OVERVIEW OF THE THEORETICAL FRAMEWORK OF THE MAIN THEMES

The theoretical framework of the main family holiday themes followed from the GTM process and the incorporation of the survey results into the first phase of whole family interviews (Table 3.11). It deepened the analysis of family holiday behaviours based on 110 parents to a whole family experiential dimension based on 10 entire families. This resulted in the development of two overarching themes of family time and own time that overlap to reveal the internal dynamics, and these are further divided into 9 sub-themes. Family time encapsulates the time spent together with the immediate and extended family and includes idealised notions of change of routine, social connectedness, and social identities. In contrast, own time encapsulates freedom from those family commitments to pursue own interests alone or with peers, which includes comparisons with non-family holidays and earlier non-family holidays. The relationship between non-family time and own time leads to the internal family group dynamics of cooperation, compromise, and conflict. The contextual factors when negative (e.g., bad weather) can lead to constraints as explained earlier. Figure 4.7 models the main themes and the internal dynamics and contextual factors present on holiday. This theoretical framework will be used to structure the next two findings chapters of family time and own time on holiday according to generation, gender, and group dynamics. The internal dynamics of cooperation, compromise, and conflict are part of family time but will be discussed under own time as they are more aligned with the pursuit of individual interests.

4.5.1 FAMILTY TIME: TIME SPENT TOGETHER

Togetherness signifies the time spent with the whole and extended family. This social theme is divided into three sub-themes;

 Change of routine is about doing activities that are different from normal and that qualify as quality time with the children. There is a difference between at home, domestic, and an international holiday in that overseas is perceived as more different than New Zealand and going away on a domestic holiday as more different than home-based holidaying. An

 Social connectedness centres on establishing social relationships with loved ones, including VFR, and is a time for (re)connecting as well as providing support for each other. It can also contain elements of social obligation in that this is tied to responsibilities rather than free choice.

 Social identities are established through shared memories and through guiding the next generation. Family holidays are part of this tradition of generativity and creating positive collective memories.

4.5.2 OWN TIME: FREEDOM FROM FAMILY COMMITMENTS

Own time signifies time to pursue one’s own interests away from family commitments. This more individual theme is divided into three sub-themes:

 Own interests are about spending time alone doing activities that are relaxing and that one is passionate about.

 Peer time is about spending time amongst the peer group and within one’s generation: couple time and time with other adults for the parents, and time with their siblings and friends for the children.

 Comparisons have two components: it is about comparing the amount of own time and one’s sense of entitlement relative to the age of the children and compared with non-family holidays. This means that both parents and children make demands for having their own time as the children get older. Thus, in comparisons, own time is linked to an age differential of the children and to non-family travelling.

 Cooperation, compromise, and conflict are part of the internal group dynamics resulting from negotiations between the main themes but more closely connected with the independent interests sought in own time.

Cooperation is facilitated mainly through the social support network of extended family as one way to allow parents and children to pursue their own interests independently from each other. Compromise signifies the relationship between the main themes in that both notions of time are regularly sought. Accommodating both notions of time can lead to conflict if there is an imbalance for some family members, such as if own time is sought while being pressured by the demands of the rest of the family.

The contextual factors like weather can accentuate or minimise these internal dynamics. They were discussed earlier as possible constraints that are external rather than central to the family group dynamics. The core aspects of internal dynamics (cooperation, compromise, and conflict) are, then, discussed in chapter 6 and all internal dynamics are revisited in chapter 7. The temporal dimension of pre-, on-, and post-holiday (Figure 3.3) is discussed at the end of chapter 6 after the analysis of the findings according to themes (main and sub-themes) and perspectives (gender, generation, and group dynamics). Temporality as a longitudinal element to family holidays is signified more by a continuation of the main themes and perspectives than distinctions between the stages. This made its overall importance less dominant and more constant than the primary discussion of the thematic and familial perspectives in chapters 5 and 6.

4.6 CONCLUSION

This chapter has provided an exploration of New Zealand family holiday behaviours and related whole family experiential themes across the different methods used. Family time became the main purpose of holidaying, linking parental ideals reflected in the survey with those in the interviews. The addition of children in the interviews extended this theme to include having fun. The family interviews also revealed the internal group dynamics of compromise and conflict.

Together they established a definition of family holidays. The broader contextual factors provided a frame in which family holidays occur, such as bad weather can impinge on the internal family dynamics. The development of the themes based on a deepening analysis from the survey to the experiential familial dimension revealed own time as a key theme reflecting realities on holiday compared with the more idealised theme of family time. In effect, family life is about realising ideals of togetherness while in reality family members also require time that is free from those commitments. This reflects the thematic dualism of family time and own time that overlaps to reveal the internal dynamics (Figure 4.7).

Differentiation according to the main and sub-themes, the familial perspective, and the longitudinal element of the research, thus, provide an understanding of the thematic dynamics between generation, gender, and group over time. Findings

according to the thematic, familial, and temporal dimensions are presented in the next two chapters to reveal the complexity of family living on holiday. It also represents a shift towards the contributions of the participants in their own words.