The Moderating Role of Gender in the Relationship Between Leisure Involvement and Life Satisfaction

The study aimed to examine the relationship between the leisure involvement and life satisfaction of sports-fitness center participants and to determine the role of gender in this relationship. This study was designed in correlation survey design. A structured online survey method was used to examine leisure involvement, life satisfaction and personal information form and was delivered to potential participants. From the private sports-fitness center determined through deliberate sampling, 227 individuals answered the survey anonymously and voluntarily. Pearson correlation analysis and regression analysis based on the Bootstrap method were performed for statistical evaluation. In the regression analysis, it was found that the predictor variables included in the model explained approximately 11% of the change in life satisfaction. It was determined that leisure involvement did not have a significant effect on life satisfaction, while gender had a negative significant effect. It was determined that the moderating effect of leisure involvement and gender variables on life satisfaction was also positively significant. When the details regarding the moderating effect were examined, it was found that the effect of leisure involvement on life satisfaction was statistically significant in men, while the effect of leisure involvement on life satisfaction was statistically insignificant in females. As a result, the effect of leisure involvement on life satisfaction differs significantly according to gender. It was found that participants with higher levels of leisure involvement tended to report higher levels of life satisfaction, and there was a significant difference in terms of gender. Leisure involvement has a stronger effect on the level of life satisfaction in male participants. The findings of this study provide references to relevant sector stakeholders regarding the leisure behaviors, participation and leisure experiences of sports-fitness participants.