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Understanding How Sports Relate to Hedonic and Eudaimonic Well-Being Among Japanese University Students

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Abstract

Leisure engagement, especially sports experiences, has been identified as a robust predictor of subjective well-being (SWB). Two aspects of SWB are hedonic well-being (HWB) and eudaimonic well-being (EWB). HWB emphasizes pleasure and positive affect, whereas EWB involves meaning, purpose, and virtue. The majority of empirical leisure and sports studies, however, have focused on HWB, underexploring leisure’s and sports’ relevance to EWB. Moreover, most studies are limited to Western well-being concepts, whereas people across cultures may conceptualize and experience well-being somewhat differently. Therefore, the purpose of this paper is to examine how sports experiences relate to Japanese well-being concepts, shiawase (happiness, HWB) and ikigai (life worthiness, EWB) among Japanese university students, and how these relationships differ between sport club members and non-members. In Study 1, we analyzed online survey data from 672 students, using partial least squares structural equation modeling. Sports satisfaction had direct links to shiawase and/or ikigai, whereas the effects of sports participation and commitment were mediated by diverse valuable experiences such as enjoyment, stimulation, and comfort. Sports commitment appeared particularly important for sport club members, while sports participation sufficed for non-members. In Study 2, we collected data through a smartphone-based experience sampling method with 83 students for one week. Hierarchical linear modeling results showed that sports participation was associated with greater daily ikigai, while it was unrelated to shiawase. The association between sports participation and daily ikigai was stronger among sport club non-members. We discuss overall findings in relation to student mental health and campus recreation administration.

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Authors and Affiliations

  1. Faculty of Kinesiology, Sport, and Recreation, University of Alberta, 2-130T, University Hall, van Vliet Complex, 8840-114 St., Edmonton, AB, T6G 2H9, Canada

    Shintaro Kono

  2. School of Health and Sport Sciences, Chukyo University, Toyota, Japan

    Eiji Ito

  3. Department of Sport Business Administration, Faculty of Business Administration, Hiroshima University of Economics, Hiroshima, Japan

    Isao Okayasu

  4. Department of Psychology, Faculty of Arts, University of Alberta, Edmonton, Canada

    **g**g Gui

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  1. Shintaro Kono
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  2. Eiji Ito
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  3. Isao Okayasu
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  4. **g**g Gui
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Correspondence to Shintaro Kono.

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The authors declare that they have no conflict of interest. This study was supported by Sasakawa Sports Research Grants (160A3-011, 180A3-005) from the Sasakawa Sports Foundation (Japan) awarded to the second author.

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Kono, S., Ito, E., Okayasu, I. et al. Understanding How Sports Relate to Hedonic and Eudaimonic Well-Being Among Japanese University Students. Int J Sociol Leis 6, 27–54 (2023). https://doi.org/10.1007/s41978-022-00114-w

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  • DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/s41978-022-00114-w

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