Skip to main content
SpringerLink
Log in

Leisure Satisfaction and Quality of Life in China, Japan, and South Korea: A Comparative Study Using AsiaBarometer 2006

  • Research Paper
  • Published:
Journal of Happiness Studies Aims and scope Submit manuscript

Abstract

Leisure satisfaction is positively associated with quality of life (QOL), more specifically, subjective QOL, which is often expressed as happiness. Compared to industrial nations in North America and Europe, however, significantly less is known about Asian nations. The purpose of this study is to examine the understudied areas of China, Japan and South Korea, all of which share cultural values and practices (e.g., Confucianism). Internationally representative 2006 AsiaBarometer data from Mainland China (n = 2,000), Japan (n = 1,003) and South Korea (n = 1,023) are employed to examine the concept of QOL, and the association between leisure satisfaction and QOL in these specific Asian populations. Results of confirmatory factor analysis demonstrate the validity of the QOL concept based on a series of satisfaction measures (i.e., leisure, income, health, family, spirituality, and friendship). Subsequently, generalized ordinal logistic regression was used to model QOL as a function of leisure satisfaction and covariates. Results show that leisure satisfaction is independently positively associated with QOL only in South Korea, although other satisfaction measures including income, health and spiritual satisfactions are consistently significant in all three nations. These findings may be useful for developing locally-sensitive policies and services to improve/maintain QOL in each nation. Possible explanations about the diverse relationships between leisure satisfaction and QOL are discussed in view of the different stage of societal development, common Confucian values, as well as each nation’s unique characteristics.

This is a preview of subscription content, log in via an institution to check access.

Access this article

Log in via an institution

Price excludes VAT (USA)
Tax calculation will be finalised during checkout.

Instant access to the full article PDF.

Institutional subscriptions

Fig. 1

Similar content being viewed by others

References

  • Agahi, N., Ahacic, K., & Parker, M. G. (2006). Continuity of leisure participation from middle age to old age. The Journals of Gerontology Series B: Psychological Sciences and Social Sciences, 61(6), S340–S346.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Agate, J. R., Zabriskie, R. B., Agate, S. T., & Poff, R. (2009). Family leisure satisfaction and satisfaction with family life. Journal of Leisure Research, 41(2), 205–223.

    Google Scholar 

  • Arbuckle, J. L. (2008). Amos 17.0.0. Crawfordville: Amos Development.

    Google Scholar 

  • Atcheley, R. C. (1993). Continuity theory and the evolution of activity in later adulthood. In J. R. Kelly (Ed.), Activity and aging: Staying involved in later life. Thousand Oaks, CA: SAGE publication.

    Google Scholar 

  • Ateca-Amestoy, V., Serrano-del-Rosal, R., & Vera-Toscano, E. (2008). The leisure experience. Journal of Socio-Economics, 37(1), 64–78. doi:10.1016/j.socec.2006.12.025.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Berry, B. J. L., & Okulicz-Kozaryn, A. (2009). Dissatisfaction with city life: A new look at some old questions. Cities, 26(3), 117–124. doi:10.1016/j.cities.2009.01.005.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Berry, B. J. L., & Okulicz-Kozaryn, A. (2011). An urban-rural happiness gradient. Urban Geography, 32(6), 871–883. doi:10.2747/0272-3638.32.6.871.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Brown, T. A. (2006). Confirmatory factor analysis for applied research. New York City: The Guilford Press.

    Google Scholar 

  • Costello, A. B., & Osborne, J. W. (2005). Best practices in exploratory factor analysis: Four recommendations for getting the most from your analysis. Practical Assessment, Research & Evaluation, 10(7), 1–9.

    Google Scholar 

  • DeMaris, A. (2004). Regression with social data: Modeling continuous and limited response variables. Hoboken, NJ: Wiley-Blackwell.

    Book  Google Scholar 

  • Diener, E. E., & Suh, E. M. (2000). Culture and subjective well-being. Cambridge, MA: The MIT press.

    Google Scholar 

  • Fernandez-Ballesteros, R., Zamarron, M. D., & Ruiz, A. (2001). The contribution of socio-demographic and psychosocial factors to life satisfaction. Ageing & Society, 21(01), 25–43. doi:10.1017/S0144686X01008078.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Ferrans, C. E. (1996). Development of a conceptual model of quality of life. Research and Theory for Nursing Practice, 10(3), 293–304.

