Dongwook Cho

Background: As college students increasingly face academic and social pressures, maintaining regular physical activity has become an important public health concern. However, Preliminary data indicate that physical inactivity remains a global public health concern, with college students experiencing barriers influenced by social and cultural factors. Thus, this study aimed to examine cross-cultural differences in exercise motivation among college students in the United States and South Korea. Methods: Participants were recruited from two public 4-year universities located in the southern United States and from two 4-year universities in Korea. A total of 752 college students (373 U.S. and 379 Korean) were analyzed using the Exercise Motivation Inventory-2 (EMI-2). Results: The findings indicated that U.S. students generally exhibit higher motivation for exercise, particularly that inspired by stress management ( p < 0.001), revitalization ( p < 0.001), enjoyment ( p < 0.001), and health-related factors, while Korean students prioritize social recognition ( p = 0.007). Additionally, U.S. female students demonstrated greater motivation across all subscales than their Korean counterparts, whereas Korean male students emphasized challenge ( p = 0.027) and social recognition ( p < 0.001) more than U.S. males. Conclusion: The present findings indicate that exercise motivation differs between U.S. and Korean college students across several motive dimensions. The results suggest that some exercise motives may be relatively stable across student populations, whereas others may be more sensitive to educational and social context. These findings may inform future efforts to design context-sensitive physical activity promotion strategies in university settings.

Leisure constraints have been increasingly recognized as significant factors influencing individuals’ participation in leisure and recreational activ

It is clear that yachting tourists are motivated to spend their leisure time at sea. However, few studies have determined the relationship between tourists’ motivation and satisfaction with yachting, and re-yachting intention. Furthermore, the purpose of this study was to examine the relationships among yachting motivation, yachting satisfaction, and re-yachting intention. More specifically, this study sought to examine whether yachting motivation influenced yachting satisfaction, and determine if re-yachting intention was affected by yachting motivation. In order to analyze the data for this study, a total of 240 questionnaires were distributed to yachting tourists at three private yacht club operators, utilizing the convenient sampling method. A total of 219 usable questionnaires were analyzed for this study, while 21 questionnaires were discarded due to incompletion of the survey. Data were analyzed with multiple regression analysis using SPSS version 27.0. The results revealed that entertainment, stress reduction, and family/friends were positively and significantly related to yachting satisfaction. However, socializing and external ostentation did not contribute to yachting satisfaction. Secondly, the results indicated that entertainment, socializing, and stress reduction had a positive and significant effect on re-yachting intention. Conversely, external ostentation and family/friends had no significant influence on re-yachting intention. It is necessary for yacht club business operators to recognize the yachting motivation of the participants. It is also recommended that appropriate marketing strategies are implemented to increase yachting tourism, which would possibly influence yachting satisfaction and re-yachting intention.

Background Leisure, sports, and tourism have been significant economic drivers for the United States of America and other countries around the world. One demographic that participates in sports tourism is the college student. Understanding the leisure satisfaction of college students who participate in sports tourism can provide a different perspective on the field. Method In order to analze the data, a total of 331 college students responded to the survey by utilizing the convenient sampling method. However, 91 of them were removed from the analysis because they did not have any experience of sports tourism. Thus, a total of 240 college students filled out the leisure satisfaction survey (LSS). The Mann–Whitney U and Kruskal–Wallis nonparametric tests were utilized to examine the demographic characteristics, pre-event research on sports tourism destinations, and visiting of local attractions on the leisure satisfaction subscales in the psychological, educational, social, relaxation, physiological, and aesthetic categories. Results Female students who participated in sports tourism had a significantly higher level of leisure satisfaction (p < .05) than males on the LSS educational and aesthetic subscales. Those who visited additional attractions and used additional amenities while attending a sports tourism event had a significantly higher level of leisure satisfaction (p < .05) on the LSS subscales of educational, social, relaxation, and aesthetic satisfaction compared with those who did not. Those who did research on additional attractions and amenities before attending a sports tourism event had a significantly higher level of leisure satisfaction (p < .05) on all subscales except for the physiological category when compared with those who did not do such research. Conclusions It is vital to understand the leisure satisfaction of a tourist experience. Sports commissions and promoters need to make sure online information on additional amenities besides the sporting event can be easily found. The study’s findings suggest that promotion of the aesthetic, social, educational, and relaxing aspects of the tourism location could be a focus. Sports commissions and promoters need to make sure online information on additional amenities besides the sporting event can be easily found.

