Understanding How Sports Relate to Hedonic and Eudaimonic Well-Being Among Japanese University Students

Leisure engagement, especially sports experiences, has been identified as a robust predictor of subjective well-being (SWB). Two aspects of SWB are hedonic well-being (HWB) and eudaimonic well-being (EWB). HWB emphasizes pleasure and positive affect, whereas EWB involves meaning, purpose, and virtue. The majority of empirical leisure and sports studies, however, have focused on HWB, underexploring leisure’s and sports’ relevance to EWB. Moreover, most studies are limited to Western well-being concepts, whereas people across cultures may conceptualize and experience well-being somewhat differently. Therefore, the purpose of this paper is to examine how sports experiences relate to Japanese well-being concepts, shiawase (happiness, HWB) and ikigai (life worthiness, EWB) among Japanese university students, and how these relationships differ between sport club members and non-members. In Study 1, we analyzed online survey data from 672 students, using partial least squares structural equation modeling. Sports satisfaction had direct links to shiawase and/or ikigai , whereas the effects of sports participation and commitment were mediated by diverse valuable experiences such as enjoyment, stimulation, and comfort. Sports commitment appeared particularly important for sport club members, while sports participation sufficed for non-members. In Study 2, we collected data through a smartphone-based experience sampling method with 83 students for one week. Hierarchical linear modeling results showed that sports participation was associated with greater daily ikigai , while it was unrelated to shiawase . The association between sports participation and daily ikigai was stronger among sport club non-members. We discuss overall findings in relation to student mental health and campus recreation administration.