    Google Scholar 

  • Freysinger, V. J. (1993). The community, programs, and opportunities: population diversity. In J. R. Kelly (Ed.), Activity and aging: Staying involved in later life (pp. 211–230). Thousand Oaks, CA: SAGE publication.

    Google Scholar 

  • Furnham, A. (1991). Work and leisure satisfaction. In F. Strack, M. Argyle, & N. Schwarsz (Eds.), Subjective well-being: An interdisciplinary perspective (pp. 235–360). Oxford, England: Pergamon Press.

    Google Scholar 

  • GDP per capita (current US$). (2011). http://data.worldbank.org/indicator/NY.GDP.PCAP.CD. Accessed September 12, 2011.

  • Hausmann, R., Tyson, L. D., & Zahidi, S. (2010). The global gender gap report 2010.

  • Heeringa, S., West, B. T., & Berglund, P. A. (2010). Applied survey data analysis. New York: CRC Press Taylor & Francis Group.

    Book  Google Scholar 

  • Henderson, K. A. (1996). One size doesn’t fit all: The meanings of women’s leisure. Journal of Leisure Research, 28(3), 139–154.

    Google Scholar 

  • Hendricks, J., & Cutler, S. J. (2003). Leisure in life-course perspective. In R. A. Settersten (Ed.), Invitation to the life course: Toward new understandings of later life (pp. 107–134). Amityville, NY: Baywood.

    Google Scholar 

  • Henretta, J. C. (2003). The life-course perspective on work and retirement. In R. A. Settersten (Ed.), Invitation to the life course: Toward new understandings of later life (pp. 85–105). Amityville, NY: Baywood.

    Google Scholar 

  • Hosmer, D. W., & Lemeshow, S. (2004). Applied logistic regression. New York: Wiley-Interscience.

    Google Scholar 

  • Inoguchi, T. (2006). AsiaBarometer survey data 2006. In AsiaBarometer project (Ed.). Tokyo, Japan.

  • Inoguchi, T., Basanez, M., Tanaka, A., & Debadaev, T. (Eds.). (2005). Values and life styles in urban Asia: A cross-cultural analysis and sourcebook based on the AsiaBarometer survey of 2003. Tokyo, Japan: Institute of Oriental Culture, The University of Tokyo.

    Google Scholar 

  • Inoguchi, T., & Fujii, S. (2009). The AsiaBarometer: Its aim, its scope and its development. Barometers of Quality of Life Around the Globe, 33, 187–232. doi:10.1007/978-1-4020-8686-1_8.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Iwasaki, Y. (2007). Leisure and quality of life in an international and multicultural context: What are major pathways linking leisure to quality of life? Social Indicators Research, 82(2), 233–264. doi:10.1007/s11205-006-9032-z.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Kelly, J. R. (1983). Leisure identities and interactions. London, England: George Allen & unwin.

    Google Scholar 

  • Kim, I.- K. (2007). Social support for older persons: the role of family, community and state in selected Asian countries. Paper presented at the Expert Group Meeting on the Regional Preparations for the Global Review of Madrid Plan of Action on Aging, Bangkok, Thailand.

  • Kleiber, D. A. (1999). Leisure experience and human development: A dialectical interpretation. New York: Basic Books.

    Google Scholar 

  • Koyano, W. (1996). Filial piety and intergenerational solidarity in Japan. Australasian Journal on Ageing, 15(2), 51–56. doi:10.1111/j.1741-6612.1996.tb00203.x.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Lawton, M. P., Winter, L., Kleban, M. H., & Ruckdeschel, K. (1999). Affect and quality of life. Journal of Aging and Health, 11(2), 169–198. doi:10.1177/089826439901100203.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Lloyd, K. M., & Auld, C. J. (2002). The role of leisure in determining quality of life: Issues of content and measurement. Social Indicators Research, 57(1), 43–71. doi:10.1023/a:1013879518210.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Long, J. S., & Freese, J. (2006). Regression models for categorial dependent variables using Stata (2nd ed.). College Station, TX: Stata Press.

