Investigating the relationships between life satisfaction and leisure satisfaction on individuals interested in outdoor recreation: sample of parks in London

Abstract

The main purpose of this study is to determine the relationship between life satisfaction and leisure satisfaction of individuals participating leisureactivities within outdoor recreation.A total of 500 individuals, (females n = 298 and males n = 202) aged 12 to 65 participated in this study, who were interested in outdoor recreation in parks in London, England. The research sample was randomly selected. These participants were individuals that participated outdoor recreation and leisure activities as a volunteer.Within the scope of the survey study, two different scales were used. At the same time,demographic variables of participants were questioned. The questionnaire form consisted of the following two scales; “The Satisfaction with Life Scale (SWLS)” developed by Diener et al. (1985) adapted to Turkish by Köker and Yetim (1991), and “Leisure Satisfaction Scale (LSS)” developed by Beard &Ragheb (1980) adapted to Turkish by Gökçe (2008).For an initial statistical representation of the data, descriptive and frequency analyses were performed. Pearson correlation coefficients were utilized to determine and interpret the existence and degree of correlations between scale mean scores. According to the findings of the study, a significantly moderate level of correlation was observed between participants’ level of life satisfaction and leisure satisfaction (r: ,36; p< .05).The results of the study show that individuals participating in outdoor recreation (parks) have a high level of life satisfaction and quality of life which in return provides positive psychological and physiological gains. In addition, individuals participating in outdoor recreation with a high level of leisure satisfaction are also expected to have a high level of life satisfaction. Thus, local authorities are suggested to pay special attention and focus on recreational activities and management of recreational areas such as parks.