The Effect of Recreational Flow Experience on Mental Well-Being in Fitness Participants

Abstract

This study aimed to determine the effect of recreational flow experience on mental well-being in fitness participants. The "Recreational Flow Experience Scale" developed by Ayhan et al., (2020) and the "Warwick-Edinburgh Mental Well-Being Scale" developed by Tennant et al., (2007) and adapted into Turkish by Keldal (2015) were used as data collection tools in the study. The research group consists of a total of 501 volunteer individuals, 344 males (68.7%) and 157 females (31.3%), selected by convenience sampling method among individuals attending the fitness center. The normality test of the obtained data was tested by checking the skewness-kurtosis values and it was determined that the data showed a normal distribution. In this context, in addition to descriptive statistics, pearson correlation and regression analyses were used in the analysis of the data. According to research findings, it has been determined that there is a positive relationship between recreational flow experience and mental well-being. Additionally, it has been observed that recreational flow experience has a positive effect on mental well-being, and recreational flow experience predicts mental well-being by approximately 17%. Accordingly, it was concluded that the flow experience experienced during recreational activities is an important factor in the mental well-being of the participants.

Keywords

• Recreation
• Recreational flow experience
• Mental well-being
• fitness participants

References

1. Ayhan, C., Eskiler, E., & Soyer, F. (2020). Rekreasyonel katılımcılarda akış deneyiminin ölçülmesi: Ölçek geliştirme ve doğrulama. Journal of Human Sciences, 17(4), 1297-1311. https://doi.org/10.14687/jhs.v17i4.6105
2. Biddle, S. J. H., Fox, K. R., & Boutcher, S. H. (Eds.) (2000). Physical activity and psychological well-being. Routledge.
3. Bloch, C. (2002). Moods and quality of life. Journal of Happiness Studies, 3, 101-128. https://doi.org/10.1023/A:1019647818216
4. Bryce, J., & Haworth, J. (2002). Wellbeing and flow in sample of male and female office workers. Leisure Studies, 21, 249–263. https://doi.org/10.1080/0261436021000030687
5. Büyüköztürk, Ş. (2016). Sosyal bilimler için veri analizi el kitabı: İstatistik, araştırma deseni (22. baskı). Pegem Akademi.
6. Büyüköztürk, Ş., Kılıç-Çakmak, E., Akgün, Ö. E., Karadeniz, Ş. & Demirel, F. (2012). Bilimsel araştırma yöntemleri (Geliştirilmiş 11.Baskı),. Pegem Yayınları.
7. Carpentier, J., Mageau, G. A., & Vallerand, R. J. (2012). Ruminations and flow: Why do people with a more harmonious passion experience higher well-being? Journal of Happiness Studies, 13(3), 501–518. https://doi.org/10.1007/s10902-011-9276-4
8. Chang, L. C. (2003). Relationship among demographic variables, flow experience, leisure satisfaction and life satisfaction of elder adults in nursing Home. (Master’s thesis). National Dong Hwa University, Hualien, Taiwan.

