International Journal of Research in Social Sciences

The purpose of this qualitative research study was to explore how living arrangements in co-residence may affect older adults’ leisure engagement. This study was guided by a collectivism versus individualism approach focusing on gender differences. The methodology chosen was grounded theory and in-depth interviews with a semi-structured protocol were used. A total of eleven Mexican older adults took part in this study, seven women and four males. After the data were analyzed, four core themes emerged: (1) Living arrangements in co-residence influence older adults’ self-determination in their leisure engagement, (2)women, in comparison with men, prefer to fulfill their need for relatedness with household members in their leisure engagement, (3) men and women explicitly mentioned that having company from household members is desirable when engaging in some leisure activities outdoors, (4) family members encourage older adults to perform some leisure activities that help to replace negative thoughts, and this improve the emotional health of older adults.