    Google Scholar 

  • Luo, L. (2011). Leisure and depression in midlife: A Taiwanese national survey of middle-aged adults. Journal of Health Psychology, 16(1), 137–147. doi:10.1177/1359105310370501.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Okulicz-Kozaryn, A. (2011). Europeans work to live and Americans live to work (who is happy to work more: Americans or Europeans?). Journal of Happiness Studies, 12(2), 225–243. doi:10.1007/s10902-010-9188-8.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Paiva, M. F. R., Neto, F., Sastre, M. T. M., Laumond-Salvatore, N., Rivière, S., & Mullet, E. (2009). Life domain satisfaction: A Portugal–France comparison. Social Indicators Research, 94(1), 173–181. doi:10.1007/s11205-008-9359-8.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Pearson, Q. M. (2007). Role overload, job satisfaction, leisure satisfaction, and psychological health among employed women. Journal of Counseling & Development, 86(1), 57–63.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Riddick, C. C., & Stewart, D. G. (1994). An examination of the life satisfaction and importance of leisure in the lives of older female retirees: A comparison of blacks to whites. Journal of Leisure Research, 26, 75.

    Google Scholar 

  • Rojek, C. (2006). The structural characteristics of modern leisure practice. In C. Rojek, S. M. Shaw, & A. Veal (Eds.), Handbook of leisure studies (pp. 13–33). Hampshire, England: Palgrave.

    Chapter  Google Scholar 

  • Samdahl, D. M. (1988). A symbolic interactionist model of leisure: Theory and empirical support. Leisure Sciences, 10(1), 27–39. doi:10.1080/01490408809512174.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Shin, D. C., & Rutkowski, C. P. (2003). Subjective quality of Korean life in 1981 and 2001. Social Indicators Research, 62–63(1), 509–534. doi:10.1023/a:1022674007378.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Shu, X., & Zhu, Y. (2009). The quality of life in China. Social Indicators Research, 92(2), 191–225. doi:10.1007/s11205-008-9350-4.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Spiers, A., & Walker, G. (2009). The effects of ethnicity and leisure satisfaction on happiness, peacefulness, and quality of life. Leisure Science, 31(1), 84–99. doi:10.1080/01490400802558277.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Tokuda, Y., Fujii, S., Jimba, M., & Inoguchi, T. (2009). The relationship between trust in mass media and the healthcare system and individual health: Evidence from the AsiaBarometer Survey. BMC Medicine, 7(1), 4.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Tseng, T. A., Chang, D. Y., & Shen, C. C. (2009). The relationships between leisure behaviors and life satisfaction of foreign labors in Taiwan–the case of Thai labors. Advanced in Hospitality and Leisure, 5, 25–50. doi:10.1108/S1745-3542(2009)0000005006.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Tsou, M.-W., & Liu, J.-T. (2001). Happiness and domain satisfaction in Taiwan. Journal of Happiness Studies, 2(3), 269–288. doi:10.1023/a:1011816429264.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Tsuya, N. O., Mason, K. O., & Bumpass, L. L. (2004). Views of marriage among never-married young adults. In N. O. Tsuya & L. L. Bumpass (Eds.), Marriage, work, and family life in comparative perspective: Japan, South Korea, and the United States (pp. 39–53). Honolulu, HI: University of Hawaii Press.

    Google Scholar 

  • Williams, R. (2006). Generalized ordered logit/partial proportional odds models for ordinal dependent variables. State Journal, 6(1), 58–82.

    Google Scholar 

  • Zhang, Y. B., Lin, M. C., Nonaka, A., & Beom, K. (2005). Harmony, hierarchy and conservatism: A cross-cultural comparison of Confucian values in China, Korea, Japan, and Taiwan. Communication Research Reports, 22(2), 107–115.

    Article  Google Scholar 

Download references

Author information

Authors and Affiliations

  1. Department of Sociology and Gerontology, Miami University, 375 Upham Hall, Oxford, OH, 45056, USA

    Jiayin Liang & J. Scott Brown

  2. Scripps Gerontology Center, Miami University, 396 Upham Hall, Oxford, OH, 45056, USA

    Takashi Yamashita & J. Scott Brown

Authors
  1. Jiayin Liang
    View author publications

    You can also search for this author in PubMed Google Scholar

  2. Takashi Yamashita
    View author publications

    You can also search for this author in PubMed Google Scholar

  3. J. Scott Brown
    View author publications

    You can also search for this author in PubMed Google Scholar

Corresponding author

Correspondence to Takashi Yamashita.

Rights and permissions

Reprints and permissions

About this article

Cite this article

Liang, J., Yamashita, T. & Scott Brown, J. Leisure Satisfaction and Quality of Life in China, Japan, and South Korea: A Comparative Study Using AsiaBarometer 2006. J Happiness Stud 14, 753–769 (2013). https://doi.org/10.1007/s10902-012-9353-3

Download citation

  • Published:

  • Issue Date:

  • DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/s10902-012-9353-3

Keywords

Search

Navigation