9. Chang, L. C. (2015). Reexamining the relationship between leisure and stress among older adults. Journal of Leisure Research, 47(3), 358-372. https://doi.org/10.1080/00222216.2015.11950365
10. Chen, L. H., Ye, Y. C., Chen, M. Y., & Tung, I. W. (2010). Alegría! Flow in leisure and life satisfaction: The mediating role of event satisfaction using data from an acrobatics show. Social Indicators Research, 99(2), 301-313. https://doi.org/10.1007/s11205-010-9581-z
11. Cheng, T. M., & Lu, C. C. (2015). The causal relationships among recreational involvement, flow experience, and well-being for surfing activities. Asia Pacific Journal of Tourism Research, 20(sup1), 1486-1504. https://doi.org/10.1080/10941665.2014.999099
12. Clarke, G. S., & Haworth, T. J. (1994). “Flow” experience in the daily lives of sixth-form college students. British Journal of Psychology, 85(4), 511–523. https://doi.org/10.1111/j.2044-8295.1994.tb02538.x
13. Coşkun, R., Bayraktaroğlu, S., Yıldırım, E., & Altunışık, R. (2012). Sosyal bilimlerde araştırma yöntemleri: SPSS uygulamalı. Sakarya Yayıncılık.
14. Csikszentmihalyi, M. (1975). Beyond boredom and anxiety. Jossey-Bass.
15. Csikszentmihalyi, M. (1977). Beyond boredom and anxiety. (Second Printing). Jossey-Bass.
16. Csikszentmihalyi, M. (1990). Flow: The psychology of optimal experience. Harper and Row.
17. Decloe, M. D., Kaczynski, A. T., & Havitz, M. E. (2009). Social participation, flow and situational involvement in recreational physical activity. Journal of Leisure Research, 41(1), 73-91. https://doi.org/10.1080/00222216.2009.11950160
18. Dieser, R. B., Christenson, J. & Davis-Gage, D. (2015). Integrating flow theory and the serious leisure perspective into mental health counseling. Counselling Psychology Quarterly, 28(1), 97-111. https://doi.org/10.1080/09515070.2014.944883
19. Fraenkel, J. R., Wallen, N. E., & Hyun, H. H. (2012). How to design and evaluate research in education (7th Ed.). Mcgraw-Hill.
20. Frash Jr, R. E. ve Blose, J. E. (2019). Serious leisure as a predictor of travel intentions and flow in motorcycle tourism. Tourism Recreation Research, 44(4): 516-531. https://doi.org/10.1080/02508281.2019.1626118
21. Fullagar, C. J., & Kelloway, E. K. (2009). Flow at work: An experience sampling approach. Journal of occupational and organizational psychology, 82(3), 595-615. https://doi.org/10.1348/096317908X357903
22. Gümüşay, M., Koç, M. C., & Turhan, M. (2023). Kick Boks Sporcularının Rekreasyonel Spor İyi Oluş Düzeylerinin İncelenmesi. Uluslararası Spor Bilimleri Öğrenci Çalışmaları, 5(1), 46-59. https://doi.org/10.1348/096317908X357903
23. Heo, J., Lee, Y., McCormick, B. P. & Pedersen, P. M. (2010). Daily experience of serious leisure, flow and subjective well‐being of older adults. Leisure Studies, 29(2), 207-225. https://doi.org/10.1080/02614360903434092
24. Hribernik, J. & Mussap, A.J. (2010). Research note: Leisure satisfaction and subjective Wellbeing. Annals of Leisure Research. 13(4), 701-708. https://doi.org/10.1080/11745398.2010.9686871
25. Hsu, S. C. & Liu, L. W. (2020). The relationship between serious leisure, flow experience, leisure benefit and quality of life of Yoga. African Journal of Hospitality Tourism and Leisure, 1-10.
26. Hutchinson, S. L., Bland, A. D., & Kleiber, D. A. (2008). Leisure and stress-coping: Implications for therapeutic recreation practice. Therapeutic Recreation Journal, 42(1), 9.
27. Jang, K. (2016). Relationships between leisure flow, leisure benefits, life satisfaction and revisit intention of college student customers in ski resort. Journal of the Korean Contents Association, 16(9), 254-266.
28. Karasar, N. (2016). Bilimsel araştırma yöntemi, (31. Basım). Nobel Akademik Yayıncılık.
29. Kendal, G. (2015). Warwick-Edinburgh Mental İyi Oluş Ölçeği’nin Türkçe Formu: Geçerlik ve güvenirlik çalışması. The Journal of Happiness & Well-Being. 3(1), 103-115.
30. Kim, C.G., June, K.J., Rhayun, S. (2002). Effects of health promotion program on cardiovascular risk factors, health behaviours and life satisfaction in institutionalized elderly women. Journal of Korea Gerontology Society, 19(3), 51-64. https://doi.org/10.1016/s0020-7489(02)00102-5
