The Mediating Role of Physical and Psychosocial Benefits in the Effect of Leisure Interests on Happiness

Abdullah Çuhadar; Yusuf Er; Mehmet Demirel

doi:10.54141/psbd.1675149

The Mediating Role of Physical and Psychosocial Benefits in the Effect of Leisure Interests on Happiness

Abstract

The aim of this study is to investigate the mediating role of physical and psychosocial benefits in the relationship between leisure interest and happiness among individuals who participate in sports activities at fitness centers in Konya. The sample of the study consists of (n = 640) participants who gained experience by doing sports activities in fitness centres operating in Konya province, determined by a purposive sampling method. In collecting the data of the study, ‘Leisure Involvement Scale’ was used to assess the level of leisure interest, ‘Oxford Happiness Scale’ to measure happiness levels, ‘Physical Benefits’ and ‘Psychosocial Benefits’ scale among the sub-dimensions of ‘Health Belief Scale Regarding Sportive Recreational Activities’ and sociodemographic information form were used to measure physical and psychosocial benefits. The IBM SPSS Statistics 25 package program and IBM AMOS 24 program were used for data analysis. In the study, a structural equation model was developed and tested to determine the mediating role of physical and psychosocial benefits in the relationship between leisure interest and happiness. Results demonstrated that physical and psychosocial benefits significantly mediate the relationship between leisure involvement and happiness.

Keywords

Ethical Statement

This study was reviewed and approved by Karamanoğlu Mehmetbey University Ethics Committee (29.11.2022, No. 250).

Thanks

We thank all study participants for their contributions. The present study was prepared from the first author's PhD thesis, which is titled " The Mediating Role of Physical and Psychosocial Benefits in the Effect of Leisure Interests on Happiness", at Karamanoğlu Mehmetbey University, Institute of Social Sciences, Department of Leisure Management.

References

Abdin, S., Welch, R.K., Daniel-Byron, J., & Meyrick, J. (2018). The effectiveness of physical activity interventions in improving well-being across office-based workplace settings: A systematic review. Public health, 160, 70-76. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.puhe.2018.03.029
Ajzen, I. (1991). Benefits of leisure: A social psychological perspective. In B. L. Driver, P. J. Brown & G. L. Peterson (Eds.), Benefits of leisure (pp. 411-418). State College, PA: Venture Publishing.
Akay, B., Ayhan, B., & Yaşartürk, F. (2022). The Relationship Between Happiness Level and Coping Strategy with Stress through Leisure Time. International Journal of Contemporary Educational Studies, 8(2), 593-607.
Başar, S., & Sarı, İ. (2018). The Effect of Regular Exercise on Depression, Happiness and Mental Well-Being. Inonu University, Journal of Physical Education and Sport Sciences, 5(3), 25-34.
Bay, M., & Paylı, M. (2022). Analysis of the Relationship Between Control Theory and Customer Satisfaction with Structural Equation Model: An Application in a Service Business in Karaman. Journal of the Human and Social Science Researches, 11(4), 2222-2241. https://doi.org/10.15869/itobiad.1175267
Bay, M., Er, Y., & Paylı, M. (2023). The Mediating Effect of Positive Psychological Capital in Determining the Types of Leisure Activities of Ethical Climate: An Application At Karamanoğlu Mehmetbey University. PODIUM Sport, Leisure and Tourism Review, 12(2), 367-395. https://doi.org/10.5585/podium.v12i2.22767
Büküşoğlu, N., & Bayturan, A. F. (2005). The Role of Leisure Time Activities on the Concept Related to the Psycho-Social Development of the Youth. Ege tıp dergisi, 44(3), 173-177.
Caldwell, L. L., & Smith, E. A. (2006). Leisure as a context for youth development and delinquency prevention. Journal of Park and Recreation Administration, 24(2), 107-124. http://dx.doi.org/10.1375/acri.39.3.398

