Predicting Leisure Satisfaction in Mainland China, Taiwan, and Brazil: An Individual Participant Data Meta-Analysis

Numerous studies show that individuals’ satisfaction with their leisure relates to other aspects of their lives such as perceived quality of life, life satisfaction, subjective wellbeing, and self-rated health. However, the factors that lead to differences in leisure satisfaction are less well known, especially those involving culture. The purpose of this study is to determine which, among several variables common to samples from locations in Mainland China, Taiwan, and Brazil, best predict leisure satisfaction. An individual participant data meta-analysis indicates that age, education, income, and marital status are significant predictors. Frequency of participation in active leisure pursuits and the perceived importance of interpersonal leisure constraints significantly predict leisure satisfaction, as well. Finally, as our primary interest is in the predictive value of culture-related variables, we examine cultural competence, knowledge of the degree to which individuals know the cultural model of the importance of various leisure activities to a good lifestyle, and cultural consonance, the frequency in which individuals claim to participate in those activities, as predictors. Results indicate that cultural consonance with respect to activities agreed upon as high in importance to a good lifestyle is a robust predictor of leisure satisfaction but that cultural competence is not.