Ryu, Jungsu (2017-05). Eudaimonic Behaviors, Leisure Activity and Well-Being of Older Adults within the Context of Daily Life. Doctoral Dissertation.
Thesis
This study explored the relations between participation in different types of daily activities (leisure activity and eudaimonic behaviors), select dispositions (neuroticism, dispositional depression, and physical activity level), and select measures of in-situ well-being among older adults. In-situ well-being was indicated by three transitory emotional and motivational states: situational depression, positive affect, and deep structured experience. Nineteen participants ranging in age from 59 to 81 years (M= 68.68, SD= 7.17) were recruited from a southwestern city in the United States. Each participant was signaled on five randomly selected occasions each day for seven consecutive days. Upon receiving a signal, participants completed questionnaires measuring their activity participation and their in-situ well-being at the time of the signal.A total of 638 useable responses were obtained. Data were analyzed through multilevel modeling. Significant predictors of situational depression included leisure activity participation (inverse relation), neuroticism, and physical activity level (inverse relation). For positive affect, leisure activity (inverse relation), eudaimonic behaviors (friendship activity, moral behavior, self-relevant activity), and dispositional depression (inverse relation) were significant. For deep structured experience, leisure activity and eudaimonic behaviors (intellectual activity, self-relevant activity) were significant. These findings suggest that active leisure participation and engaging in eudaimonic behaviors can promote in-situ well-being of older adults.
