LEISURE UTILIZATION CONSTRAINTS AS PERCEIVED BY UNDERGRADUATE STUDENTS OF UNIVERSITY OF UYO, NIGERIA

The purpose of this study was to investigate leisure utilization constraints as perceived by undergraduate students of University of Uyo. Five indicators were adopted which were lack of self-skill, lack of time, anxiety, academic workload and religious activities. From these, five objectives were formulated with subsequent research questions and hypotheses. The study adopted a survey design with 278 respondents selected from six faculties using stratified and clustered sampling technique. A self-developed questionnaire validated by experts with a reliability co-efficient of .78 was used as the main instrument for data collection. The data generated were analyzed using percentages and mean to answer the research questions, while chi-square statistical tool was used to test the null hypotheses at .05 level of significance. The result of the study revealed that self-skill, lack of time, anxiety, academic workload and religious activities were perceived as significant constraints to leisure utilization among undergraduate students of the University of Uyo. This finding support earlier research work. It was recommended that the school directorate of sport should organized sensitization on available leisure activities requiring little or no special skills, proper scheduling of leisure activities compatible with the school time table, the school should provide a framework for emergency healthcare particularly for sport injuries and individuals should take responsibilities for their own health by enjoying the leisure time. Also, school authority should work in collaboration with various religious leaders within the campus to establish control and effective time management.