Leisure Spaces Shared by Grandparents and Grandchildren in Northern Spain

Abstract

Spaces are the backbone of intergenerational leisure interests and experiences. The objective of this research was to examine the spaces used in the practice of leisure shared by grandparents and grandchildren and their link with the geographical area of residence. A cross-sectional telematic survey was carried out in which 357 grandparents with grandchildren between 6 and 12 years of age living in the northern part of Spain participated, and a descriptive study and inferential analysis of the data were carried out. The results revealed that a descriptive and inferential analysis was performed. The preferred space for intergenerational leisure was the home, especially for cultural activities such as board games, watching television, and reading. Associations, municipal spaces (sports centers, cultural centers, playrooms), and educational centers are more frequently used in the inland populations. Residing in urban towns and coastal municipalities implies a greater preference for the use of private leisure spaces. Living in provinces with a wetter, rainy climate is related to more shared leisure practice at home. The possible exceptionality of the current situation, within the framework of COVID-19, which may have led to significant alterations in the grandparent–grandchildren relationship, is discussed, with the consequent need to continue this line of inquiry.

1. Introduction

1.1. Spaces and Leisure

Open, closed, public, or private spaces are privileged places for citizens’ action and community life in the population. The heterogeneity of spaces, as well as of leisure practices, allows people to act and participate and to share, appropriate, and transform, individually and collectively, the spaces that make up each territory [1]. In the configuration of cities, planning, design, and urban architecture are very important when generating the spatial conditions that lead to the promotion of leisure practices, interactions, flows between different generations, exchanges, and intergenerational experiences aimed at enriching the lives of its inhabitants and shaping a more inclusive society [1,2]. The authors of [3] also state that the configuration of a locality is not only influenced by the architectural elements and equipment, as promoters of leisure practices and events, but also that leisure experiences themselves establish the architectural arrangement of the contemporary city, transforming physical spaces into social, experiential, and relational spaces [4].

Previous studies [1,5] highlight that public space is the main backbone of the expression of interests, sociability, exchange processes, and collective experiences. Despite the social and coexistential relevance granted to public space, other authors [6] consider that, due to aspects related to citizen insecurity, public places in cities have become spaces where leisure practices are performed in a harmful and conflictive way. This generates a decrease in opportunities for encounters, socialization, and the development of empathy. The same author asserts that, in the case of cities, private spaces intended for leisure, such as shopping malls or private sports facilities, have become new emerging leisure spaces, especially for older people, who appropriate them as places of significant leisure for social encounters. Aware of the relevance of the potentials of public space, [6] is committed to its recovery for the development of leisure, promoting the improvement of citizen security. In this line, [7] advocate the rescue of culture in the public space, combined with the construction of new habits of coexistence between the different population profiles. This upward trend of commitment to public space in cities to facilitate generational integration must be complemented by people’s use of spaces because they are the ones who grant space its true function and build its meaning [8].

1.2. Intergenerational Relationships and Leisure

The intergenerational relationship between grandparents and grandchildren implies reciprocal processes of influence, exchange, and learning between the two generations, which is more than coinciding in a given space [9,10]. The health status, personal interests, age, gender, social class, as well as the frequency of contact between grandparents and grandchildren or the social plans all influence the essence of these relationships and the shared activities [11]. In particular, leisure, a source of enjoyment and fun, when shared by grandparents and grandchildren, can contribute to strengthening family ties and intergenerational relationships, as well as turning these joint experiences into a source of human development for both generations [12].

Among the leisure practices shared by grandparents and grandchildren before the policies of home isolation and mobility restrictions for the control of COVID-19, those related to playing, outings to the square, or telling stories, conversations, etc., stood out [9,13,14,15], confirming that grandmothers shared tasks related to cooking, reading, and schoolwork with their grandchildren, and grandfathers collaborated with their grandchildren in the use of technology [9]. On another hand, the leisure activities shared the least by grandparents and grandchildren were listening to music, reading, and going on excursions and trips to the countryside or the beach [13,14,15]. A booming activity, but still little researched, is the “Grandtravel” phenomenon, an activity referring to family holidays that contribute to individual and intergenerational well-being [16].

1.3. Intergenerational Spaces Related Factors

In reference to the use of space, either public or private, studies such as those of [17] point out that this depends on the purchasing power of the territories, given that the concentration of cultural infrastructures occurs in areas with more economic resources, forcing areas with fewer resources to take refuge in the domestic space.

In this line, the research of [18] declares that the promotion of artistic, cultural, recreational, sports, etc., proposals in urban public spaces has a positive impact on participation and the improvement of interpersonal relationships. Public spaces represent ideal places for encounters, coexistence, and social interaction between different generations.

These public spaces refer to squares, streets, parks, or promenades, among others, that cities have modernized to turn them into privileged leisure settings, in which significant and satisfactory intergenerational experiences take place, favoring personal and social well-being and generating benefits in social relations, as well as improving quality of life [19,20]. Specifically, the research of [7] points out that the square or the street are spaces of transition and connection between domestic places and the city, which makes it necessary to recognize common urban spaces as socio-ecological assets with transformative power due to their potential to promote the exchange of social, cultural, and natural capital [21].

