Associations Between Enjoyable Activities and Uplifting Events: Effects on Momentary Positive Affect in Adulthood.

This study examined the effects of participation in enjoyable activities and the experience of uplifting events on individuals' momentary positive affect (PA) and tested for age differences in these effects. 176 adults (ages 25-66) completed ecological momentary assessments (EMAs) 5 times per day for 14 days. We found that individuals reported higher levels of PA at times when an uplifting event had occurred compared to times when an uplifting event had not occurred (p < 0.05), and this association was amplified among those who participated less frequently in enjoyable activities (p < 0.05). The moderating effect of participation in enjoyable activities was invariant across the sample's age range. The findings demonstrated that individuals who habitually participated in enjoyable activities experienced higher levels of PA in everyday life. In contrast, individuals who infrequently or never engaged in enjoyable activities depended upon recent uplifting events to experience higher levels of PA.

The Influence of Leisure Engagement on Daily Emotional Well-being.

Leisure engagement is believed to offer emotional benefits. However, relatively few studies have examined how leisure engagement influences emotional well-being in the context of individuals' everyday lives. The current study examined the associations between leisure engagement and daily emotional well-being, as measured by participants' mean levels of positive affect (PA), PA variability, and PA reactivity to stressors. Using smartphones, participants (n = 176) completed ecological momentary assessments (EMAs) 5 times per day for 14 consecutive days. The Pearson correlations indicated that the participants who engaged in leisure more frequently experienced higher mean levels of PA and lower PA variability in daily life compared to those with less frequent leisure engagement. However, multilevel models indicated that individuals' differences in frequency of leisure engagement did not influence their emotional reactivity in response to daily stressors. The findings extend the importance of leisure engagement to consider the dynamics of daily emotional well-being.

The Relationship Between Self-Rated Health and Use of Parks and Participation in Recreation Programs, United States, 1991 and 2015.

We examined the relationship between self-rated health and use of parks and recreation program participation by using logistic regression to analyze data from representative national surveys conducted in 1991 and 2015. Neither park use nor program participation were significantly related to self-rated health in 1991; however, both were significantly related in 2015. The growing relationship between use of parks and recreation programs and self-rated health during this period is likely the result of broad national health promotion efforts and provides support for funding of capital and operational expenses for park and recreation services.

Exploring the crowding-satisfaction relationship in recreational boating.

Along with the growing boating population and the number of boats in use on limited inland waterways, boater expectations of setting density, safety perceptions, and the associated impacts on their experience (e.g., satisfaction) are becoming increasingly important. The primary purpose of this article was to explore a recreational boating crowding-satisfaction model derived from previous work using safety and enjoyment as mediating variables. We also tested our crowding-satisfaction model among day and overnight users. Our analysis revealed no significant difference between day and overnight users for any of the relationships tested in our model. Our final model indicated as respondents' expectations for seeing people increased along with their feelings of being crowded, they were more inclined to consider the conditions on the lake as being unsafe. They were also more inclined to indicate that the number of people they had seen on the lake detracted from their boating experience. Respondents' satisfaction was tied to their perceptions of crowding. Mediating variables illustrated that the relationship was conditioned by perceptions of safety and enjoyment. Analysis of the indirect effect observed in our study illustrate that when the number of people seen on the lake exceed respondents' expectations, their perceptions of safety and enjoyment both decline, resulting in lower satisfaction. These findings have implications for managing recreational boating use on inland lake systems. Given the role played by expectations in our model, efforts to communicate with boaters about conditions on these waterways is important for helping them plan their boating experience and avoid situations they consider unsafe or unsatisfactory.