31. Kim, J., & Lee, G. (2008). The influence of Leisure skill and Leisure flow of Leisure sports participants on Leisure benefit. Journal of the Korean Society for Sports Sociology, 21(4), 771-787.
32. Kim, S., Sung, J., Park, J. & Dııtmore, S.W. (2015). The relationship among leisure attitude, satisfaction, and psychological well-being for college students. Journal of Physical Education and Sport. 15(1): 70-76. https://doi.org/10.7752/jpes.2015.01012
33. Koivumaa-Honkanen, H, & Kaprio, J.(2005). The stability of life satisfaction in a 15 year follow-up adult Finns healthy at baseline. BMC Psychiatry 59:794-798. https://doi.org/10.1186/1471-244X-5-4
34. La Fevre, J. (1988). Flow and the Quality of Experience During Work and Leisure. Optimal Experience: Psychological Studies of Flow in Consciousness. Csikszentmihalyi, M. & Csikszentmihalyi, I. (Der.). Cambridge University Press: 307-318.
35. Li, J., Zeng, B., & Li, P. (2021). The influence of leisure activity types and involvement levels on leisure benefits in older adults. Frontiers in Public Health, 9, 659263. https://doi.org/10.3389/fpubh.2021.659263
36. Moneta, G.B (2004). The Flow Experiences Across Cultures. Journal of Happiness Studies. 5: 115-121. https://doi.org/10.1023/B:JOHS.0000035913.65762.b5
37. Moneta, G.B. & Csikszentmihalyi, M.( 1996). The Effect of Perceived Challanges and Skills on the Quality of Subjective Experiences. Journal of Personality. 64(2): 275- 310. https://doi.org/10.1111/j.1467-6494.1996.tb00512.x
38. Ryff, C. D. & Singer, B. H. (2008). Know thyself and become what you are: A eudaimonic approach to psychological well-being. Journal of happiness studies, 9(1), 13-39. https://doi.org/10.1007/s10902-006-9019-0
39. Sahoo, F. M., & Sahu, R. (2009). The role of flow experience in human happiness. Journal of the Indian Academy of Applied Psychology. 35(spec iss), 40–47.
40. Sawyer, M. G., Arney, F. M., Baghurst, P. A., Clark, J. J., Graetz, B. W., Kosky, R. J., & Rey, J. M. (2001). The mental health of young people in Australia: key findings from the child and adolescent component of the national survey of mental health and well-being. Australian and New Zealand Journal of Psychiatry, 35(6), 806-814. https://doi.org/10.1046/j.1440-1614.2001.00964.x
41. Shen, C. C., Tsai, C. H., & Tseng, T. A. (2022). The influence of flow experience and serious leisure on attachment in board game. Leisure Sciences, 1-25. https://doi.org/10.1080/01490400.2022.2061654
42. Tao, H., Zhou, Q., Tian, D. & Zhu, L. (2022). The Effect of Leisure Involvement on Place Attachment: Flow Experience as Mediating Role. Land, 11(2): 151. https://doi.org/10.3390/land11020151
43. Tennant, R., Hiller, L., Fishwick, R., Platt, S., Joseph, S., Weich, S., Parkinson, J., Secker, J. and Stewart Brown, S. (2007). The Warwick-Edinburgh mental wellbeing scale (WEMWBS): Development and UK validation. Health and Quality of Life Outcomes, 5, 63. https://doi.org/10.1186/1477-7525-5-63
44. Tsaur, S. H., Yen, C. H., & Hsiao, S. L. (2013). Transcendent experience, flow and happiness for mountain climbers. International Journal of Tourism Research, 15(4), 360-374. https://doi.org/10.1002/jtr.1881
45. Turan, N. (2019). Akış deneyimi üzerine genel bir literatür taraması. Pamukkale Üniversitesi Sosyal Bilimler Enstitüsü Dergisi, (37), 181-199. https://doi.org/10.30794/pausbed.562564
46. Turhan, M., & Koç, M. C. (2022). The Relationship between Leisure Satisfaction and Mental Wellness of Individuals Member of Sports Centers. Journal of Pharmaceutical Negative Results, 6303-6308. https://doi.org/10.47750/pnr.2022.13.09.751
47. Wang, M., & Wong, M. S. (2014). Happiness and leisure across countries: Evidence from international survey data. Journal of Happiness Studies, 15, 85-118. https://doi.org/10.1007/s10902-013-9417-z
48. World Health Organisation. (2004). Promoting mental health: Concepts, emerging evidence and practice: Summary report. Geneva: World Health Organisation.