FREE TIME AND SOCIAL RELATIONSHIPS IN A GROUP OF STUDENTS FROM TWO HIGH SCHOOLS IN BOTOSANI COUNTY
Introduction: it is necessary to assess the way students spend their free time in the final years of high school due to the poor results that have appeared recently in the baccalaureate exams. Methods: the study was carried out using a group of 202 students from the 11th and 12th grades from a National College (117 pupils) and a High School (85 pupils) from the city of Dorohoi, Botosani County. The young people filled in a questionnaire with questions about leisure activities and social relationships. The results were processed using Pearson's chi-squared test. Results and discussions: The time allocated daily for physical activity is mostly 15-30 minutes (23.76%) with significant differences between the two schools (p˂0.05). The time spent watching TV is mostly 0.5-1 hours (35.64%) with insignificant differences between grades (p>0.05). Most students (44.05%) do not sit at the computer, the calculated differences being statistically insignificant (p>0.05). When looking at social relationships we take into account friends, where in the majority of cases (32.4%) students have „one” true friend. This is a usual result because in this period of the adolescent's life the role the group of friends plays decreases, with significant differences between school years (p˂0.05). In their free time, they go out into town, mostly 2-3 evenings per week (28.71%), but there are also 31.68% negative answers. Parents are less concerned about school activity (“never” answers – 34.15%) with significant differences between grades (p˂0.01). Parents are also less concerned with the way their children spend their free time (“never” answers – 34.65%) with significant differences between school years (p˂0.05). Conclusions: there is a series of situations that guide us towards a modest concern for the future, both from students and their parents.