The Influencing Factors of Life Satisfaction among Undergraduates: From the Perspective of Leisure Flow Experience

Abstract

Leisure is an inner experience, a way of life, and a process to meet the needs of physical and mental development. However, in recent years, college students' improper leisure has caused increasingly widespread and serious physical, mental and social problems, which has caused damage to their life satisfaction and can not be ignored. The aim of this study is to explore the status of flow experience in leisure and life satisfaction among undergraduates, and analyze the relationship between these two variables. Seven hundred and eighty-seven undergraduates (377 males and 410 females) are selectd by stratified random sampling from 7 universities in Guangdong Province. They are investigated with Leisure Flow Experience Questionnaire (LFEQ) and Life Satisfaction Scale for Youth (YLSS). The survey results indicate the following three points. First, the total scores of LFEQ and YLSS are (161.73±19.81) and (174.45 ± 26.50), respectively. Sceond, the total score, dimension and sub-dimension scores of each scale are significantly correlated in twos (r = .085 to .412, P <.05). Third, the total score of YLSS is positively related to the followong 5 factors like unity of knowledge and action, balance between challenge and skill, concentration, academic performance, and family economic status (\(\beta\) =.227, .115, .098, .158, .082, P < .05); while “liking to sleep late at leisure” is negatively correlated with YLSS total score (\(\beta\) =-. 097, P <.05); the scores of following 4 factors such as unity of knowledge and action, concentration, academic performance and family economic status are positively related to self-satisfaction of YLSS (\(\beta\) = .286, .126, .194, .096, P<.01); while “liking to sleep late at leisure” is negatively correlated with self-satisfaction of YLSS (\(\beta\) =-. 091, P <.01); The following 4 factors like unity of knowledge and action, balance between challenge and skill, father’s occupation, liking to self-study at leisure are positively related to environmental satisfaction of YLSS (\(\beta\) = .198, .131, .075, .073, P <.05); whlie “liking to sleep late at leisure” and gender are negatively correlated to environment satisfaction of YLSS (\(\beta\) =-. 094, -.091, P<.01). It is therefore suggested that life satisfaction of undergraduates needs to improve. Flow experience in leisure, types of leisure activities, gender, academic and family factors (such as family economic status and father’s occupation) may be related factors of college students’ life satisfaction.