The Role of Age in the Relationship Between Leisure Activities and Subjective Well-Being

This cross-sectional study aimed to understand the role of age in the relationship of time spent on leisure activities (LA) and subjective well-being (SWB) with the data collected by the surveys of the LISS Panel in the late months of 2018 (N=5013). The mean age of the participants was 53 (SD = 18) with an even spread of male participants (46%) and female participants (54%). In this study a distinction was made between four types of leisure: digital, creative, sport and cultural. With the use of regression analyses and ANOVAs, this research analysed the relationship between time spent on LA and SWB (1), the relationship between age and time spent on LA (2) and the possible moderation effect of age on the relationship of time spent on LA and SWB (3). The analyses of the first research question showed a mostly positive relationship between time spent on different LA and SWB. Only digital leisure has a significant negative relationship, though the effect size was very small for all...Show moreThis cross-sectional study aimed to understand the role of age in the relationship of time spent on leisure activities (LA) and subjective well-being (SWB) with the data collected by the surveys of the LISS Panel in the late months of 2018 (N=5013). The mean age of the participants was 53 (SD = 18) with an even spread of male participants (46%) and female participants (54%). In this study a distinction was made between four types of leisure: digital, creative, sport and cultural. With the use of regression analyses and ANOVAs, this research analysed the relationship between time spent on LA and SWB (1), the relationship between age and time spent on LA (2) and the possible moderation effect of age on the relationship of time spent on LA and SWB (3). The analyses of the first research question showed a mostly positive relationship between time spent on different LA and SWB. Only digital leisure has a significant negative relationship, though the effect size was very small for all significant relationships found. Secondly (2), age related negatively to time spent on digital and cultural leisure, positively to creative leisure and did not relate significantly to sports-related leisure. Lastly (3), only the moderation analysis of age on the relationship between time spent on creative leisure and SWB came out significant (Beta = .05, t = 3.36, p = .001), even though the effect sizes were negligible. Overall, this results do not fully support the hypotheses. Either other factors and relationships play a larger role in predicting SWB or the limitations of this study make it not possible to produce clear results. The study gives the suggestion for future research to examine the relationship between age and the underlying mechanisms that make up the effect of leisure activity on SWB. If this study would be replicated, advice is given to use a longitudinal design and take into account the effects of the COVID19 pandemic on leisure.Show less

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The Role of Age in the Relationship Between Leisure Activities and Subjective Well-Being