Chen, Z. Y. (2001). The study of elementary teachers' leisure participation, experience in leisure benefits, and work satisfaction in Taipei Country. National Taiwan Normal University. Demirel, M. (2019). Leisure İnvolvement And Happiness Levels Of İndividuals Having Fitness Center Membership. Journal Of Education And Learning, 8(6), 140149. Https://Doi.Org/10.5539/Jel.V8n6p140
Doğan Laçin, B. G., Yılmaz, Y., & İşgör, İ. Y. (2023). Investigation of The Effect of Social Support on Happiness, Life Satisfaction and Social Media Addictio, International Journal of Eurasia Social Sciences (IJOESS), 14(51), 13-26. http://dx.doi.org/10.35826/ijoess.3239
Doğan, T., & Akıncı Çötok, N. (2011). Adaptation of the Short Form of the Oxford Happiness Questionnaire into Turkish: A Validity and Reliability Study. Turkish Psychological Counseling and Guidance Journal, 4 (36), 165-172. https://doi.org/10.17066/pdrd.94477 Driver, B. L., Brown, P. J., and Peterson, G. L. (Eds.) (1991). Benefits of leisure. State College, PA: Venture Publishing.
Er, Y., Bay, M., & Paylı, M. (2022). The Intermediary Role of Recreation in Service Quality in Customer Service: An Implementation in A Four-Star Hotel Management in Karaman, Turkiye. Synesis (ISSN 1984-6754), 14(2), 360-382.
Ertüzün, E., Bodur, S., & ve Karaküçük, S. (2013). The development of health-belief scale on sportive recreation activities. Procedia-Social and Behavioral Sciences, 89, 509- 516. http://dx.doi.org/10.1016/j.sbspro.2013.08.884
Eskiler, E., Yıldız, Y., and Ayhan, C. (2019). The effect of leisure benefits on leisure satisfaction: Extreme sports. Turkish Journal of Sport and Exercise 21(1): 16-20.
Etikan, I., Musa, S. A., & Alkassim, R. S. (2016). Comparison of convenience sampling and purposive sampling. American Journal of Theoretical and Applied Statistics, 5(1), 1-4.
Gürbüz, B., Çimen, Z., ve Aydın, İ. (2018). Leisure Involvement Scale: Validity And Reliability Study of Turkish Form. Spormetre Beden Eğitimi ve Spor Bilimleri Dergisi, 16(4), 256-265. https://doi.org/10.33689/spormetre.480235
Gürbüz, P. G., Esentaş, M., & Tez, Ö. Y. (2021). The Regulatory Role of Demographic Variables in the Effect of Leisure Time Nostalgia on Happiness. Kilis 7 Aralık Üniversitesi Beden Eğitimi ve Spor Bilimleri Dergisi, 5(1), 1-18.
Gürbüz, S., & Şahin, F. (2018). Sosyal bilimler araştırma yöntemleri (5. Baskı). Ankara. Seçkin Yayıncılık.
Hair, J. F., Risher, J. J., Sarstedt, M., & Ringle, C. M. (2019). When to use and how to report the results of PLS-SEM. European Business Review, 31(2), 2-24. https://doi.org/10.1108/EBR-11-2018-0203
Helliwell, J. F., Layard, R., & Sachs, J. (2018). World happiness report 2018. New York: Sustainable Development Solutions Network. https://worldhappiness.report/
Hills, P., & Argyle, M. (2002). The Oxford Happiness Questionnaire: a compact scale for the measurement of psychological well-being. Personality and individual differences, 33(7), 1073-1082. https://doi.org/10.1016/S0191-8869(01)00213-6
Ho, T. K. (2008). A study of leisure attitudes and benefits for senior high school students at PingTung City and country in Taiwan (Unpublished doctoral dissertation). United States Sports Academy, Daphne, AL.
Howell, A. J., Dopko, R. L., Passmore, H. A., & Buro, K. (2011). Nature connectedness: Associations with well-being and mindfulness. Personality and Individual Differences, 51(2), 166-171. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.paid.2011.03.037
Iwon, K., Skibinska, J., Jasielska, D., & Kalwarczyk, S. (2021). Elevating subjective well-being through physical exercises: An intervention study. Frontiers in Psychology, 12, 702678. https://doi.org/10.3389/fpsyg.2021.702678
Joshanloo, M., & Weijers, D. (2014). Aversion to happiness across cultures: A review of where and why people are averse to happiness. Journal of Happiness Studies, 15(3), 717-735. Kao, C. H. (1995). A three-factor model of leisure benefits. Journal of Outdoor Recreation Study, 8(1), 67-78.
Karaçar, E. (2019). The Interest and Happiness Levels Against Recreative Activites of the Students Reading in the Faculty of Sports: The Example of Sinop University. Journal of Sport and Recreation Researches, 1(1), 58-70.