Many studies in the literature have examined older adults’ past and current lifestyles in either positive or negative association with their life satisfaction levels. Health capabilities naturally decline with aging and can consequently be related to older adults’ life satisfaction levels. Thus, the present study sought to examine the effects of age difference, lifestyles, and health capabilities on older adults’ life satisfaction levels. A total of 290 older adults from three clinical research centers in the United States completed a self-administered questionnaire on their lifestyles and life satisfaction levels, and their health capability assessments were evaluated. There was a significant effect of advancing age on life satisfaction levels among older adults. Additionally, engagement in exercise or physical activity significantly influenced life satisfaction levels. However, there were no statistical effects of vital signs and functional assessments of health capabilities on life satisfaction among older adults. The findings suggest that advancing age itself is the strongest factor in older adults’ life satisfaction. Additionally, engagement in exercise and physical activity can enhance life satisfaction levels as a supplemental factor among older adults. These findings can be beneficial to optimize life satisfaction levels through appropriate programs to encourage positive lifestyles among older adults.

Background: Leisure satisfaction has been one of primary variables to explain an individual’s choice of leisure and recreational activities’ participation. The Leisure Satisfaction Scale (LSS)-short form has been widely utilized to measure leisure and recreation participants’ satisfaction levels. However, limited research has been studied on the LSS-short form that would provide sufficient evidence to use it to measure individual leisure satisfaction levels. Thus, the purpose of the study was to determine whether the LSS-short form would be appropriate to measure individuals’ leisure satisfaction levels. Method: The convenience sampling was used in this study from the south-central United States. The LSS-short form questionnaire was administered to 436 individuals after removing 20 surveys due to incomplete questions. The WINSTEPS computer program was utilized to analyze the Rating scale fit; Item fit; Differential Item Functioning (DIF); and Person-Item map by utilizing Rasch rating scale model. Results: The results indicated that the five-point Likert-type LSS-short form was appropriate to utilize. Two of 24 LSS-short form items had overfit or misfit and were eliminated. DIF indicated that all remained 22 items were suitable to measure leisure satisfaction levels. Overall, 22 item were finally selected for the reconstructed version of the LSS-short form. In addition, Person-Item map showed that ability and item difficulty were fit matched. Conclusions: As the importance of leisure has been increased, the newly reconstructed LSS-short form would be recommended to evaluate individual leisure satisfaction levels in future studies. Furthermore, leisure and recreation professionals can provide and develop effective leisure activities or programs by measuring individual’s leisure satisfaction level with the new version of LSS-short form.

Adolescents enjoy their free time in different ways including solitary, passive, and active leisure activities. The current special circumstance, the COVID-19 pandemic, provides adolescents with more free time that individuals have to spend by themselves. However, there has been little research devoted to their participation in different leisure activities and its effect on adolescent self-esteem. This study examined current adolescents’ self-esteem levels and frequency of participation among solitary, passive, and active leisure activities and how participation in different types of leisure activities affects adolescent self-esteem. A total of 1759 adolescents self-reported 13 self-esteem items and the frequency of different types of leisure activities. The results revealed that 12 items of the self-esteem scale were higher scores than the average among adolescents in this sample. Adolescents spent significantly more time on solitary leisure activity (M = 4.85) than passive (M = 2.54) and active leisure activities (M = 3.51). The results of regression indicated that solitary activities (β = 0.068, p = 0.007) and sport/exercise (β = 0.267, p < 0.001) and hanging with friends (β = 0.113, p < 0.001) of active leisure activities were positively associated with adolescent self-esteem. The findings suggest that parents, teachers, and administrators should recognize and apply appropriate directions or programs to optimize adolescents’ self-esteem by developing suitable leisure activities. It could be helpful to provide other active leisure activities such as socialized clubs or extracurricular physical activities to improve their self-esteem.

As the number of international and domestic college students has increased, the importance of developing healthy lifestyles has been getting significant attention from college administrators. The current study was designed to determine if differences occur in exercise motivation between international and domestic college students. A total of 155 college students from a southwestern U.S. university completed the Exercise Motivations Inventory–2 through the university’s online active research system. Analyses indicated that international students possessed a higher motivation to exercise for revitalization, while domestic students were more motivated for a challenge, competition, and social recognition. The findings suggest that campus health professionals or wellness administrators may need to utilize different strategies to promote the health of international college students through exercise programs.

Objective: The purpose of this study was to determine whether the Exercise Motivations Inventory − 2 (EMI-2) scale would be appropriate to measure college students’ exercise motivation. Participants: The EMI-2 scale questionnaire was administered to 325 college students in the southwestern U.S. Method: The WINSTEPS program was conducted to analyze Rating Scale Fit, Differential Item Functioning (DIF), and Item fit by applying Rasch rating scale model calibration. Results: A 5-point Likert-type rating scale of the EMI-2 was more appropriate to investigate college students’ exercise motivation. Seventeen of 51 items were selected as the DIF, and one item had over standard item fit. Overall, 33 items were finally selected for a new version of the EMI-2 scale for college students. Additionally, Person-Item map showed that person ability and item difficulty were fit matched. Conclusions: This reconstructed EMI-2 scale can be utilized to assess exercise motivations of college students.