Dimensions of self-selected leisure activities, trait coping and their relationships with sleep quality and depressive symptoms

Abstract

Although leisure is presumed to be beneficial, certain profiles of leisure may be especially good. This paper tests whether dimensions of self-selected leisure activities (SSLAs) differentially relate to depressive symptoms and poor sleep quality, including (a) positivity (SSLA-PO), (b) difficulty (SSLA-DF), (c) distraction (SSLA-DI) and (d) thinking about negative events (SSLA-TN). Furthermore, it tests whether those low in perseverative cognitions (PCs) and high in ‘John Henryism’ active coping are equally likely to benefit from leisure. Participants (n = 362, 76% female) at a large university in Wisconsin rated two SSLAs on the dimensions above and completed measures of depression, sleep quality, PCs and active coping. Regression analyses showed that SSLA-TN predicted greater depression and poor sleep quality. For the moderators, more SSLA-DI and SSLA-TN each predicted greater depression for those more prone to PCs, and more SSLA-DI predicted more depression and worse sleep quality at lower active coping levels. Results suggest that not all leisure is equally beneficial, and have implications for the design of leisure-based interventions.