Background/Purpose This study attempted to illuminate the psychological benefits of leisure experiences using enduring involvement. Little about the relationships between enduring involvement and leisure-related psychological variables has been found in leisure literature. Furthermore, enduring involvement has implications that participation indices (e.g., the duration, frequency, and intensity of participation) do not reflect because it has multidimensional constructs that can provide an insight into the underlying motivations and the meanings that people obtain from their leisure experiences. To assess the psychological benefits of leisure experiences, flow, enjoyment, and the perceived quality of life were used due to their documented benefits in people's life. Collectively, this study examined the relationships between enduring involvement and flow, enjoyment, and the perceived quality of life.
Method Institutional Review Board (IRB) approval was obtained for recruiting 797 subjects from nine universities. A questionnaire package was developed by combining four instruments.
Analysis/Results Exploratory factor analysis was conducted, and three enduring involvement factors emerged: a) Sign Attraction Enduring Involvement (SAEI), b) Risk Probability Enduring Involvement (RPEI), and c) Risk Consequence Enduring Involvement (RCEI). Multiple regression analysis indicated that SAEI showed significant positive relationships to flow, enjoyment, and the perceived quality of life.
Conclusions Findings indicated that a high level of involvement into leisure activities produced more psychological benefits and that SAEI played a crucial role in this. That is, respondents who were more interested in and who had a strong symbolism from their leisure activities more frequently experienced flow and enjoyment, and they perceived their quality of life better.
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