Studies such as those of [17] indicate that the use of public or private space depends on the purchasing power of the territories, given that the concentration of cultural infrastructures occurs in areas with more economic resources, forcing areas with fewer resources to take refuge in the domestic space.

There is limited research on whether living in metropolitan areas improves the well-being of grandparents and grandchildren [22], although some studies [7,23] explain that, while relationships between generations are maintained and are more solid in the family environment, they can be adapted to public places through the creation of optimal conditions, including specific furniture that generates practices and fosters intergenerational relationships.

There are few studies concerning intergenerational relationships of grandparents and grandchildren that compare the place of residence depending on whether it is rural or urban. Some of these studies showed that rural grandparents are better considered and valued by their relatives; they were also more respected and felt more included in the life of their villages, which led to greater social recognition and a sense of well-being [24]. An investigation in China showed that urban grandparents had better health due to the provision of care to their relatives, and they considered their care of the grandchildren as a reciprocal form of intergenerational exchange rather than an altruistic and emotionally rewarding activity. It was also found that rural grandmothers’ health was the most vulnerable because of the intergenerational care they provided [25].

Considering the spaces shared by grandparents and grandchildren, the scientific literature highlights the home, which hosts activities related to informal learning, literacy, and language development through intergenerational exchanges [24]. Museums have also been the subject of study in some research [26,27,28], considered spaces for intergenerational encounters and learning that allow sharing an enriching experience. Other studies [29,30,31] have focused on flexible, outdoor spaces, where grandparents and grandchildren share attractive and enriching intergenerational experiences, such as family or urban gardens that are emerging as one of the priority activities shared by grandchildren and grandparents in nature, which entail intergenerational learning, sensitivity, and environmental sustainability [32,33,34,35,36]. In addition, in natural spaces and outdoors, other activities shared by grandparents and grandchildren are noteworthy, such as walks, experiences in contact with nature, or the care of animals and plants [37], essential for intergenerational well-being [38].

The objective of this study was to examine the spaces used in the practice of leisure shared by grandparents and grandchildren, and their link with the geographical area of residence, to make feasible proposals adapted to the territorial reality.

The present study proposes that municipal spaces (sports centers, cultural centers, playrooms, etc.), educational centers and associations, clubs and social cliques are more frequently used for the practice of intergenerational leisure by grandparents and grandchildren who live inland than by those who reside on the coast (Hypothesis 1). In addition, it states that living in rural and urban municipalities is a conditioning factor in the use of spaces for grandparents’ and grandchildren’s shared leisure (Hypothesis 2). Furthermore, it holds that when grandparents and grandchildren reside in provinces with rainier climates, their homes are the preferred place for shared leisure (Hypothesis 3).

2. Materials and Methods

2.1. Study Design

A cross-sectional telematic survey was carried out in which participants were grandparents living in Spain with grandchildren between 6 and 12 years of age, living in the northern part of Spain.

The researchers contacted the participants by telephone.

2.2. Participants

This work is part of a larger study in which the universe was made up of the total number of 6- to 12-year-old children, living in the north of Spain, plus their living grandparents. Taking into consideration that in the Spanish state, that every child from 6 to 12 years of age has to be enrolled in an educational center and that the population of grandparents with grandchildren between 6 and 12 years old was difficult to identify, the study population was defined from the statistical data published by the ministries and education departments of each of the autonomous communities that make up the northern area of Spain. The data collected show a population size of 250,357 of Primary Education students in northern Spain.

Setting an absolute error of 3%, a 95% confidence level, and considering the assumption of p = q = 0.5, the sample size is estimated at 1075 students. With an experimental mortality of 1.11%, the final sample size consisted of 1063 students.

The final sample units of students were selected by means of proportional sampling, stratified by province and clusters, selecting all the students from the classrooms chosen from among the randomly selected centers. In order to be part of the sample, it was an essential requirement for each student to have the informed and signed consent of their parent or legal guardian. In the authorization form, the parents or legal guardians were asked to provide the phone number of a grandparent of the child. We obtained 357 phone numbers of grandparents.

Thus, 357 grandparents with grandchildren aged 6 to 12 participated in this study. They lived in the northern part of Spain, made up of 8 Spanish provinces: Cantabria, Biscay, Gipuzkoa, Alava, La Rioja, Navarre, Burgos, and Palencia (Figure 1). These 8 provinces contain a population of 250,357 primary school students between the ages of 6 and 12, according to statistical data published by the ministries and departments of education of each autonomous community. Of the participants, 25.3% were male and 74.7% were female. Concerning age, 25.2% of the grandparents were under the age of 65, 51.8% were between the ages of 65 and 74, and 21.6% were 75 years of age or older.

