I volunteered: The mediating role of leisure satisfaction in the effect of leisure motivation on the meaning of life

Year 2025, Volume: 30 Issue: 2, 36 - 44, 30.06.2025

Mehmet Doğan , Ali Sönmez , Bülent Gürbüz

https://doi.org/10.53434/gbesbd.1628916

Abstract

This study aims to test the mediating effect of leisure satisfaction on the relationship between leisure motivation and meaning of life. In the study, data were collected from individuals living in Istanbul using the convenience sampling method. A total of 324 volunteers participated in the study, of which 156 (48.1%) were females and 168 (51.9%) were males. The age of participants ranged from 18 to 63 years (Mean-age: 27.98±10.43). The data collection instrument consisted of two parts; the first part included questions about participants' demographic information, while the second part included the "Leisure Motivation Scale (LMS)," "Leisure Satisfaction Scale (LSS)," and "Meaning in Life Questionnaire (MLQ)" Basic descriptive statistics and Pearson correlation analysis were used to analyze the data. Furthermore, the mediating effect of leisure satisfaction on the relationship between leisure motivation and meaning of life was calculated using SPSS Process Macro (Model 4). Based on the results of Pearson correlation analysis, there were statistically significant, moderately positive relationships between the mean scores of "LMS," "LSS," and "MLQ” (p<0.01). The results indicate that leisure motivation has a direct and positive significant effect on the meaning of life (β= 0.46; p<0.01). Furthermore, it was confirmed that leisure satisfaction plays a mediating role in the relationship between leisure motivation and the meaning of life (β= 0.18; p<0.01). Consequently, an increase in the leisure motivation of volunteers leads to an increase in their leisure satisfaction, which gives more meaning to the individual's life. Therefore, it is significant to identify factors that increase people's participation in volunteer activities and develop awareness programs in this context.

Keywords

leisure motivation , leisure satisfaction , meaning in life , volunteering

Ethical Statement

This research was found to be suitable in ethical terms by Nişantaşı University Ethics Committee on 29.09.2023 with decision number 2023-38.

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