Structural Relationships between Leisure Experience, Leisure Addiction, Leisure Motivation in Retired Middle-Aged and Older Adults

The purpose of this study was to examine the structural relationships among leisure experience, leisure addiction, and leisure motivation in retired middle-aged and older adults. To achieve this purpose, the snowball sampling method, a type of non-probability sampling, was applied to recruit participants aged 40 years and older but under 65 years who were engaged in leisure activities. Data were analyzed using SPSS 29.0 Ver. and Jamovi 2.4.11 Ver., conducting frequency analysis, confirmatory factor analysis, reliability analysis, correlation analysis, discriminant validity test, descriptive statistics, path analysis, and bootstrapping to verify mediating effects. Findings indicate that rich leisure experiences in middle-aged and older adults are linked to a simultaneous increase in both the propensity for leisure addiction and participation motivation. Leisure addiction, in particular, presents a dual nature; despite its negative aspects like compulsive participation, it can serve as a catalyst in specific contexts to further strengthen immersion and motivation. This suggests that leisure addiction should not be viewed solely as a negative phenomenon, but rather as a potential mechanism that amplifies leisure motivation.