The northern part of Spain has a heterogeneous climate and differences in the temperature between the provinces despite being adjacent. Alava, La Rioja, Burgos, and Palencia are characterized by very cold and humid winters and very hot and dry summers, whereas in Navarre, there is a great variety of climatic nuances, ranging from areas with a temperate climate with abundant rainfall to dry areas with desert features and surfaces with high thermal conditions and abundant precipitation in the form of snow. In the provinces of Cantabria, Biscay, Gipuzkoa, and Navarre, extreme temperatures are not reached either in winter or in summer, but their rainfall is abundant throughout the year. This Spanish region is of great international interest because its climate reproduces the climate of other European and Asian countries.

The selection of participants was carried out through the application for permission and telephone number to the parents of a sample of 1075 students of primary education through stratified and proportional probabilistic selection by province (

Table 1. Target sample of the study. Grandparents of children in Primary Education (6–12 years) in northern Spain.

	Provinces	Frequency	Percentage Valid
NORTHERN SPAIN	Cantabria	35	9.9%
	Biscay	65	18.3%
	Gipuzkoa	19	4.9%
	Alava	46	13.0%
	La Rioja	90	25.3%
	Navarre	45	12.6%
	Burgos	15	4.2%
	Palencia	22	6.2%
	Another province	20	5.6%
	TOTAL	357	100%

).

2.3. Instruments

The absence of a valid and reliable instrument to collect the relevant information of this study led to the development of an ad-hoc questionnaire to gather the data through 5 variables: space used to share leisure activities by grandparents and grandchildren, leisure activity shared by grandparents and grandchildren, geographical location of the place of residence of the grandparents, type of municipality in which the grandparents reside, province of residence of the grandparents.

The variables recorded for this study are defined below:

• Space used to share leisure activities by grandparents and grandchildren: this is a categorical variable that records the place where the participants share some kind of leisure activity with their grandchildren. The established categories are: at home (of grandparents or grandchildren); in associations, clubs, societies or social cliques; in municipal spaces (sports centers, cultural centers, playrooms, etc.); in open public spaces (street, park, square, etc.); at home (of the grandparents or the grandchildren); in private leisure spaces (bars, shopping malls…); in nature; in the school facilities.
• Leisure activity shared by grandparents and grandchildren: This is a categorical variable that records whether participants share each kind of leisure activity with their grandchildren (cultural activities, screen activities, festive activities, creative activities, recreational activities, solidary activities, ecological-environmental activities, etc.).
• Geographical location of the grandparents’ place of residence: this is a dichotomous variable that records whether the grandparent resides on the coast or inland. The variable coast includes those municipalities that border the sea.
• Type of municipality in which the grandparent resides: this is a dichotomous variable that records whether the grandparent resides in a rural or urban municipality. The Spanish National Institute of Statistics identifies as an urban area the set of unique population entities that have more than 10,000 inhabitants; intermediate zone, those with 2001 to 10,000 inhabitants; and rural if it has 2000 or fewer inhabitants.
• Province in which the grandparent resides: this is a categorical variable that records the province in which the grandparent resides. The referred categories are: Cantabria, Biscay, Gipuzkoa, Alava, La Rioja, Navarre, Burgos, Palencia, or Another province outside the northern part of Spain.

2.4. Procedure

The questionnaire was applied to the grandparents of students from the different randomly selected schools in each of the 8 provinces that make up the northern part of the Spanish state. The consent of the parents or legal guardians of the minors was requested, and they were invited to provide the private telephone number of a grandfather or grandmother of their children. Subsequently, grandparents completed the instrument by phone. Seven previously trained researchers personally called each participant by phone. Before starting each interview individually, the confidentiality of the answers was informed and guaranteed, as well as the protection of the participants’ rights and guarantees. The answers were recorded by the researchers on the digitized questionnaire at the same time as they conducted each interview. The Ethics Committee of the university to which the researchers belong approved this procedure on 17 December 2019. The positive report of this Ethics Committee was recorded with the code CE_02_2019.

2.5. Analysis

Using the SPSS 23.0 statistical program, data analysis was performed in two phases: First, a descriptive study was carried out—through the frequency statistic—that allowed for identifying the spaces that most promote the relationships between grandparents and grandchildren in the north of Spain. Secondly, through a segmented descriptive analysis, we identified the leisure activities most shared by grandparents and grandchildren in the spaces most frequented jointly by the two generations.

In the second phase, an inferential analysis was carried out through two tests: (a) Student’s parametric T-test for independent samples, to determine possible significant differences in the type of spaces most frequently used by grandparents and grandchildren for shared leisure experiences, depending on whether the grandparents resided on the coast or inland, or in rural or urban municipalities; and (b) A one-factor analysis of variance (ANOVA) that verified the existence of significant differences in the type of spaces most frequently used by grandparents and grandchildren for shared leisure according to the grandparents’ province of residence. Variance homogeneity was tested to confirm the assumptions of normality and homoscedasticity. Contrasts were also made using multiple post-hoc comparisons; in those cases where Levene’s statistic had equal variances, Tukey’s test was used, and when the variance presented different values, the Games–Howell test.

The level of significance established for this study was set at p < 0.05.

