Leisure Activities and the Subjective Well-Being of Older Adults in Croatia
Abstract
Abstract. Research shows that engagement in leisure activities promotes well-being among older adults. The objective of the current study was to examine the relationship between subjective well-being (flourishing) and leisure activities (total number of different activities in the previous year) in a sample of older adults in Croatia, thereby considering the variables of sex, marital status, financial status, and self-perceived health. The differences in the examined variables between the groups of older adults who reported to be engaged in new activities with those who did not were also examined. The sample of N = 169 older adults aged 60 years and above was drawn from a convenience sample of adult internet users in Croatia. Participants reported their self-perceived health and the number of leisure activities they engaged in over the previous year as well as completing the Flourishing Scale. Hierarchical regression analyses indicated that older adults who were engaged in more various leisure activities, who perceived better financial status, and who were married reported higher levels of flourishing. A comparison of the two groups of older adults with and without engagement in leisure activities showed that those engaged in at least one leisure activity were more likely to be women, reported higher levels of flourishing, and perceived their own financial status as better. This study indicated that engaging in leisure activities in later life might provide beneficial effects for the well-being of older adults.
References
2011). A critical review of the literature on social and leisure activity and well-being in later life. Ageing and Society, 31, 683–712. doi 10.1017/ S0144686X10001091
(2013). A review of the effects of physical activity and exercise on cognitive and brain functions in older adults. Journal of Aging Research, 2013, 1–8. Article ID 657508, doi 10.1155/2013/657508
(2008). Is well-being U-shaped over the life cycle? Social Science & Medicine, 66, 1733–1749. doi 10.1016/j.socscimed.2008.01.030
(2011). A Tuesday in the life of a flourisher: The role of positive emotional reactivity in optimal mental health. Emotion, 11, 938–950. doi 10.1037/a0024889
(2004). The power of the positive: Leisure and well-being. Therapeutic Recreation Journal, 38, 225–245.
(1999). Taking time seriously: A theory of socioemotional selectivity. American Psychologist, 54, 165–181. doi 10.1037/0003-066X.54.3.165
(2012). Age differences in goal concordance, time use, and well-being. Educational Gerontology, 38, 742–752. doi 10.1080/03601277.2011.645424
(2000). Well-being in Canadian seniors: Findings from the Canadian Study of Health and Aging. Canadian Journal On Aging, 19, 139–159. doi 10.1017/S0714980800013982
(2008). Income, health, and well-being around the world: Evidence from the Gallup World Poll. Journal of Economic Perspectives, 22, 53–72. doi http://dx.doi.org.libproxy.wustl.edu/ 10.1257/jep.22.2.53
(1984). Subjective well-being. Psychological Bulletin, 95, 542–575. doi 10.1037/0033-2909.95.3.542
(1998).
(Subjective well-being and age: An international analysis . In K. W. SchaieM. P. LawtonEds., Annual review of gerontology and geriatrics, Vol. 17: Focus on emotion and adult development (pp. 304–324). New York: Springer Publishing Co.2000). Similarity of the relations between marital status and subjective well-being across cultures. Journal of Cross-Cultural Psychology, 31, 419–436. doi 10.1177/0022022100031004001
(1999). Subjective well-being: Three decades of progress. Psychological Bulletin, 125, 276–302. doi 10.1037/0033-2909.125.2.276
(2010). New well-being measures: Short scales to assess flourishing and positive and negative feelings. Social Indicators Research, 97, 143–156. doi 10.1007/s11205-009-9493-y
(2016). Different types of well-being? A cross-cultural examination of hedonic and eudaimonic well-being. Psychological Assessment, 28, 471–482. doi 10.1037/pas0000209
(2014). Special Eurobarometer 412: Sport and physical activity. doi 10.2766/73002
(2010). Still happy after all these years: Research frontiers on subjective well-being in later life. The Journals of Gerontology: Series B: Psychological Sciences And Social Sciences, 65, 331–339. doi 10.1093/geronb/gbq006
(2012). Psychological resilience in young and older adults. International Journal of Geriatric Psychiatry, 27, 262–270. doi 10.1002/gps.2712
(2004). Formal volunteering as a protective factor for older adults’ psychological well-being. The Journals of Gerontology: Series B: Psychological Sciences And Social Sciences, 59, S258–S264. doi 10.1093/geronb/59.5.S258
(2012). Leisure as a resource for successful aging by older adults with chronic health conditions. The International Journal of Aging and Human Development, 74, 41–65. doi 10.2190/AG.74.1.c
(2003). Positive and negative affect in very old age. The Journals of Gerontology: Series B: Psychological Sciences And Social Sciences, 58, P143–P152. doi 10.1093/ geronb/58.3.P143
(2008). Reduction in leisure activity and well-being during the transition to widowhood. Journal of Women and Aging, 20, 83–98.
