Examining basic psychological need frustration's relevance to leisure: A case of Chinese international students during the COVID-19 pandemic

Although Basic Psychological Need Theory (BPNT) has guided the research on leisure's impacts on subjective well-being, past studies focused on its positive side: need satisfaction. The purpose of this study is to investigate whether need frustration-where individuals are actively prevented from satisfying their needs for autonomy, competence, and relatedness-is relevant to leisure, within the case of Chinese international students during the COVID-19 pandemic. Data from 444 students were collected through a cross-sectional online survey. A series of hierarchical regressions showed that need frustration-especially competence frustration-in leisure predicted leisure satisfaction, global life satisfaction, anxiety, and depression, above and beyond need satisfaction in leisure. While the results generally support BPNT, we also discuss them in relation to the unique life domain of leisure, Chinese culture, and post-pandemic life. We maintain that need frustration makes BPNT a useful theoretical framework to examine both negative and positive experiences within leisure.