3. Results

3.1. In Which Space in the North of Spain Are the Relations between Grandparents and Grandchildren Enhanced the Most?

Of the participants, 97.2% stated that they practice leisure activity with their grandchildren in their own home or in that of the grandchildren. Public spaces (street, park, etc.) constitute the second scenario of leisure relations between grandparents and grandchildren. Private leisure spaces (cinemas, theaters, shopping centers, etc.) and the natural environment are also important spaces of family leisure shared by the two generations (Figure 2).

3.2. What Are the Leisure Activities Most Frequently Shared at Home by Grandparents and Grandchildren in the North of Spain?

The leisure activities most frequently shared by grandparents and grandchildren at home are board games (reported by 80.7% of grandparents), while watching television (75.4%) and reading (56%) complete the list of the three most frequently shared activities at home by the two generations (Figure 3). Artistic activities (47.1%) and listening to music (45.7%) are also widely shared at home. Up to 22 different types of leisure activities are enjoyed in the home of the grandparents and/or the grandchildren.

3.3. What Are the Most Frequently Leisure Activities Shared by Grandparents and Grandchildren in Public Spaces in the North of Spain?

In public spaces (park, square, street, etc.), intergenerational family relationships revolve around 12 leisure activities, focusing mainly on going out to eat or drink (46.8%), shopping (36.4%), practicing a physical activity (26.9%), and going to the cinema (23.5%) (Figure 4).

3.4. What Are the Most Frequently Leisure Activities Shared by Grandparents and Grandchildren in Nature in the North of Spain?

In nature, grandparents share up to 11 types of leisure activities with their grandchildren. Traveling (38.4%) and hiking (30.8%) are the main activities of this space. The practice of physical activity (12.3%), motor games (4.5%), fishing and/or hunting (3.6%), and caring for plants (3.1%) and animals (2.2%) are also activities shared by grandparents and grandchildren in the natural environment (Figure 5).

3.5. Is Residing in a Coastal or Inland Area Linked to the Type of Spaces Used for Grandparents’ and Grandchildren’s Shared Leisure?

When comparing grandparents living on the coast with those living inland, Student’s T-test for independent samples revealed no significant differences in the use of the family home $\left(\overline{\mathrm{X}}\mathrm{coast}=4.68\pm 1.88;\overline{\mathrm{X}}\mathrm{inland}=4.30\pm 2.43, p>0.10\right);$ public spaces $(\overline{\mathrm{X}}\mathrm{coast}=2.15\pm 1.62;\overline{\mathrm{X}}\mathrm{inland}=2.11\pm 1.75,p>0.10$), and the natural environment ($\overline{\mathrm{X}}\mathrm{coast}$ = 1.19$\pm$1.26; $\overline{\mathrm{X}}$inland = 0.94$\pm$ 1.17, p > 0.10) for leisure practice by grandparents and grandchildren.

There were significant differences in the use of associations ($\overline{\mathrm{X}}\mathrm{coast}=0.01\pm 0.10;\overline{\mathrm{X}}\mathrm{inland}=0.07\pm 0.28, p<0.005),$ municipal spaces $(\overline{\mathrm{X}}\mathrm{coast}=0.42\pm 0.87;\overline{\mathrm{X}}\mathrm{inland}=0.69\pm 1.21,p<0.05$), leisure spaces ($\overline{\mathrm{X}}\mathrm{coast}$ = 1.64$\pm$1.15; $\overline{\mathrm{X}}$inland = 1.03$\pm$1.07, p < 0.001), and the school ($\overline{\mathrm{X}}\mathrm{coast}$ = 0.08$\pm$0.35; $\overline{\mathrm{X}}$inland = 0.29$\pm$0.87, p < 0.005) for the practice of leisure by grandparents and grandchildren. Whereas associations, municipal spaces, and schools are more frequently chosen scenarios in inland municipalities for the intergenerational relations of grandparents and grandchildren, private leisure spaces are more frequently chosen in coastal towns to share leisure by the two generations.

3.6. Is Residing in a Rural or Urban Municipality Linked to the Type of Spaces Used for Grandparents’ and Grandchildren’s Shared Leisure?

The only significant difference depending on whether the municipality is rural or urban was the use of private leisure spaces. In rural areas, these leisure scenarios are significantly less important than in urban localities for the practice leisure shared by grandparents and grandchildren ($\overline{\mathrm{X}}$_rural = 0.94 $\pm$ 1.07; $\overline{\mathrm{X}}$_urban = 1.33 $\pm$ 1.14; p < 0.05).

3.7. Do the Spaces That Most Enhance the Relationships between Grandparents and Grandchildren in the North of Spain Vary Depending on Whether the Grandparents Live in a Certain Province?

The results of the one-factor ANOVA to analyze the possible differences depending on the province in which the grandparents live rejected the equality of the population variances analyzed in the use of all spaces except for the natural environment. Significant differences were found in the practice of leisure shared by grandparents and grandchildren at home, in open public spaces, in private leisure spaces, and in the school. However, no significant differences were found by province in the use of associations, clubs or cliques, municipal spaces, or nature (

Table 2. Summary of the one-factor ANOVA: leisure space shared by grandparents and grandchildren considering the grandparents’ province of residence.

