as tools for social cohesion, resilience and citizen participation.
• Socio-educational interventions, public policies and good practices aimed at promoting leisure as a driver of well-being and social transformation.

The purpose of the Issue is to encourage dialogue between research, intervention and public policy, promoting a vision of youth leisure as a means of positive development, democratic participation, and encouraging the construction of more equitable and sustainable communities. This Special Issue is part of a growing body of research on youth well-being, positive development and social rights, but makes a unique contribution by situating leisure as an articulating axis between autonomy, well-being, and citizenship.

Unlike traditional perspectives focused on the occupation of free time or leisure as consumption, this proposal assumes leisure is a space for self-determination, emotional learning and social action, in line with self-determination theory (Deci & Ryan), positive psychology (Seligman), and leisure as a right approaches (UNICEF, United Nations).

The publication will complement the existing literature by deepening our understanding of the relationship between leisure self-management and subjective well-being, assessing the influence of socio-cultural, gender, and economic contexts on youth leisure practices, integrating evidence from mixed and comparative research on normalised and vulnerable youth, and offering models of intervention and leisure policies with an impact on equity and social cohesion. In this way, we aim to consolidate a holistic and inclusive approach to youth leisure as a strategic dimension of interventions supporting personal well-being, mental health, and social sustainability.

Dr. Idurre Lazcano Quintana
Dr. Silvia González Morcillo
Guest Editors

Manuscript Submission Information

Manuscripts should be submitted online at www.mdpi.com by registering and logging in to this website. Once you are registered, click here to go to the submission form. Manuscripts can be submitted until the deadline. All submissions that pass pre-check are peer-reviewed. Accepted papers will be published continuously in the journal (as soon as accepted) and will be listed together on the special issue website. Research articles, review articles as well as short communications are invited. For planned papers, a title and short abstract (about 100 words) can be sent to the Editorial Office for announcement on this website.

Submitted manuscripts should not have been published previously, nor be under consideration for publication elsewhere (except conference proceedings papers). All manuscripts are thoroughly refereed through a single-blind peer-review process. A guide for authors and other relevant information for submission of manuscripts is available on the Instructions for Authors page. Youth is an international peer-reviewed open access quarterly journal published by MDPI.

Please visit the Instructions for Authors page before submitting a manuscript. The Article Processing Charge (APC) for publication in this open access journal is 1200 CHF (Swiss Francs). Submitted papers should be well formatted and use good English. Authors may use MDPI's English editing service prior to publication or during author revisions.

• youth leisure
• well-being
• positive development
• autonomy
• self-management of leisure
• youth participation
• leisure education
• right to leisure
• social inclusion
• positive leisure