Effects of Leisure Participation on Life Satisfaction in Older Korean Adults: A Panel Analysis.

Hyejin Yoon,Won Seok Lee,Joonho Moon,Kyoung-Bae Kim

doi:10.3390/ijerph17124402

Abstract

South Koreans’ life expectancy has dramatically increased over the last four decades. However, the life satisfaction index of older Korean adults has been in the bottom third globally. The large majority of older Koreans spend most of the day watching television at home. However, concrete evidence regarding the effects of leisure involvement on older adults’ quality of later life is scant. Only a few existing studies have examined the link via cross-sectional survey data. Thus, the purpose of this study was to investigate whether meaningful leisure participation outside the home in older age plays an essential role in improving life satisfaction. To achieve the research aim, nationally representative panel data from the Korea Employment Information Service were used for the data analysis. The results indicated that social and productive leisure participation in religious activity, social gatherings, and volunteering was significantly related to quality of life in older adults. Moreover, frequent participation in travel and cultural activities outside the home were positively related to life satisfaction. These findings suggest that participation in meaningful leisure activities is a critical factor contributing to subjective well-being and good mental health in older Korean adults and should be encouraged.

Highlights

South Korean life expectancy has increased remarkably over the past four decades, from 61.9 years in 1970 to 82.7 years in 2017, leading South Korea to be ranked 5th among the member countries of the Organization for Economic Cooperation and Development (OECD) [1]
AGE (β = 0.196, p < 0.01) and AST (β = 0.001, p < 0.01) are positively associated with life satisfaction. These results indicate that participation in meaningful leisure activities had a higher life satisfaction in later life
Despite the importance of meaningful leisure engagement and increased free time in later life, many older Koreans do not participate in leisure activities outside their homes

Summary

Introduction

South Korean life expectancy has increased remarkably over the past four decades, from 61.9 years in 1970 to 82.7 years in 2017, leading South Korea to be ranked 5th among the member countries of the Organization for Economic Cooperation and Development (OECD) [1]. Due to this increase in life expectancy, South Korea (hereafter Korea) became an “aging society”—defined as a country with. 7% of its population aged 65 and older—in 2000, and an “aged society”—defined as a country in which older adults constitute 14% of the population—in 2017. Public Health 2020, 17, 4402; doi:10.3390/ijerph17124402 www.mdpi.com/journal/ijerph

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