The Meaning of Leisure and Life Satisfaction: The Sample of University Students

Abstract

The aim of the study is to examine the meaning of leisure time and life satisfaction levels of university students in general and students studying in faculties of tourism and sports sciences specifically. The sample group was determined from Recreation and Recreation Management students in the faculties of Tourism and Sport Sciences of universities by using appropriate sampling method based on voluntariness. The study included a total of 1345 university students, 507 women (37.7%) and 838 men (62.3%). In the study, Leisure Meanings Inventory (LMI), which included 35 items and 8 sub-dimensions and which was adapted into Turkish by Gürbüz, Özdemir and Karaküçük (2007), and the Life Satisfaction Questionnaire, which was developed by Diener et al. in 1985 and adapted into Turkish by Yetim (1993) and which included 5 items, were used. In the analysis of the data, descriptive statistical methods such as percentage and frequency were checked to determine the distribution of the personal information of the participants, and Skewness and Kurtosis values of the data were checked to determine whether the data showed normal distribution. In addition, t-test and Anova test and correlation analysis methods were used (α = 0.05). The limitations of the study and evaluations for future studies were discussed in this sense.