Leisure Space Shared by Grandparents and Grandchildren	Levene’s Statistic	p		Sum of Squares	df	Quadratic Mean	F	p
Home	3.980	0.000 ***	Intergroup	58.881	8	7.360	3.792	0.000 ***
			Intragroup	671.637	346	1.941
			Total	730.518	354
Associations clubs, or cliques	4.674	0.000 ***	Intergroup	0.5621	8	0.070	1.088	0.371
			Intragroup	22.312	346	0.064
			Total	22.873	354
Municipal spaces	3.999	0.000 ***	Intergroup	16.794	8	2.099	1.848	0.067
			Intragroup	393.104	346	1.136
			Total	409.899	354
Open public spaces	2.782	0.005 **	Intergroup	44.508	8	5.564	2.636	0.008 **
			Intragroup	730.354	346	2.111
			Total	774.862	354
Leisure spaces	3.467	0.001 ***	Intergroup	34.823	8	4.353	3.621	0.000 ***
			Intragroup	415.977	346	1.202
			Total	450.800	354
In nature	1.888	0.061	Intergroup	19.864	8	2.483	2.026	0.053
			Intragroup	424.034	346	1.226
			Total	443.899	354
In the school	8.718	0.000 ***	Intergroup	10.918	8	1.365	2.598	0.009 **
			Intragroup	181.730	346	0.525
			Total	192.648	354

Note: p < 0.05, ** = p < 0.01, *** = p < 0.005.

).

By delving into the significant differences in the practice of leisure shared by grandparents and grandchildren at home, and from multiple comparisons using the Games–Howell test, we detected that grandparents living in Cantabria ($\overline{\mathrm{X}}$ = 4.48) and Gipuzcoa ($\overline{\mathrm{X}}$ = 4.52) relate more to their grandchildren at home than do grandparents from La Rioja ($\overline{\mathrm{X}}$ = 3.58) and Palencia ($\overline{\mathrm{X}}$ = 3.13). Cantabria also showed significant differences compared with Alava$(\overline{\mathrm{X}}$ = 3.60). No significant differences were identified in the rest of the provinces ($\overline{\mathrm{X}}$_Burgos = 2.86; $\overline{\mathrm{X}}$_others = 3.55; $\overline{\mathrm{X}}$_Navarre = 3.77; $\overline{\mathrm{X}}$_Vizcaya = 4.04) (

Table 3. Multiple comparisons using the Games–Howell test: analysis of the use of the home for the practicecof leisure shared by grandparents and grandchildren considering grandparents’ province of residence.

(I) Grandparents’ Province of Residence	(I) Grandparents’ Province of Residence	Difference of Means (I–J)	Standard Error	p
Alava	Burgos	0.74203	0.50411	0.856
	Gipuzkoa	−0.92072	0.30142	0.080
	La Rioja	0.01981	0.27030	1.000
	Navarre	−0.16908	0.29525	1.000
	Palencia	0.47233	0.34120	0.898
	Cantabria	−0.87702 *	0.26143	0.032 *
	Biscay	−0.43746	0.26930	0.789
	Other	0.05870	0.42421	1.000
Burgos	Gipuzkoa	−1.66275	0.50323	0.069
	La Rioja	−0.72222	0.48523	0.847
	Navarre	−0.91111	0.49956	0.668
	Palencia	−0.26970	0.52801	1.000
	Cantabria	−1.61905	0.48034	0.067
	Biscay	−1.17949	0.48467	0.325
	Other	−0.68333	0.58509	0.957
Gipúzcoa	La Rioja	0.94052 *	0.26865	0.029 *
	Navarre	0.75163	0.29374	0.233
	Palencia	1.39305 **	0.33989	0.006 **
	Cantabria	0.04370	0.25972	1.000
	Biscay	0.48326	0.26764	0.678
	Other	0.97941	0.42316	0.365
La Rioja	Navarre	−0.1889	0.26171	0.998
	Palencia	0.45253	0.31262	0.872
	Cantabria	−0.89683 ***	0.22285	0.003 ***
	Biscay	−0.45726	0.23203	0.566
	Other	0.03889	0.40158	1.000
Navarre	Palencia	0.64141	0.33443	0.695
	Cantabria	−0.70794	0.25254	0.132
	Biscay	−0.26838	0.26067	0.982
	Other	−0.22778	0.41878	1.000
Palencia	Cantabria	−1.34935 ***	0.30499	0.003 ***
	Biscay	−0.90979	0.31176	0.116
	Other	−0.41364	0.45235	0.991
Cantabria	Biscay	0.43956	0.22164	0.559
	Other	0.93571	0.39567	0.344
Biscay	Other	0.49615	0.40091	0.940

Note: p < 0.05, * = p < 0.05, ** = p < 0.01, *** = p < 0.005.

).