(2012). Prevalence of insufficient physical activity in Croatia and in the world (in Croatian). Archives of Industrial Hygiene and Toxicology, 63, (Supplement 3), 3–12.
(2009). Physical activity of Croatian population: cross-sectional study using the International Physical Activity Questionnaire. Croatian Medical Journal, 50, 165–173. doi 10.3325/cmj2009.50.165
(2007). Monthly income and subjective well-being in Croatian citizens. Croatian Medical Journal, 48, 727–733.
(2011). Cultural perspectives on aging and well-being: A comparison of Japan and the United States. The International Journal of Aging and Human Development, 73, 73–98. doi 10.2190/AG.73.1.d
(2007). Promoting and protecting mental health as flourishing: A complementary strategy for improving national mental health. American Psychologist, 62, 95–108. doi 10.1037/ 0003-066X.62.2.95
(2010). Physical activity for an aging population. Public Health Review, 32, 401–26.
(2009). ‘I can’t be very sad’: Constraint and adaptation in the leisure of a “learning in retirement” group. Leisure Studies, 28, 67–83. doi 10.1080/02614360802260820
(2009). Temporal trends in physical activity: A systematic review. Journal of Physical Activity and Health, 6, 548–559.
(2016). Leisure-time physical activity, sedentary behaviors and subjective well-being in older adults: An 8-year longitudinal research. Social Indicators Research, 127, 1349–1361. doi 10.1007/s11205-015-1005-7
(2002). Time counts: Future time perspective, goals, and social relationships. Psychology And Aging, 17, 125–139. doi 10.1037/0882-7974.17.1.125
(2007). Uses of music and psychological well-being among the elderly’ Journal of Happiness Studies, 8, 215–241. doi 10.1007/s10902-006-9024-3
(2005). Pursuing happiness: The architecture of sustainable change. Review of General Psychology, 9, 111–131. doi 10.1037/1089-2680.9.2.111
(1998). The effect of age on positive and negative affect: A developmental perspective on happiness. Journal of Personality And Social Psychology, 75, 1333–1349. doi 10.1037/0022-3514.75.5.1333
(2010). Cross-cultural aging in cognitive and affective components of subjective well-being. Psychology And Aging, 25, 725–729. doi 10.1037/a001851
(2009). Association of enjoyable leisure activities with psychological and physical well-being. Psychosomatic Medicine, 71, 725–732. doi 10.1097/PSY.0b013e3181ad7978
(2001). On happiness and human potentials: A review of research on hedonic and eudaimonic well-being. Annual Review of Psychology, 52, 141–166. doi 10.1146/annurev.psych.52.1.141
(2014). Psychological well-being revisited: Advances in the science and practice of eudaimonia. Psychotherapy and Psychosomatics, 83, 10–28. doi 10.1159/000353263
(2002). Leisure activities and quality of life among the oldest old in Sweden. Research on Aging, 24, 528–547. doi 10.1177/0164027502245003
(2013). Physical activity in older people: A systematic review. BioMedCentral Public Health, 13, 449–465. doi 10.1186/1471-2458-13-449
(2006). How do people pursue happiness?: Relating personality, happiness-increasing strategies, and well-being. Journal of Happiness Studies, 7, 183–225. doi 10.1007/s10902-005-4754-1
(1998). Growing older. Staying well. Ageing and physical activity in everyday life. Geneva: Author.
(2002). Active aging: A policy framework. Geneva: Author.
(1989). Personal meaning and successful aging. Canadian Psychology/Psychologie Canadienne, 30, 516–525. doi 10.1037/h0079829
(