The relationship between boredom, involvement, satisfaction and happiness in leisure

Introduction and Aim: In the modern age, the interest in leisure activities, which have a key role in meeting the biopsychosocial needs of the individual by eliminating the negative effects of increasing stress and sedentary life, is increasing day by day. For this purpose, in the study, the differences between the perception of boredom, involvement, satisfaction and happiness levels in leisure according to the demographic characteristics of individuals participating in physical activities were examined and the concepts were tested with the structural relationship model. Method: The study group of the research designed in the correlation survey model was selected according to the simple random sampling method (n=646). The research was conducted in two districts of Istanbul between May-July 2023. The data collected with "Personal Information Form", "Leisure Boredom Scale (LBS)", "Leisure Involvement Scale (LIS)", "Leisure Satisfaction Scale (LSS)", Oxford Happiness Scale-Short Form (OHS-SF)" were tested with statistical package programs. Descriptive statistics, t-test, ANOVA and Pearson Correlation test were used to evaluate the data. The research model designed within the scope of the study was examined with Path Analysis from Structural Equation Models (SEM). Results: The average age of the study participants is 26.31 (±10.08) and 50.2% are female. The mean total scores of the individuals who engaged in physical activity on the LBS, LIS, LSS and OHS-SF were 2.58 (±.59), 3.45 (±.73), 3.66 (±.60), 3.52 (±.66), respectively, and there were statistical differences between demographic variables. According to the findings of SEM analysis, it was determined that the dissatisfaction sub-dimension of the LBS had a negative effect on the LIS (β=-.375; p<0.001), and the boredom (β=-.146; p<0.001) and dissatisfaction sub-dimensions (β=-.308; p<0.001) had negative effects on the LSS. In addition to the positive effect of the LIS on the LSS (β=.389; p<0.001), the positive effect of the LIS (β=.125; p=0.027) and the LSS (β=.142; p=0.014) on the OHS-SF confirmed the model. In addition, it was found that LIS and LSS had mediating roles in the validated model. Conclusion: In the study, it was determined that the boredom perceptions of individuals who engaged in physical activity in their leisure were low, and their levels of involvement, satisfaction and happiness were high. As a result, it can be said that increasing involvement in physical activities in leisure decreases the perception of boredom and increases satisfaction and happiness levels.