Regarding open public spaces, the $\mathrm{Games}-\mathrm{Howell}$ test showed that Cantabrian grandparents ($\overline{\mathrm{X}}=2.68$ ) use these scenarios more to relate to their grandchildren than grandparents from Burgos ($\overline{\mathrm{X}}=1.1$3). No significant differences were identified in the rest of the provinces $\overline{\mathrm{X}}$_Other = 1.45; $\overline{\mathrm{X}}$_Palencia = 1.59; $\overline{\mathrm{X}}$_Alava = 1.78; $\overline{\mathrm{X}}$_Gipuzkoa = 1.82; $\overline{\mathrm{X}}$_Biscay = 2.09; $\overline{\mathrm{X}}$_Navarre = 2.15; $\overline{\mathrm{X}}$_{La Rioja} = 2.17) (

Table 4. Multiple comparisons using the Games–Howell test: analysis of the use of open public spaces for the practice of leisure shared by grandparents and grandchildren considering grandparents’ province of residence.

(I) Grandparents’ Province of Residence	(J) Grandparents’ Province of Residence	Difference of Means (I–J)	Standard Error	p
Alava	Burgos	0.64928	0.36024	0.680
	Gipuzkoa	−0.04092	0.35769	1.000
	La Rioja	−0.39517	0.26775	0.864
	Navarre	−0.37295	0.32228	0.963
	Palencia	0.19170	0.32320	1.000
	Cantabria	−0.90311	0.35678	0.236
	Biscay	−0.30970	0.27298	0.967
	Other	0.33261	0.32515	0.982
Burgos	Gipuzkoa	−0.69020	0.40873	0.748
	La Rioja	−1.04444	0.33288	0.087
	Navarre	−1.02222	0.37813	0.184
	Palencia	−0.45758	0.37891	0.949
	Cantabria	−1.55238 *	0.40794	0.013 *
	Biscay	−0.95897	0.33710	0.152
	Other	−0.31667	0.38058	0.995
Gipuzkoa	La Rioja	−0.35425	0.33011	0.973
	Navarre	−0.33203	0.37570	0.993
	Palencia	0.23262	0.37649	0.999
	Cantabria	−0.86218	0.40569	0.470
	Biscay	−0.26878	0.33437	0.996
	Other	0.37353	0.37816	0.984
La Rioja	Navarre	0.02222	0.29138	1.000
	Palencia	0.58687	0.29239	0.547
	Cantabria	−0.50794	0.32914	0.830
	Biscay	0.08547	0.23570	1.000
	Other	0.72778	0.29454	0.278
Navarre	Palencia	0.56465	0.34303	0.775
	Cantabria	−0.53016	0.37485	0.889
	Biscay	0.06325	0.29620	1.000
	Other	0.70556	0.34487	0.520
Palencia	Cantabria	−1.09481	0.37563	0.108
	Biscay	−0.50140	0.29719	0.751
	Other	0.14091	0.34572	1.000
Cantabria	Biscay	0.59341	0.33341	0.695
	Other	1.23571 *	0.37731	0.045 *
Biscay	Other	0.64231	0.29931	0.459

Note: p < 0.05, * = p < 0.05.

).

Compared to Palencia ($\overline{\mathrm{X}}=0.54$), La Rioja ($\overline{\mathrm{X}}=0.98)$, and Navarre ($\overline{\mathrm{X}}=1.000$ ), Biscay ($\overline{\mathrm{X}}$ = 1.64) presents a greater use of leisure spaces for grandparents’ and grandchildren’s interrelations through leisure experiences. No significant differences were identified between the rest of the provinces ($\overline{\mathrm{X}}$_Alava = 1.10; $\overline{\mathrm{X}}$_Cantabria = 1.20; $\overline{\mathrm{X}}$_Burgos = 1.46; $\overline{\mathrm{X}}$_Other = 1.50; $\overline{\mathrm{X}}$_Gipuzkoa = 1.64) (

Table 5. Multiple comparisons using the Games–Howell test: analysis of the use of leisure spaces for the practice of leisure shared by grandparents and grandchildren considering grandparents’ province of residence.

(I) Grandparents’ Province of Residence	(J) Grandparents’ Province of Residence	Difference of Means (I–J)	Standard Error	p
Alava	Burgos	−0.35797	0.27462	0.921
	Gipuzkoa	−0.53836	0.34936	0.825
	La Rioja	0.11981	0.18480	0.999
	Navarre	0.10870	0.19161	1.000
	Palencia	0.56324	0.22061	0.233
	Cantabria	−0.09130	0.27632	1.000
	Biscay	−0.53746	0.18999	0.120
	Other	−0.39130	0.33414	0.956
Burgos	Gipuzkoa	−0.18039	0.39797	1.000
	La Rioja	0.47778	0.26548	0.682
	Navarre	0.46667	0.27027	0.725
	Palencia	0.92121	0.29154	0.078
	Cantabria	0.26667	0.33568	0.996
	Biscay	−0.17949	0.26912	0.999
	Other	−0.03333	0.38468	1.000
Gipuzkoa	La Rioja	0.65817	0.34222	0.607
	Navarre	0.64706	0.34595	0.639
	Palencia	1.10160	0.36281	0.105
	Cantabria	0.44706	0.39914	0.967
	Biscay	0.00090	0.34505	1.000
	Other	0.14706	0.44115	1.000
La Rioja	Navarre	−0.01111	0.17826	1.000
	Palencia	0.44343	0.20911	0.473
	Cantabria	−0.21111	0.26723	0.997
	Biscay	−0.65726 **	0.17652	0.008 **
	Other	−0.51111	0.32667	0.814
Navarre	Palencia	0.45455	0.21516	0.478
	Cantabria	−0.20000	0.27199	0.998
	Biscay	−0.64615 *	0.18364	0.018 *
	Other	−0.50000	0.33057	0.840
Palencia	Cantabria	−0.65455	0.29314	0.400
	Biscay	−1.10070 ***	0.21372	0.000 ***
	Other	−0.95455	0.34818	0.176
Cantabria	Biscay	−0.44615	0.27085	0.775
	Other	−0.30000	0.38589	0.997
Biscay	Other	0.14615	0.32963	1.000