Kırık, A. M., & Sönmez, M. (2017). The Examination Of Relationship Between Communication And Happiness. İnönü Üniversitesi İletişim Fakültesi Elektronik Dergisi (İNİF E-Dergi), 2(1), 15-26.
Kline, R. B. (2023). Principles and practice of structural equation modeling (4th ed.). Guilford Press.
Köse, E. (2021). Mahkumların yapılandırılmış serbest zaman aktivitelerinden elde ettiği faydalar: Temellendirilmiş kuram çalışması (Unpublished doctoral thesis). Akdeniz University.
Kyle, G., Absher, J., Norman, W., Hammit, W., & Jodice, L. (2007). A Modified involvement scale. Leisure Studies. 26(4), 399-427. https://doi.org/10.1080/02614360600896668
Lankford, S. V., Williams, A., & Knowles-Lankford, J. (1997). Perceptions of outdoor recreation opportunities and support for tourism development. Journal of Travel Research, 35(3), 2-9. https://doi.org/10.1177/004728759703500311
Mannell, R. C. & Kleiber, D. A. (1997). A social psychology of leisure. Venture Publishing.
Matsumoto, H., Sato, S., Asada, A., & Chiashi, K. (2018). Exploring the relationship among leisure engagement, affective and cognitive leisure involvement, and subjective happiness: A mediating role of leisure satisfaction. World Leisure Journal, 60(2), 111-126. https://doi.org/10.1080/16078055.2018.1444669
Nguyen, Q. H. (2021). Impact of investment in tourism infrastructure development on attracting international visitors: A nonlinear panel ARDL approach using Vietnam's data. Economies, 9(3), 131. https://doi.org/10.3390/economies9030131
Önder, Ö. K., & Bilgin, U. (2022). Examining the Relationship of Leisure Satisfaction with Happiness and Hopelessness. Mediterranean Journal of Sport Science, 5(Special Issue 1), 562-580. https://doi.org/10.38021asbid.1199502
Parlakyıldız, S., & Koçak, F. (2024). The Effect of Participation in Pilates as a Physical Activity During Leisure Time on Women's Subjective Well-Being Levels. Hacettepe Journal of Sport Sciences, 35(2), 60-71. https://doi.org/10.17644/sbd.1375049
Paylı, M. (2024). The Mediating Role of Hotel Reputation in the Effect of Recreational Experience on Satisfaction and Willingness to Return in Tourism Businesses: An Application in the City of Antalya. International Journal of Holistic Health, Sports and Recreation, 3(2), 36-62. https://doi.org/10.5281/zenodo.14556413
Serdar, E. (2020). The Relationship between Leisure Benefit and Happiness: Students of the Faculty of Sports Science. Turkish Studies-Social, 15(5), 2711-2721. https://dx.doi.org/10.47356/TurkishStudies.44273
Sonstroem, R. J., & Morgan, W. P. (1989). Exercise and self-esteem: rationale and model. Medicine and science in sports and exercise, 21(3), 329-337. https://psycnet.apa.org/doi/10.1249/00005768-198906000-00018
Taber, K. S. (2018). The use of Cronbach's alpha when developing and reporting research instruments in science education. Research in Science Education, 48(6), 1273-1296.
Takiguchi, S., Nakamura, K., Watanabe, K., Kawakami, N., & Takebayashi, Y. (2023). The relationship between leisure activities and mental health: The impact of resilience and COVID‐19. Applied Psychology: Health and Well-Being, 15(1), 133-154. https://doi.org/10.1111/aphw.12394
Yalçınkaya, N., Soyer, F., & Ayhan, C. (2022). The effect of leisure benefits on happiness. Journal of Human Sciences, 19(4), 641-647. https://doi.org/10.14687/jhs.v19i4.6341
Yoo, J. (2022). Attitude toward leisure, satisfaction with leisure policy, and happiness are mediated by satisfaction with leisure activities. Scientific Reports, 12(1), 11723. https://doi.org/10.1038/s41598-022-16012-w
Zamani Sani, S. H., Fathirezaie, Z., Brand, S., Pühse, U., Holsboer-Trachsler, E., Gerber, M., & Talepasand, S. (2016). Physical activity and self-esteem: Testing direct and indirect relationships associated with psychological and physical mechanisms. Neuropsychiatric Disease and Treatment, 12, 2617-2625. https://doi.org/10.2147/NDT.S116811
Zheng, W., Huang, Y., & Wu, L. (2022). Community and social correlates of leisure activity participation among older adults. Leisure Studies, 41(5), 688-702. https://doi.org/10.1080/02614367.2022.2043417

