Institutions of higher education are encountering increases in the number of students with mental health issues. As administrators look for ways to promote positive mental health, exploring the role leisure has in the well-being of college students is warranted. This study used the DRAMMA model to better understand the connection of leisure and subjective well-being via the psychological pathways of detachment-recovery, affiliation, meaning, mastery, and autonomy through leisure satisfaction of campus recreation users. Findings suggest campus recreation programs should focus on providing satisfying leisure and recreation experiences that provide meaning, affiliation, and detachment-recovery to students as a potential means to influence subjective well-being.
Background: College students’ declining mental health is a growing concern among institutions of higher education. Although many campuses have provided additional mental health counselors, identifying other mechanisms that facilitate and enhance mental health and wellbeing is also justified. Aim: Using the DRAMMA model as a theoretical framework, this research examined how leisure influences college students’ subjective wellbeing. Methods: An online survey methodology was utilized to measure the psychological outcomes of leisure participation (DRAMMA), leisure satisfaction, and subjective wellbeing of 704 students attending a large 4-year Midwestern residential college. Results: This quantitative study found the five psychological mechanisms of the DRAMMA model (detachment-recovery, autonomy, mastery, meaning, and affiliation) influenced students’ leisure satisfaction and subjective wellbeing. Conclusion: The findings support the need for higher education professionals to create leisure experiences that provide meaning and affiliation to promote subjective wellbeing and improve mental health.
scite is a Brooklyn-based organization that helps researchers better discover and understand research articles through Smart Citations–citations that display the context of the citation and describe whether the article provides supporting or contrasting evidence. scite is used by students and researchers from around the world and is funded in part by the National Science Foundation and the National Institute on Drug Abuse of the National Institutes of Health.
hi@scite.ai
10624 S. Eastern Ave., Ste. A-614
Henderson, NV 89052, USA
Copyright © 2024 scite LLC. All rights reserved.
Made with 💙 for researchers
Part of the Research Solutions Family.