Note: p < 0.05, * = p < 0.05, ** = p < 0.01, *** = p < 0.005.

).

The schools were the preferred scenarios for leisure shared by grandparents and grandchildren in Cantabria ($\overline{\mathrm{X}}$ = 0.65) compared to Vizcaya ($\overline{\mathrm{X}}$ = 0.10). The rest of the provinces showed no significant differences in the practice of shared leisure in schools ($\overline{\mathrm{X}}$_Burgos = 0.00; $\overline{\mathrm{X}}$_Other = 0.05; $\overline{\mathrm{X}}$_Palencia = 0.90; $\overline{\mathrm{X}}$_Navarre = 0.15; $\overline{\mathrm{X}}$_Gipuzkoa = 0.17; $\overline{\mathrm{X}}$_Alava = 0.21; $\overline{\mathrm{X}}$_{La Rioja} = 0.35) (

Table 6. Multiple comparisons using the Games–Howell test: analysis of the use of schools for the practice of leisure shared by grandparents and grandchildren considering grandparents’ province of residence.

(I) Grandparents’ Province of Residence	(J) Grandparents’ Province of Residence	Difference of Means (I–J)	Standard Error	p
Alava	Burgos	0.21739	0.10268	0.475
	Gipuzkoa	0.04092	0.14010	1.000
	La Rioja	−0.13816	0.12792	0.976
	Navarre	0.06184	0.14353	1.000
	Palencia	0.12648	0.12033	0.979
	Cantabria	−0.43975	0.25998	0.748
	Biscay	0.10970	0.12414	0.993
	Other	0.16739	0.11421	0.867
Burgos	Gipuzkoa	−0.17647	0.09531	0.652
	La Rioja	−0.35556	0.20212	0.709
	Navarre	−0.15556	0.10028	0.825
	Palencia	−0.09091	0.06273	0.866
	Cantabria	−0.65714	0.23884	0.168
	Biscay	−0.10769	0.06976	0.830
	Other	−0.05000	0.05000	0.981
Gipuzkoa	La Rioja	−0.17908	0.12208	0.864
	Navarre	0.02092	0.13834	1.000
	Palencia	0.08556	0.11410	0.997
	Cantabria	−0.48067	0.25716	0.637
	Biscay	0.06878	0.11811	1.000
	Other	0.12647	0.10762	0.954
La Rioja	Navarre	0.20000	0.12600	0.809
	Palencia	0.26465	0.09877	0.171
	Cantabria	−0.30159	0.25073	0.951
	Biscay	0.24786	0.10338	0.293
	Other	0.30556	0.17916	0.743
Navarre	Palencia	0.06465	0.11829	1.000
	Cantabria	−0.50159	0.25904	0.593
	Biscay	0.04786	0.12216	1.000
	Other	0.10556	0.11205	0.989
Palencia	Cantabria	−0.56623	0.24695	0.371
	Biscay	−0.01678	0.09382	1.000
	Other	0.04091	0.08022	1.000
Cantabria	Biscay	0.54945 *	0.15194	0.010 *
	Other	0.60714	0.20315	0.073
Biscay	Other	0.05769	0.18532	1.000

Note: p < 0.05, * = p < 0.05.

).

There were no significant differences by province in the use of municipal spaces (sports centers, cultural centers, playrooms, etc.), open public spaces, or the natural environment.

4. Discussion

This research revealed that the home of grandparents and/or grandchildren becomes the stage par excellence of the joint practice of cultural activities, in line with the findings obtained by the study of [39], which revealed the use of the home as a preferred space for intergenerational exchanges.

Among the most frequently performed and preferred shared leisure cultural activities at home were board games, watching television, and reading. This coincides with the results obtained in previous studies, which underlined that the most frequently shared practices were playing and watching television [9,13,14,15]. Childhood and old age are vital stages that share the common element of the need to play; culture is also very important in their relationships because grandparents are the main transmitters of values and cultural capital, ensuring that the grandchildren receive these values. The grandparents are responsible for transferring them to future generations. This ensures that play and culture are established as a link in intergenerational relations [40].

