Although research has identified leisure as a significant factor of individual well-being in different stages of adult life, there is little insight into how leisure behaviors and attitudes are acquired. A cross-sectional sample of 300 rural adults was interviewed. Leisure attitudes were assessed on a leisure ethic scale, and well-being was measured by self-reports of happiness, satisfaction, and health status. Standard demographic and socioeconomic data were also obtained. Subjects were asked to identify their favorite leisure activities, how they learned them, how long they had been doing them, and, if appropriate, why they discontinued any activities. In addition, subjects identified activities they would like to pursue. Results showed that the subjects were happy, satisfied, in good health, and work-oriented. Outdoor pursuits ranked high as favorite activities, followed by reading, crafts, jobs, traveling, cards, and religious activities. Discontinued activities were physical in nature, and had been stopped because of health or age. Traveling was the most cited activity that subjects wished to pursue. The results indicate that early life experience is critical in the formation of leisure behaviors and attitudes, and the family is a major force in shaping early leisure behaviors. (Author/NRB)