Effect of Serious Leisure Experience on the Leisure Satisfaction among Senior Sport Games Participants

Abstract

IntroductionA number of sport studies suggest participation in regular sport activities as an essential condition for successful life of older adults (Smith & Storandt, 1997; Stahi, Fox, & McKenna, 2002; Sasidharan, Payne, Orsega-Smith, & Godbey, 2006; Silverstein & Parker, 2002). Regular sports in old age, particularly, may prevent accumulation of waste in the body and aging-associated diseases and other kinds of diseases. Active sport participation enables successful aging due to its physical, psychological, and social benefits.In Korea, there is a growing interest in sport activities for older adults. In addition, sports mania among them has also increased, wherein they participate in sport activities in their leisure time as enthusiastically as young people.Stebbins (1992) divided leisure activities into casual leisure and serious leisure. Serious leisure refers to long-term participation in leisure activities with special skills, knowledge, and experience like a devoted hobbyist or specialized social volunteer participant (Stebbins, 2007). A number of studies have validated that serious leisure participation of older adults has positive effects on leisure satisfaction. Siegenthaler and O'Dell (2003) described positive relationship between serious golf experiences and successful aging. Heo and Lee (2013) found that older adults who participated in serious leisure activities recognized greater life satisfaction and confidence in their health. Similarly, studies on serious leisure participation through sports proved the positive relationship between regular sport activities and enhanced life satisfaction (Brown, McGuire & Voelkl, 2008; Cardenas, Henderson & Wilson, 2009; Sasidharan, Payne, Orsega-Smith, & Godbey, 2006; Stahi, Fox, & McKenna, 2002; Silverstein & Parker, 2002; Yau & Packer, 2002).The term leisure satisfaction refers to the degree of satisfaction in social, educational, aesthetic, relaxation, and physical domain that individuals acquire from participation in leisure activities (Beard & Ragheb, 1980). If a person is satisfied with leisure activities, he or she can continue to participate. The engagement through serious leisure participation may increase leisure satisfaction (Riddick & Steward, 1994). In this context, serious leisure participation will improve leisure satisfaction of older adults, and in turn, it will have a key part in enhancing their life satisfaction (Coleman & Iso-Ahola, 1993).The positive effect of serious leisure on leisure satisfaction among older adults in Korea has not been the focus of research until now. As the importance of successful aging is being realized, studying the effect of participation in serious leisure sport on leisure satisfaction among older adults may provide evidence of its efficacy for them. In this context, this study endeavored to analyze the effect of serious leisure participation on leisure satisfaction among older adults.MethodParticipantsThe sample comprised 254 older adults, aged 65 and above, who participated in senior bowling and table tennis games held in Daejeon and Incheon, Korea, from November to December 2015. The questionnaires were administered through personal visit to the venue. The intention, purpose of this study, and the method of filling the self-administered questionnaires were described to the participants while distributing them. Eleven questionnaires were not included for analysis to retain only genuine responses. Table 1 shows the general characteristics of subjects.InstrumentsThe survey instrument was a questionnaire comprising 5-point Likert scale. The questionnaire included 2 questions on socio-demographic features, 4 question on types of leisure activities, 29 questions on serious leisure, and 24 questions on leisure satisfaction. It took 30 minutes on an average to complete the questionnaires. The validity and reliability of the test was verified to see whether the content of the questionnaire was suitable. …