This work also showed that outdoor public spaces are less used by both generations, and thereby optimizing intergenerational communication. In these public spaces, intergenerational experiences focus primarily on going out to eat or drink, shopping, and physical activity [18]. Research shows that the promotion of these activities in public spaces has a positive impact on participation and the improvement of interpersonal relationships. Hence, they constitute ideal contexts for encounters, coexistence, and social interaction between different generations.

The natural environment was also identified as a space for facilitating intergenerational leisure activities, mainly to share trips and excursions. This finding corroborates the study of [37] and generates optimism, given the disturbing data that point to children’s distance from this type of practice [41]. Different studies also reveal excursions and trips in the natural environment as leisure experiences less frequently shared by grandparents and grandchildren [13,14,15]. These data may be due to the turn of the decade, as currently, multigenerational trips are more frequent and are even becoming a global phenomenon. These activities should be a priority in the joint practice of grandparents and grandchildren, especially because of their potential to promote intergenerational learning, sensitivity, and environmental sustainability [32,33,34,35,36].

The present research discards the influence of living on the coast or inland in the use of the family home, as well as of public spaces and the natural environment as scenarios for intergenerational practice. Significant differences are found in the use of associations, municipal spaces (sports centers, cultural centers, playrooms, etc.), and educational centers for the leisure experience of grandparents and grandchildren, but they are more frequently used in inland populations, which would confirm our first hypothesis. This fact may be justified by the climate of the territories, as the areas of the inland peninsula have a greater thermal amplitude—colder winters and hotter summers—which invite the use of these contexts. In addition, the mountainous terrain of these areas conditions their climatic characteristics, producing a decrease in temperatures as the altitude increases.

It is interesting to highlight another finding that the present research discovered: Grandparents and grandchildren who live in urban populations and coastal municipalities have a greater preference for the use of private leisure spaces. This coincides with the assertions of [4], who argues that private spaces intended for leisure in cities such as shopping malls have become new emergent leisure spaces, especially for older people, who appropriate them as places of significant leisure for social encounters.

In addition, the results obtained corroborate our second hypothesis, showing that in rural areas, the use of private spaces for the practice of grandparents’ and grandchildren’s shared leisure is significantly less important than in urban areas. We verified that the grandparents’ residence in the different geographical areas under study conditions the spaces of shared leisure practice.

Although some studies confirm that a rainy climate reduces the time spent on leisure activities [42], this research indicates that it can also be a factor with an impact on the space chosen for the practice of shared leisure by grandparents and grandchildren, confirming our third hypothesis that stated that the fact of residing in provinces with a rainier climate made the home of the grandparents and the grandchildren the preferred place in which to share leisure activities. On the one hand, grandparents who live in provinces characterized by this climatology, such as Cantabria and Gipuzkoa, relate more to their grandchildren at home than do grandparents in La Rioja and Palencia, colder areas, but also drier. In this same line, the Cantabrian grandparents use these scenarios more to relate to their grandchildren than the grandparents from Alava and Burgos, which are also colder and drier municipalities.

Regarding open public spaces, it was found that grandparents living in Cantabria use them more to relate to their grandchildren than grandparents in Burgos, whereas the grandparents of Biscay use more private leisure spaces for joint practice than grandparents from Palencia, La Rioja, and Navarre. This may be due to the great effort developed in the last two decades in the capital of Biscay for the economic revitalization of Metropolitan Bilbao, with a strong commitment to materialize the potential of tertiary and leisure activities in the metropolitan and regional economy in the same locations in which industrialization was a leader in the past [43].

The schools are reference spaces for the joint practice of grandparents and grandchildren in the province of Cantabria compared to that of Biscay.

This article focuses on the types of spaces and the place of residence of the grandparents and grandchildren, although intergenerational relationships depend on a complex ecosystem of variables that cannot be considered in this case. However, they are contemplated in a broader research in which this publication is framed (age, gender, maternal or paternal grandparent, professional status, motivations that guide the practice, the predominant role of the grandparents with their grandchildren, etc.).

As a limitation of this study, social desirability may have determined the responses obtained, as previous works confirm people’s predisposition to increase the levels of satisfaction of their responses when there are emotional and affective bonds [44].

This study highlights a reality before the COVID-19 pandemic. Given that there have been significant alterations in the relationship between grandparents and grandchildren [45,46,47], it is proposed as a prospective study to expand the research to understand the implications of the pandemic in intergenerational leisure.

5. Conclusions

The home of grandparents and/or grandchildren becomes the preferred space for cultural leisure activities; public spaces are the preferred contexts to go out for a snack, go shopping, practice physical activities, and go to the movies, whereas the natural environment is the preferred place for trips and excursions.

Whereas associations, municipal spaces, and schools are the more frequently chosen scenarios in inland municipalities for grandparents’ and grandchildren’s intergenerational relationships, private leisure spaces are used more frequently by the two generations living in coastal towns. In rural areas, private spaces are less important for shared leisure than in urban areas.

According to the different geographical areas under study, the place of residence conditions the spaces of grandparents’ and grandchildren’s shared leisure, so this factor should be considered in the creation, conservation, maintenance, and provision of leisure spaces that guarantee the access and quality of this practice.