Mechanisms linking international leisure sport tourism to mental health and subjective well-being: evidence from a three-wave mixed-effects model

Driven by national economic growth, International Leisure Sport Tourism has emerged and has attracted increasing attention for its potential to promote Mental Health and Subjective Well-Being. Although International Leisure Sport Tourism may enhance Mental Health and Subjective Well-Being, evidence on its operating mechanisms in cross-cultural contexts and from longitudinal designs remains insufficient. This study used three-wave longitudinal data to test its direct, indirect, and moderating effects, thereby providing a basis for theory and practice. Taking Chinese participants who had experience in International Leisure Sport Tourism as the target group, 585 valid responses were obtained. Confirmatory factor analysis was conducted using AMOS 26.0, and a mixed-effects model integrating direct, indirect, and moderating effects was tested using AmosEstimandVB programming and Bootstrap (5,000 resamples); PROCESS Model 1 was employed to generate simple slope plots for high vs. low Cultural Experience. International Leisure Sport Tourism had a significant positive direct effect on Mental Health. Two chain mediation mechanisms were identified between International Leisure Sport Tourism and Mental Health: by enhancing individuals’ Self-Efficacy and thereby promoting Positive Emotion Regulation, it helps improve Mental Health; and by improving Body Image and subsequently facilitating Self-Acceptance, it can likewise indirectly enhance Mental Health. In addition, Cultural Experience positively moderated the positive effect of Mental Health on Subjective Well-Being, such that the effect size was larger at higher levels of Cultural Experience. International Leisure Sport Tourism can directly improve Mental Health; it can also indirectly enhance travelers’ Subjective Well-Being through the chain mechanisms of Self-Efficacy → Positive Emotion Regulation and Body Image → Self-Acceptance; moreover, a high level of Cultural Experience can further strengthen the transformation from Mental Health to Subjective Well-Being.