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Towards a Benefits Theory of Leisure Well-Being

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Abstract

We view leisure well-being as satisfaction in leisure life that contributes to subjective well-being. The model we propose focuses on how leisure activities contribute to leisure well-being. We surmise that a leisure activity contributes to leisure well-being by satisfying a set of basic needs (benefits related to safety, health, economic, sensory, escape, and/or sensation/stimulation needs) and growth needs (benefits related to symbolic, aesthetic, moral, mastery, relatedness, and/or distinctiveness needs). Also, further amplification occurs when certain benefits of leisure activities match corresponding personality traits and goals of the participants; safety consciousness, health consciousness, price sensitivity, hedonism, escapism, sensation seeking, status consciousness, aestheticism, moral sensitivity, competitiveness, sociability, and need for distinctiveness, respectively.

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Authors and Affiliations

  1. Department of Marketing, Virginia Polytechnic Institute & State University, 2025 Pamplin Hall, Blacksburg, Virginia, 24061, USA

    M. Joseph Sirgy

  2. Department of Hospitality and Tourism Management, Virginia Polytechnic Institute and State University, 351 Wallace Hall, Blacksburg, VA, 24061, USA

    Muzaffer Uysal

  3. School of Business Management, Faculty: Economic and Management Sciences, North-West University, Potchefstroom, South Africa

    Stefan Kruger

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  1. M. Joseph Sirgy
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  2. Muzaffer Uysal
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Sirgy, M.J., Uysal, M. & Kruger, S. Towards a Benefits Theory of Leisure Well-Being. Applied Research Quality Life 12, 205–228 (2017). https://doi.org/10.1007/s11482-016-9482-7

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