Towards a Benefits Theory of Leisure Well-Being

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.