Details

Primary Language

English

Subjects

Sports and Recreation

Journal Section

Research Article

Authors

Abdullah Çuhadar ^*
0000-0001-6942-4475
Türkiye

Yusuf Er
0000-0001-8441-4283
Türkiye

Mehmet Demirel
Türkiye

Early Pub Date

December 8, 2025

Publication Date

December 26, 2025

Submission Date

April 13, 2025

Acceptance Date

October 28, 2025

Published in Issue

Year 2025 Volume: 16 Number: 3

DOI

https://doi.org/10.54141/psbd.1675149

IZ

https://izlik.org/JA55GD34RG

Cite

RIS / Bibtex

APA

Çuhadar, A., Er, Y., & Demirel, M. (2025). The Mediating Role of Physical and Psychosocial Benefits in the Effect of Leisure Interests on Happiness. Pamukkale Journal of Sport Sciences, 16(3), 581-609. https://doi.org/10.54141/psbd.1675149

AMA

1.Çuhadar A, Er Y, Demirel M. The Mediating Role of Physical and Psychosocial Benefits in the Effect of Leisure Interests on Happiness. Pamukkale J Sport Sci. 2025;16(3):581-609. doi:10.54141/psbd.1675149

Chicago

Çuhadar, Abdullah, Yusuf Er, and Mehmet Demirel. 2025. “The Mediating Role of Physical and Psychosocial Benefits in the Effect of Leisure Interests on Happiness”. Pamukkale Journal of Sport Sciences 16 (3): 581-609. https://doi.org/10.54141/psbd.1675149.

EndNote

Çuhadar A, Er Y, Demirel M (December 1, 2025) The Mediating Role of Physical and Psychosocial Benefits in the Effect of Leisure Interests on Happiness. Pamukkale Journal of Sport Sciences 16 3 581–609.

IEEE

[1]A. Çuhadar, Y. Er, and M. Demirel, “The Mediating Role of Physical and Psychosocial Benefits in the Effect of Leisure Interests on Happiness”, Pamukkale J Sport Sci, vol. 16, no. 3, pp. 581–609, Dec. 2025, doi: 10.54141/psbd.1675149.

ISNAD

Çuhadar, Abdullah - Er, Yusuf - Demirel, Mehmet. “The Mediating Role of Physical and Psychosocial Benefits in the Effect of Leisure Interests on Happiness”. Pamukkale Journal of Sport Sciences 16/3 (December 1, 2025): 581-609. https://doi.org/10.54141/psbd.1675149.

JAMA

1.Çuhadar A, Er Y, Demirel M. The Mediating Role of Physical and Psychosocial Benefits in the Effect of Leisure Interests on Happiness. Pamukkale J Sport Sci. 2025;16:581–609.

MLA

Çuhadar, Abdullah, et al. “The Mediating Role of Physical and Psychosocial Benefits in the Effect of Leisure Interests on Happiness”. Pamukkale Journal of Sport Sciences, vol. 16, no. 3, Dec. 2025, pp. 581-09, doi:10.54141/psbd.1675149.

Vancouver

1.Abdullah Çuhadar, Yusuf Er, Mehmet Demirel. The Mediating Role of Physical and Psychosocial Benefits in the Effect of Leisure Interests on Happiness. Pamukkale J Sport Sci. 2025 Dec. 1;16(3):581-609. doi:10.54141/psbd.1675149