Serious Leisure, Leisure Satisfaction and Subjective Well-Being of Chinese University Students

The purposes of this study were to examine the associations between serious leisure, leisure satisfaction and subjective well-being (SWB), and the variances of the leisure satisfaction and SWB domains as well. Serious leisure participants (n = 193) were selected from seven arts groups in a key eastern Chinese university. A contrasting cohort (n = 225) was enrolled who were not committed to serious leisure activities. Independent Samples T Tests results indicated that: (a) serious leisure participants scored significantly higher than non-serious leisure participants in every facets of leisure satisfaction and the overall leisure satisfaction, with social satisfaction being the most important for the former and relaxation being the most for the latter; (b) serious leisure participants also had significantly greater SWB, including life as a whole and other seven domains, than non-serious leisure participants; (c), both serious and non-serious leisure participants have highest satisfaction in standard of living, but serious leisure participants also have highest satisfaction (tied) in safety, community connectedness and spirituality or religion as well. Findings are discussed, theoretical and practical implications are outlined, and future research directions are recommended.